ACNC
Not for Profit
The Australian Centre of Paddling Safety is a registered organisation with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission.
ACNC
The Australian Centre of Paddling Safety is a registered organisation with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission.
Volunteers
All volunteers within the ACPS are members of Paddle Australia.
Contribution
The ACPS remains within its initial launch phase. Collated information has been made public, while volunteers focus on building the adminstrative structures of the organisation.
Involvement in recreational and paddle sports is increasing across Australia. Paddle craft including kayaks, canoes, surf skis, outriggers, dragon boats, fishing kayaks and stand up paddle boards are more accessible, through decreased costs and non-specialised distribution. Online sales and warehouse generalist shops means new paddlers may not be receiving safety advice or insight before going on the water. Paddle craft require no licencing or restrictions, unlike other types of watercraft. The increasing popularity of paddling largely occurs outside the established club communities, where again, new paddlers may not be learning safer paddling practices from experienced paddlers.
Every paddling death in Australia is an avoidable death. Each death is a tragedy. No paddler enters the water with the intention of dying. So somewhere, somehow - somebody makes a decision which has tragic consequences. A safer paddling community continually learns from these decisions and tragic outcomes, reinforcing established safety messages, and learning new insights as the environment changes, and new technologies offer new safety capabilities for everyday paddling.
The 2022 AusPlay survey identifies the percentage of Australians involved in paddle sports including 434,400 in Canoeing / kayaking, 20,400 in Dragon boat racing, 9,200 in Outrigger canoes, 25,000 in Paddle sports. This includes 2% of adult Australians. Participation in paddle sports is concentrated in the age groups 35 years old and above. Only 5.7% of participation in Canoeing / kayaking occurs within organised sports clubs or associations.
In the US, an estimated 7% of the population are involved in paddle sports (US Mens Journal 2015), with the number of participants increasing from 6 million in 2006 to 18 million in 2020 (Statista). In 2014, it was estimated 5000 new paddle craft were sold through specialised paddle craft distributors (NSW Paddle Safe Strategy. The global canoe and kayaking market is estimated to have grown 20% between 2016 and 2021 (Technavio).
Of the 418,000 Australians involved in recreational fishing (Ausplay), 7% 24,000 identified as also participating in Canoeing / kayaking. Information from US sports retailers indicate 49% of recreational kayak sales are for the purposes of fishing. Importantly sales intelligence highlighted the trend of kayak purchases being strongly identified with other recreational activities of fishing, four wheel driving and camping, rather than canoeing / kayaking.
The number of annual fatalities involving paddle craft in Australia is estimated around seven per year (Australian Royal Lifesaving). These are seven avoidable deaths. In 2021, eleven fatalities were identified, including 2 children. In the US, a trend to higher fatalities is being observed, with specific reference to the involvement of Kmart Kayaking - the increased distribution of kayak sales through non-specialist retailers, without specialist safety advice.
The ACPS will examine the inter-relationships between the three dynamics leading to death -the environment, the process of drowning (estimated 87% of paddling deaths involve drowning - Maine 2000-2007) and personal decision making, as well as the inter-actions with capabilities which could have created safer outcomes - equipment and emergency services.
The ACPS will produce, distribute and promote unique information designed to support better public safety in paddle sports.
The ACPS is managed and maintained by active paddlers.
Volunteers supporting the ACPS are drawn from the Expeditionary River Kayaking group, a non-club paddling pod within PaddleNSW
KayaksDelivered actively supports the ACPS and its aims.