Canoe Racing New Zealand has appointed Emily Willockas a Performance Coach. After 3 years as the CRNZ National Development Coach Lead, Emily will now work within our daily high-performance environment, including direct coaching support of our HP athletes such as Aimee Fisher and Finn Murphy.
This appointment is thoroughly deserved and reflects the outstanding contribution Emily has made during her time leading our pathway programme. As National Development Lead, she has played a key role in athlete progression through our pathway programmes, coach development, and strengthening the connection between pathway and high performance. Emily has built trusted relationships across the system, created environments where people can thrive and achieve their potential and has demonstrated strong capability in athlete development, technical coaching, and leadership.
During Emily’s tenure, we have seen significant growth in both pathway athlete performances and coach capability. The NZ team won the Asia Pacific Sprint Cup in 2026, the first time New Zealand has etched their name on the trophy. The most recent results by NZ at the 2026 ICF Junior & U23 World Championship made it one of the best overall campaigns by a NZ team, highlighted by junior gold medal and nine top 10 results.
Emily’s appointment to the high performance coaching team recognises the impact she has already had at Canoe Racing NZ and the confidence we have in her ability to contribute to our performance ambitions through to LA 2028 and beyond.
As Emily transitions into her new role, CRNZ will soon advertise both the National Pathway Lead position and a newly created Pathway Coordinator role. These appointments will further strengthen our pathway system and ensure we continue to connect participation, athlete development, coach development, and high performance.
Congratulations to Emily on this well-earned appointment and we wish her every success in the next stage of her coaching journey.
