Sport
30 March, 2026
Regatta action
OVER 300 paddlers from as far as Mooloolaba to Port Douglas converged to Tinaburra recently, where the Dam Outrigger Canoe Club (Yungaburra) hosted the first regatta for the 2026 paddling season.
The Dam Outrigger’s recent regatta was hailed a huge success by club members, it being the biggest the club had ever held to date.
The highlight of the day was the eagerly-supported Yotsie’s Relay – a memorial race dedicated to the late Gordon Grivas, who passed away in late 2024.
Event coordinator Pamela Clearwater said it was touching to see so many people support the race at the event.
“Last year was our first year for that race. It’s a memorial relay race for a really great friend and paddler of our club who was killed tragically in Yungaburra in late 2024,” she explained.
“The guys came up with that relay race, which was just embraced by everybody, and it still is. This year we had 17 teams take part, with seven members in each team. There was heaps of colour and everyone was cheering – it was really fun.”
Clearwater said this year’s regatta was the largest the club had ever held, with over 1,100 seats (or race tickets) being sold, as people often enter more than one race.
“This year was our largest regatta in the northern zone, which is just a big gold star for us,” she said.
“We had over 1,100 seats purchased for our regatta, which is a new record for us. We also had some really great sponsors this year too, and the TRC (Tablelands Regional Council) jumped on board as well – they were really supportive of it.”
For more information, the ‘Dam Outrigger Canoe Club’ can be found on Facebook.
