KAYAKING: Sly's misfortune benefits bay duo

SHANE HURNDELL
When Hawke's Bay kayakers Scott Bicknell and Brook Welch take a rare rest and reflect on their summer they will both have a lot to thank Auckland paddler Steven Sly for.
Sly has a virus which has forced him to take a spell from paddling. He was forced to withdraw from last month's Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney and was replaced by Welch.
Bicknell (pictured below), who along with Welch, Welch's older brother Ryan and fellow Bay paddler Charlotte Matthews, also competed in Sydney, has been called in to the New Zealand under-21 team for next week's Trans-Tasman Challenge in Australia as a replacement for Sly.
"It was a tough decision to make," said Bicknell, referring to the fact he will miss his commitments with the Hawke's Bay under-19 team at this weekend's national surf lifesaving Surf League event in Mount Maunganui.
"I think Hawke's Bay are definite top three contenders, but at the end of the day a New Zealand team comes before a provincial one," said Bicknell.
On his return from Australia he will compete for his Waimarama club at the Hawke's Bay surf lifesaving championships at Waimarama on February 17 and 18.
Bicknell will then spend the next fortnight settling into Massey University life as he starts a four-year Environmental Planning course before tackling the national kayaking championships in Auckland on March 3 and the national surf lifesaving championships in Gisborne from March 16-18.
Tomorrow he will leave for Sydney where his first event on the Perith Olympic course is the Australian Grand Prix and his second event is the trans-Tasman competition.
If Bicknell's visit to Australia last month is any indication, expect him to perform well. He returned home with a bronze medal from the K4 500 event as well as third placings in the B finals of the K1 500 and 1000 events.
With Ryan Welch, Bicknell also collected a fifth placing in the A final of the K2 1000.