Dear Sunshine Coast Paddle Sports Club Members
Welcome to our “Blue Moon” October newsletter, where we’ve got not one, but two newsletters in one month. The second full moon, often called a “blue moon,” signifies a special occasion, and indeed, we have two important announcements to make. If you miss any newsletters they are uploaded onto our website sunshinecoastpaddlesportsclub.com.au
1. Annual General Meeting (AGM) Reminder: Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is just around the corner, scheduled for November 4th at 9 am at our club house. Official documents related to the AGM have been emailed to all members. In case you missed them, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to send them to you again. To participate in the voting process, you must be a financial member. If you cannot attend the meeting, remember to use the proxy voting form. We value your contributions, so don’t send any ideas or suggestions by emailing us at sunshinecoastpaddlesportsclub@gmail.com.
2. Club Christmas Party: Get ready to mark your calendars for our upcoming Club Christmas Party, which will take place on December 9th at the club house. We have catering arranged, and the approximate cost per person will be between $10-$15. Don’t forget to bring your own drinks. To ensure we make proper arrangements, please inform us if you plan to attend.
Paddle Australia Awards: We’re thrilled to announce that Nicky Donaldson has been nominated as a finalist for the Paddle Australia (PA) awards. The Awards evening will be held on Saturday, October 28th at the Twin Towns Clubs & Resorts in Tweed Heads. Fingers crossed that in the November newsletter, we are congratulating some club members on their remarkable achievements.
Member Achievements: Our club members have been shining in various activities other than paddling recently:
- Elke Madlener and Scott Smallwood competed in the Coolangatta Gold.
- Kerry Prior achieved a remarkable milestone, joining the 500 Club after running his 10th 50km marathon at Guerrilla near Kenilworth.
- Nicky Donaldson, Delia West, and Harden Mosley completed the Chinderah Chase, braving tough conditions with lots of motorised boat traffic and strong tidal in-flow.
Upcoming Event – Hawkesbury Canoe Classic: Taking place over the night of October 28-29, 2023, the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is an exciting event. As part of her preparation, our club member Annette Dawson has been diligently training for this event, including a 40km training day around Sydney Harbour with her doubles kayak partner James. Annette described the training as challenging with ferries, speed boats, big yachts, huge boats and big, big waves. They crossed at Watsons Bay and back again near Sydney Harbour Bridge.
November 4 @ 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunshine Coast Paddle Shop Island Ocean Paddle
Mooloolaba Beach QLD
This 16km ocean paddle will be conducted on the 4 November 2023 from Mooloolaba Beach. Depending on wind conditions, participants will head around Old Woman Island and back to Mooloolaba. Registration/Check In will be from. 7.00-9am at the spit on Mooloolaba Beach. More details available on the Paddle Qld event calendar.
November 10 – November 12
2023 Canoe Sprint School and State Championships
SYC Oxenford Watersports Centre 33 Watersports Lane, Oxenford, QLD
A lot of club members have entered this series of races that promises to be a great weekend of racing. The Championships will be held at the SYC Oxenford Watersports Centre.
Cancer Council of Queensland – We were successful with an application for a new shade shelter from the Cancer Council of Queensland. The new shelter will replace one of the old, broken shelter shades and be delivered sometime between 1 December and 31 January 2024. The shelter shades are stored in the road side section of the club house and are for members to use at paddling events.
New Land Allocation – Council have extended our footprint to enable the expansion of our club house facilities. Please contact us if you or some one you know can help with any aspect of building design. We intend to apply for a Gambling Community Benefit Fund grant in February and any ideas or assistance with this project will be appreciated.
Sponsors
Our club has some ongoing sponsors that provide services to the club. Please consider using these companies should you need their services.
| Sunshine Coast 4WD Centre | Office Works Maroochydore | Accurate Pest Management |
| Westaway Electrical |
The Maroochy River Paddle 2023 Sponsors were:
| Perren & Penny, Civil & Plumbing Contractors | Paddles (formerly the Paddle Shop), Warana | Alexandra Headland SLSC |
| North Coast Frozen Foods | Noosa Paddle Shop | Future Plus Environmental |
| Viking Trucks | Carruthers Contracting | More Smiles Dental Practice |
| Gara Paddles | Buderim Guardian Pharmacy | Clint Robinson Paddling Clinics |
| Pure Paddling | Caloundra Skin Cancer Centre | Heads in the Cloud Salon |
We are also grateful to the following local, state and federal governments for their grants:
| Sunshine Coast Council | Qld Government, Dept of Sport & Rec | Australian Government, Dept of Business & Industry |
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your ideas, concerns, or suggestions anytime. You can find my phone number on our Facebook page, and we are always responsive to club emails.
We look forward to seeing you at the AGM and our upcoming Club Christmas Party. Let’s continue to celebrate our members’ accomplishments and achievements within our paddling community.
Stay safe and paddle on!
Warm regards, Delia, president; Doug, treasurer; Paul, secretary; Tim and Lach, general committee members, Matt Media and Facebook; Nicky and Tom club coaches.