With the upcoming 2032 Brisbane Olympics, Paddle WA, in collaboration with the Exercise Performance Science team at UWA are hosting a talent search for WA athletes to identify sport-specific characteristics in Olympic sports; Paddle (Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom) and Track Cycling.
Athletes aged 13-16 years are invited to come and test their potential at our Talent Search Day on the 29th of August. The Talent Search Day is 100% free and no experience is required. Athletes will be required to register in order to secure there testing slot as they are limited. Testing will commence from 10:00am, with separate testing sessions run every 30 minutes and each slot lasting for an hour.
On the day a variety of measures will be taken to collect anthropometric and physiological data to generate a holistic individual athlete profile. Each athlete will be measured for identification of sport specific characteristics linked with either Paddle, Track Cycling or both. Successful athletes will be contacted by the individual Talent Search Program Manager for more information within approximately a week.
Testing Location
Testing will be conducted by Accredited Exercise Physiologists and Masters students from the University of Western Australia Exercise and Performance Centre
Arrival: Ensure you arrive 30 minutes prior to your testing slot/start time which will commence in the UWA Sports Science Hall. The UWA Oval next to the exercise and performance science buildings will be available for all athletes to conduct individual warm ups. Please refer to the map below for the exact location, UWA Sports Science Hall, additionally, there will be volunteers and signage around to help athletes find the correct location.
Parking: We would recommend parking on Parkway Avenue, Crawley.
Why Paddle?
Paddling has 2 main Olympic disciplines; canoe sprint and canoe slalom.
Canoe Sprint
Canoe Sprint is one of the best-known competitive canoeing disciplines in Australia. The sport made its debut at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and Australia has been involved ever since the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
Sprint Racing is a test of speed over flatwater distances of 200m, 500m and 1000m. The craft used to race are narrow and fast, which often means they are very unstable. Sprint kayakers use a ‘wing-blade’ paddle to produce more power and increase efficiency. K1, K2 and K4 are the most popular categories within sprint, but there are also the canoe classes C1 and C2. Age classes range from guppies (U12), through juniors and seniors, all the way to masters.
The 2026 TID Cohort of athletes will be selected to train out of Bayswater Paddlesports Club, (BPC) the same training location as the Paddle WA’s high performance pathways state squad (WASPs) and the WAIS Canoe Sprint Squad.
Follow links below to the club website and address.
BAYSWATER PADDLESPORTS CLUB
AP Hinds Park Bayswater WA 6053
Visit Website
Canoe Slalom
Canoe Slalom is the best-known whitewater canoeing discipline in Australia which has recently had a surge in popularity due to the ‘Fox’ sisters; Naomie and Jessica, both Olympic gold medallists at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Canoe Slalom is all about speed and agility on a whitewater course, usually 200m-300m in length. Competitors must navigate through gates in a specific order and direction, and incur a 2 second penalty for touching the gate and a 50 second penalty if a gate is missed. The green and white gates must be paddled through in the direction of the current (downstream), whereas red and white gates must be paddled through in the direction opposite to the current (upstream).
The craft used typically have a long and slicey tail for efficient turning, and a pointy nose to produce speed. Slalom paddlers use ‘flat-blade’ paddles to execute the different types of strokes while maintaining power and grip on the water.
Why Track Cycling?
Feel the speed. Feel the adrenaline. Experience track cycling.
Race around a world-class 250-metre wooden velodrome, banking at up to 40 degrees, and reach speeds of 60 to 70 km/h. From explosive 200-metre sprints to tactical endurance events over 40 kilometres, there’s a discipline for every rider. Compete as an individual or be part of a team in one of cycling’s most exciting formats.
Track cycling has produced Olympians such as Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy, Oliver Bleddyn, and Matthew Richardson, inspiring the next generation of riders to take on the boards and discover what they’re capable of.
The 2026 TID Cohort of athletes will be selected to train out of Cycle Torq Cycling Club, from October to the end of January, under Ross Dyer.
Follow links below to the club website and address.
CYCLE TORQ CYCLING CLUB
Midvale Speed Dome
Visit Website
Contact Us:
For any additional queries or concerns you can reach us here to ask more information.