Switched from the Murrumbidgee River due to flood concerns, the event will present different challenges.

“The strong winds are a bit of a worry – you can get a bit of chop on the lake,” Wagga Canoe Club’s Bruce Graham said.

“You tend to get protected on the river but we had to make a decision a couple of weeks ago and we could still get inundation of the canoe club (at Wagga beach).

“It could be a bit awkward with side winds, it can create a bit of havoc, but we’ll have three rescue boats on the water.”

More than 100 competitors, including some from Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney are expected to take part although Graham said the weather could result in a drop in numbers.

The main race is a 20 kilometre marathon.

There are also five, 10 and 15km events.

The course is a five kilometre loop from Wagga Boat Club along the western shore of Lake Albert.

It’s the final event in the nine-race Paddle NSW series with overall winners of the 12 divisions to be decided.

Graham said the canoe club’s own Laurie Fitzpatrick is probably the pick of local hopes, in contention for the division two prize.

The event gets underway at 12.30pm at the boat club.