New paddlers

Paddling with a club

Keen to try outrigger canoe paddling? Many outrigger canoe clubs in Australia offer free training sessions to new or inexperienced paddlers interested in trying outrigger paddling for the first time. If you’re based in the southern Shoalhaven, Conjola Stingrays OCC offers three free training sessions to interested paddlers. (Contact us via email to set up your free trial.) If you’re based outside the Shoalhaven, find your nearest club by searching on the website of the Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association (AOCRA).

Outrigger canoe clubs typically offer crew-based, doubles or singles paddling training, depending on the size of the club. A six-seater canoe is called an OC6. A two-seater canoe is known as an OC2. A single-seater canoe is referred to as an OC1.

Six seats, one team

Each paddler in a six-seater canoe or OC6 has an important role to play. Below is a brief overview of what each of these roles entails.

• Seat 1: A stroker’s job is to set the pace for the rest of the canoe to follow.
• Seat 2: Paddlers in seat 2 must have excellent timing. As the first paddler on the opposite side of the canoe from the stroker, the paddler in seat 2 backs up seat 1 in setting the canoe’s pace.
• Seat 3: This is one of the power seats in the canoe and, typically, is the paddler who calls changes. (Sometimes, a paddler in seat 2 or seat 4 can call changes, too.)
• Seat 4: Seat 4 is also a power seat driving the boat forward and protecting the ama.
• Seat 5: Another strong paddler, seat 5 is the final power in the canoe’s engine. This paddler also is, typically, at the ready to back up the steerer, if needed.
• Seat 6: The paddler in seat 6 steers the boat and “calls the shots” in outrigger canoe paddling. This paddler’s job is to keep both the canoe on course and the crew paddling together.