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THREE of Poverty Bay’s top under-18 paddlers will represent New Zealand at the Oceania Championships in Sydney on February 9, 10 and 11.
Alicia Hoskin, Alex Bermingham and Sam Ferkins will all wear the Silver Fern in the first international competition of the 2018 season, as part of a 16-strong New Zealand team.
Outside of the opportunity to test their speed against the Australian paddlers, the Oceania Champs is also a key Canoe Racing New Zealand selection event for the world championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in July, along with the national champs at the end of February.
For Hoskin, it will be a return to high-level competition after she was diagnosed with — and subsequently treated for — the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in mid-2017.
The diagnosis, as part of the routine testing for High Performance Sport NZ, immediately curtailed her planned international campaign.
However, at Blue Lakes 1 and 2 regattas she dominated both the K1 200-metre and 500m events, as well as the K2 200m with partner and close friend Bermingham.
“At Blue Lakes 1, I was lacking some basic fitness, having only just returned to the water,” Hoskin said.
“But Blue Lakes 2 went really well, and — while my speed is still coming back — I was comfortable with where my base was, given the lack of winter conditioning.”
Both Hoskin and Bermingham are coached by Hungarian champion Gergely Gyerantos, who has been impressed with how the girls have been progressing.
“It’s been a challenging time for both the girls, having to be coached while I’m in Hungary,” he said.
“However, they have taken on the necessary skills to self-assess their performances and have definitely grown to rely on themselves rather than a coach.”
Bermingham said Gyerantos had had them on a “very intense training cycle” since December.
“It’s fair to say all we have both been able to do is sleep, train, eat, train . . . and then repeat,” she said.
Hoskin has been selected in her specialist K1 200m and 500m, as well as the K2 200m, partnering with Hannah Baker from Waitara, and the K4 500m.
Bermingham has been selected for the K1 500m, K2 200m and 500m with Brooklyn Sanders from Wellington, and also the K4 500m.
Sam Ferkins, who is coached by local kayaking great Alan Thompson, will have his first outing in a NZ junior team, having been selected in the K1 1000m and the K2 500m, partnering with Liam Lace from Whanganui. Ferkins had a good start to his season at the December Blue Lakes 2 regatta, collecting silver in the K1 200m and bronze in the K1 1000m.
The New Zealand team have had good results in Australia in the past, especially last year when the girls’ team won every K1, K2 and K4 event entered, along with a host of supporting silver medals.
The team leave New Zealand on Monday, allowing them four days of training and acclimatisation at the Sydney Olympic venue before racing starts on Friday.