Hamilton Island Cup
Encyclopedia
Set against the backdrop of the Whitsunday Islands
, on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef
- Hamilton Island Cup has evolved to become a 4 day multi-disciplined outigger paddling regatta and Australia's premier outrigger canoeing event.
, a Gold Coast based tourist attraction and simultaneously created an outrigger crew largely composed of staff members, while local Gold Coast realtor and friend, Max Christmas was associated with the Outrigger Canoe Club of Australia, founded in 1978. Two rival crews were created; the ‘Max Christmas Gold Coast’ team (in actuality an Outrigger Australia crew) and Keith’s ‘Sea World’ team. They were to compete against each other on Hamilton Island in 1983 at what was considered a trial run of the subsequent Hamilton Cup founded the year after in 1984, coincidently providing much needed media attention for Keith’s new resort project on Hamilton Island.
By 1984 the first Hamilton race was able to be staged as there were enough canoes and paddlers to make the event worth staging. It was billed as the, ‘Queensland Outrigger Titles’. In later years the event was renamed the Hamilton Cup, and as the sports popularity grew - the number of events and size of the carnival grew. The 4 day event became known as the Hamilton Island Cup, with the signature race - the 42 km marathon event - becoming known as The Hamilton Cup. The Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association consider the Hamilton Cup as being one of the most prestigious and chellenging major events on the Australian Outrigging Calendar.
In June 2008, the 25th anniversary of the original 1983 race was celebrated. The 25th anniversary event fetaured over 2000 paddlers, representing 43 Australian clubs and 10 overseas-based clubs from Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. In 2010 Stand Up Paddleboarding
(SUP) was included as a discpline for the first time - indicating the growing popularity of this discipline in Australia.
Whitsunday Islands
The Whitsunday Islands are a collection of continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, situated between just south of Bowen and to the north of Mackay, some north of Brisbane. The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the group's commercial...
, on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
- Hamilton Island Cup has evolved to become a 4 day multi-disciplined outigger paddling regatta and Australia's premier outrigger canoeing event.
History
In 1981, Hamilton Island entrepreneur Keith Williams, had founded Sea WorldSea World
Sea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...
, a Gold Coast based tourist attraction and simultaneously created an outrigger crew largely composed of staff members, while local Gold Coast realtor and friend, Max Christmas was associated with the Outrigger Canoe Club of Australia, founded in 1978. Two rival crews were created; the ‘Max Christmas Gold Coast’ team (in actuality an Outrigger Australia crew) and Keith’s ‘Sea World’ team. They were to compete against each other on Hamilton Island in 1983 at what was considered a trial run of the subsequent Hamilton Cup founded the year after in 1984, coincidently providing much needed media attention for Keith’s new resort project on Hamilton Island.
By 1984 the first Hamilton race was able to be staged as there were enough canoes and paddlers to make the event worth staging. It was billed as the, ‘Queensland Outrigger Titles’. In later years the event was renamed the Hamilton Cup, and as the sports popularity grew - the number of events and size of the carnival grew. The 4 day event became known as the Hamilton Island Cup, with the signature race - the 42 km marathon event - becoming known as The Hamilton Cup. The Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association consider the Hamilton Cup as being one of the most prestigious and chellenging major events on the Australian Outrigging Calendar.
In June 2008, the 25th anniversary of the original 1983 race was celebrated. The 25th anniversary event fetaured over 2000 paddlers, representing 43 Australian clubs and 10 overseas-based clubs from Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. In 2010 Stand Up Paddleboarding
Paddleboarding
Paddleboarding is a surface water sport in which the participant is propelled by a swimming motion usually on a long surfboard close to the shore. A derivative of paddleboarding is stand up paddle surfing.-History:...
(SUP) was included as a discpline for the first time - indicating the growing popularity of this discipline in Australia.
Divisions & Races
- OC6 16km
- OC6 500m/1000m
- OC6 Changeover
- OC1 16km
- OC1/SUP 8km
- OC1/OC2 SUP 250m
- OC2 16km
- OC2 8km