After a 16-year break, the Wagga Bidgee Canoe Club's 26 kilometre kayak marathon from Oura to Wagga Beach is back.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Sunday morning, around 30 boats are expected in the race down the river, which has attracted kayakers from as far as Sydney and Swan Hill.
Last run in 2004, the Oura to Wagga course was superseded by a circuit from Wagga beach upstream to 'The Rocks' and back.
That was to fall in line with the preference of Paddle NSW for races over 5km laps.
But everything old is new again.
After missing out on state-sponsored events for two years, the Wagga Bidgee Canoe Club has pulled a back-to-the-future move hoping to bring the higher profile events racing back to the river.
"They've been saying to us for a couple of years now that we'd like you to do it in the old format," Wagga Bidgee Canoe Club's Laurie Fitzpatrick said.
"The last two years we haven't had a race, they haven't awarded us a race. So we thought we'd bite the bullet, run a race and show them, and hopefully we get a Paddle NSW event again next year."
The club is excited to bring back the popular event which will feature single and double craft.
Fitzpatrick said the downstream course will present plenty of challenges for competitors.
The race begins at 9.30am at Oura with the elite paddlers expected to take around one hour and 45 minutes to reach the beach.