It is true that AOCRA has held discussions over many years with Paddle Australia (PA) —formerly Australian Canoeing. However, the environment today is vastly different. The strategic opportunity before us is not simply a repeat of the past; it is a response to evolving challenges, emerging possibilities and global trends in the sport landscape.
KEY CHANGES INCLUDE GOVERNANCE REFORMS ACROSS AUSTRALIAN SPORT
The creation of Paddle Forward 32, PA’s forward-thinking strategic plan.
AOCRA’s current funds, at all levels of the organisation would not be absorbed by PA. They would remain within AO to be spent on Outrigger activities.
AOCRA’s funds would not be redirected to pay for PA staff.
PA already have the staff and are already paying for them. PA doesn’t need AOCRA’s funds to pay its staff - even if those same staff are to assume responsibility for assisting in managing AOCRA membership, governance, etc.
On workforce, PA is unapologetic about the fact that it’s Paddle Forward 32 strategy speaks to an aspiration for continued growth. PA will continue to recruit and employ new talent to its organisational structure to align with Paddle Forward 32 and to bring in new skills and experiences required to be able to respond to the ever-evolving sport and business requirements.
OUTRIGGING CULTURE
Outrigger would not be lost within PA.
Marathon, Wildwater, Canoe Polo, Ocean Racing, etc, all continue to develop under the PA umbrella, and Outrigger would be the same. There is no reason to think it would be lost. This presents an outstanding opportunity for Outrigger to be developed even further.
COMMUNITY AND CULTURE
Yes, AOCRA is proudly community-based and culturally rich—and this is not in conflict with PA’s mission. In fact, PA’s purpose is to support, inspire, and develop all paddlers: fostering a sense of belonging for all, through a sport and lifestyle lens.
If we were to align, outrigger paddling would retain strategic leadership, cultural identity and governance voice—while benefiting from shared resources, streamlined systems, national-level support and a consistent and equitable approach the sport nationally.
PA’s OLYMPIC FOCUS
PA’s website does have an emphasis on the Olympic disciplines (Sprint and Slalom) but that is because those disciplines provide access to the required content, and a large portion of the Media and Communications resource is available through PA’s / AIS HP Program Investment. When PA hosts a major international event like the International Canoe Federation Slalom World Championships then the PA digital and social platforms are also going to promote ticket sales, commercial partnerships and community activations.
PA works together with all their Discipline Technical Committees and the paddle communities, etc, to provide content - particularly where they do not have a presence until the period of their national events (once or twice per year). PA contracts all Media and Comms for the disciplines, and acknowledges that some are more proactive and motivated in this space than others.
Elevating PA’s “Home of Paddlesports” brand and reach is a measure of success. Promoting individual disciplines and community story telling is part of the strategy moving forward and resource-wise, PA has depth of experience with established networks to do this.
Given that Outrigger runs more events than the other disciplines, Outrigger would logically have a higher presence and would maintain and grow its exposure.
STAFFING AND RESOUCRING AT PADDLE AUSTRALIA
It is important to clarify that PA’s national High-Performance staffing (approximately 30-35 positions over a Games cycle) are dedicated to Olympic and Paralympic disciplines and are funded through the Australian Institute of Sport’s (AIS) High Performance Investment Grant. Those staff are not funded through general membership revenue. These roles include coaches, performance support, sport science professionals, and high-performance administration.
A contribution from the AIS grant is allocated to shared corporate services to enhance the delivery of the sport overall—a standard practice in modern sport administration. The wider paddle community benefitsfrom the ongoing success of our Australian Olympic and Paralympic Teams.
REGATTA REVENUE
PA will not take a greater share of event revenue from Outrigger.
PA does not take a share now of Club or State event revenues from Marathon, Ocean Racing, Harbour Racing, Polo, etc and so the same principle would apply with Outrigger. In fact, under the model being discussed now, it is anticipated that Clubs will receive more of the event revenue than they do currently.
PA does receive a portion (50%) of the Single Event Insurance Fee ($24) that is levied against non-members, but this would not apply to AOCRA members under the integration. For the JB Run, PA/PNSW refunded the Single Event Fee to all AOCRA members who participated.
Under the integration, but only under the integration, member paddlers would be free to enter in other disciplines without having to pay the Single Event Insurance Fee. It can’t be automated without the integration. For clarity, the reciprocal agreement that has been alluded to by Jane Hall was never put in place (it couldn’t be), but it was discussed with PA who agreed that it would be possible, post integration.
PA & AOCRA did not revoke the reciprocal agreement, as was suggested, because it was never put in place.
INSURANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE EFFICIENCY
Under a unified model, the opportunity to establish single insurance program across all paddling disciplines, could deliver efficiencies of scale—helping reduce complexity, duplication, and long-term costs.
Sustainability, both financial and administrative, is critical for the future of our sport.
AOCRA’S NSO JOURNEY
AOCRA has previously pursued and held recognition as a National Sporting Organisation (NSO) and developed frameworks such as the National Coaching Framework.
While that recognition was recently lost due to several factors, the AOCRA Board continues to revise the constitution, write and approve necessary policies to meet NSO requirements—should we decide not to proceed with alignment. Obtaining and maintaining the recognition will take a lot of administrative resource to achieve.
However, alignment with PA would enable outrigger canoeing to be part of a recognized NSO, restoring access to national funding streams, safeguarding long-term viability, and providing governance certainty.
MEMBER SURVEY
The member survey, conducted in Dec 2024 - Jan 2025 resulted in a high percentage of members requesting we explore a relationship with PA.
DRAGON BOATING’S NON-ALLIANCE WITH PA
It is understood that the primary reason for the Dragon Boat federation in Australia not to align with PA was based on the fact that, as we would need to do, is have PA as the business entity become the member of the International Federation for Dragon Boat entity in Australia.
Whilst PA would become the member with the International Va’a Federation (IVF), Outrigging would (like all the Paddle disciplines under PA) enter into an agreement known as a Terms of Reference, where at a national level PA would create the unhindered ability for Outrigging to maintain the same level of communication and engagement with the IVF as we enjoy today.
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