The big news for those competing in The Doctor (22nd Jan 2011 in Perth Western Australia) is that Nelo have come on boards as the Naming Sponsor for the Teams Challenge (NTC). 
This means that the biggest name in flatwater now joins the biggest name in ocean racing (Fenn) as the major craft sponsors of this years event.
Race organizer Dean Gardiner is excited about having Nelo on board. “Having Nelo involved with the event is a big plus for us”” They are the biggest name in flatwater paddling and are definitely making an impact in the ocean racing also” Andre from Nelo jumped straight on board and they (Nelo) are really making an effort to get behind the sport here in Australia”.
Photo: Tim Jacobs paddling a Nelo Ski. Photo by Bernadette Wallace.
How the NTC works
The Nelo Teams Challenge brings teams from the different states of Australia and the different countries together to compete for a dedicated prize pool. In this event it is $5k with $3k going to the winning team.
Points are taken from the following categories:
- Open men/women
- Under 20 Men/Women
- Over 40 Men/Women
- SUP Men/Women
At the conclusion of the race the highest 4 placings from each State or Country are worked out to determine the NTC winners.
Why is Australia broken into states?
The event organizers recognize the huge effort made by the international competitors to get to the event and by doing it this way it creates an incentive for them to come. The same works for the states especially in the weaker categories where some states may pick up points that the stronger states may miss. “We are aware that the top male paddlers may not event feature in their state and country points but we have a huge individual prize purse to cater for those paddlers” said Gardiner.
Photo: The Start of the Doctor in 2010 in Perth WA
Photo by Mark Donaldson
Why SUPs (Stand Up Paddleboards)
“We see SUPs as an important part of our events future. We love having the SUPs involved as they bring a whole new facet to the race” said Gardiner. “We are big believers in having all the water sports under the one banner and although they may have separate sponsors the whole thing can work to everyone’s advantage. What we have seen in the past is that if there are separate ocean races over the same course, then the sports are diluted. We have seen this with Molokai where now there are around 5 or 6 individual molokais a year. The general public would not have a clue on whats going on nor will sponsors . We are all fighting for the same exposure we may as well do it together rather than against each other “. said Gardiner.
SUP Photo by Bernadette Wallace.
Craft hire
We have had some trouble convincing some of the distributers in this country to supply craft for hire for the event. If you are having trouble getting a ski from your preferred supplier please let us know. Oceanpaddler currently have 54 Fenns on loan or hire but the good news is we have another 30 available. That is both Elites and XTs. Email yanda@oceanpaddler.com
