From Surf to Sprint: JETS Program Sparks Paddling Potential

Twenty talented young surf athletes swapped their skis for kayaks at the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Junior Emerging Talent Squad (JETS) development camp, hosted at the NSWIS Narrabeen facility.

The three-day program invited under-15 to under-17 surf lifesaving athletes from across New South Wales to experience kayak sprinting, as well as refine ski paddling techniques in a high performance environment – and for many, it was their first time trying the Olympic sport.

“The main aim is to increase the standard of paddling within New South Wales,” said NSWIS Canoe Sprint Head Coach Jake Michaels. “And if that’s as a ski paddler, that’s awesome. If that’s a kayak paddler, even better.”

The JETS program arrived at a time of shifting sporting trends. To open more entry into kayaking, the initiative purposely targeted surf lifesaving (surf) athletes due the natural crossover in discipline.

“The amount of younger kids coming into sport is diminishing,” Michael explained. “So, [we’re] trying to set up a pathway that surf athletes otherwise probably wouldn’t know about to get into the sport of kayaking.”

“At the [2024] Olympic Games, 90 percent of athletes either came from surf or compete in surf. The group of athletes winning surf carnivals are [already] kayaking athletes. So [the aim was] trying to capitalise on that.”

Despite the natural crossover, one key message was front and centre all weekend: JETS is not about pulling athletes away from surf.

“The biggest misconception is that we want to pull these athletes out of surf and into a kayak program,” he said. “I went around and spoke to a lot of the surf coaches and clubs [to clarify that] it wasn’t a program to say ‘You have to come kayaking’. It was a program to say, ‘Let’s get you better as a paddler’.”

NSWIS collaborated with Surf Life Saving NSW to facilitate the program. Some surf coaches even dropped by, reinforcing the shared goal of elevating paddling performance, no matter the craft.

“If one athlete is doing kayaking and they go off to Europe, they represent Australia in the junior team and their friend [thinks] ‘I’m just as good as this person, I want to get to Europe next year’,” he said.

“[If] they invest a bit more time in that [kayak] space as well…hopefully we can get a few more of these young kids dabbing in the kayak, which is not only good for the path, but also good for the national program moving forward.”

Beyond technical coaching on the water, the camp provided the group with a first-hand look into a high performance sporting environment – from recovery to gym, and nutrition to sports science.

“We tried to give them an understanding and instruction to kayaking on water. We also tried to give them an instruction to what high performance looks like from a kayaking point of view and what our athletes are exposed to on a day-to-day basis.”

Across the weekend, the group had an education session, hearing from key NSWIS support staff including Kelsey Coaldrake, Sports Dietitian, and Georgie Byrne, Performance Scientist. They also trained with Strength and Conditioning Coach Dean Callaghan and had a tour of the NSWIS Narrabeen facility. The program was led by Gen 32 Coach Jemma Smith.

Despite it being a new sport for most, the group adapted quickly.

“By the end of the session, they were all out there paddling and doing a really good job,” Michaels said. “The idea was that we didn’t have to teach them how to balance or paddle. [It was just] an extra step up and a bit more challenging than the surf ski.”

“I think they enjoyed the team boats on the last day. We got them into some K4s and K2s, that was good fun.”

But the experience did not just stop there – NSWIS scholarship holders and Olympic canoeists Ella Beere and Riley Fitzsimmons joined the camp to speak to the athletes and share their own stories. Beere and Fitzsimmons came from the surf lifesaving program and are now established stars on the world stage.

“The biggest thing they portrayed to these athletes was that they were in their shoes many years ago,” Michaels said. “Riley started kayaking to improve his ski paddling, [to help his] Ironman racing. Then he fell in love with the sport, now he’s been to three Olympics and got a silver medal.”

Fitzsimmons even brought his medal along for the group to see and hold – something coach Michaels believes will have left a lasting impression.

“It was really nice of [Riley],” he said. “There’s not many athletes, particularly from someone in a surf culture…with a medal, to be able to do that.”

“For [the group] to see that [Riley and Ella] were just normal kids that wanted to compete in surf, and then found [kayaking] as an avenue to improve, and be successful in surf and kayak, I think that was an awesome opportunity for the kids to see and listen to.”

Following the camp, an eight-week follow up program will give athletes the chance to keep developing their kayaking skills every Saturday at Narrabeen. Those who continue may progress into club environments, and work towards selection for Nationals next year – or even NSWIS scholarship opportunities.

“We had 40 people apply through the initial process and we narrowed that down to 20,” Michaels explained.

“[For me, it’s] super exciting that kids are wanting to do it. Hopefully when we put this out next year they’ll jump back on again and we’ll have a waitlist again.”

And the current model is already proving successful. Of the four NSWIS athletes selected for the 2025 Canoe Sprint Senior National Team, two – Bailey Clues and Jack Morris – came through the first JETS intake four years ago.

“Bailey and Jack were two of the kids that we pulled out and targeted to continue in the kayak,” he said. “And then four years later, they’ve made a senior national team. That shows [the program] actually works.”

“It’s so good we see that the pathway is successful. There’s [even] a bunch of athletes that have come through the NSWIS program that are up on the podium winning medals [for surf lifesaving]. So not only are the surf kids progressing to kayak, but also the kayak kids are going back in the surf.”

Beyond paddling, the JETS program represents something bigger – the impact of cross-sport collaboration. From Olympians to surf coaches, and from strength and conditioning to nutrition, every element of the camp pointed toward one goal: keeping young people in sport.

“It’s just [about] igniting a bit of spark in one kid that will just continue on and on. And hopefully we can get a few more of these young kids dabbing in the kayak, which is not only good for the path, but also good for the national program moving forward.”

Rachel Tingey, NSWIS

Photos: Jake Michaels