Canoe Racing New Zealand is pleased to announce the athletes confirmed to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 2025 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in South Africa in October.
Congratulations to the following paddlers:
Grace Richardson, Bay of Plenty Paddlesports – Junior (U18) Women SS1
Danielle Richards, Bay of Plenty Paddlesports – Open Women SS1
Liam Lace, Whanganui Kayak Club – Open Men SS1
The 2025 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championship will be held on 17-19 October in Durban, South Africa. This is a 3-day race window, with the single ski events to be given priority for the best forecast conditions for a downwind race. The event also includes a double ski (SS2) event.
South Africa is arguably the home of ocean ski/surfski paddling, with stunning open ocean coastlines and having produced multiple ocean ski legends and recent champions.
Danielle Richards (nee McKenzie) is one to watch in the open women’s race, having won the title in 2019 and winning the medal in 2022. After skipping the event last year, Danielle is ready to line up again against the best female paddlers in the sport.
Grace Richardson will be competing at her second ocean ski world championships after being the sole kiwi paddler at last year’s worlds in Madiera. Liam Lace will be contesting his first ocean racing world championships, although is no stranger to paddling on the world stage having represented NZ for several years at the Canoe Marathon Worlds.
CRNZ would also like to acknowledge adopted kiwi Gene Prato, who is racing but does not yet meet nationality requirements to represent NZ. Gene will be racing for South Africa.
We wish all these athletes the best as they complete final preparations and travel to the event. CRNZ will provide updates on how to follow the action as the event approaches.
Event Website
What is Ocean Ski racing?
Ocean ski racing (known by the ICF as canoe ocean racing) is the long-distance, open-water cousin of marathon kayaking, blending fitness, skill, and ocean knowledge. Ocean/surf skis are long and sleek open-top kayaks designed for surfing waves and ocean swell.
Races can range from 10km to 30+km, with iconic events (like the Molokai Crossing in Hawaii or the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships) testing endurance, navigation, and surf skills. Events aim to be “downwind” courses, where paddlers aim to link waves and swells to “surf” their skis and maintain high speed. Reading the ocean is just as important as paddling power.
In NZ, we have the Darcy Price NZ Ocean Ski Series, a national points series made up of 8 independent ocean ski events run all across the country each summer. The upcoming season kicks off in October with the Windy City Downwind/NZ Ocean Ski national Championships.
