SNOWY River Extreme Race (SRER) had around 140 racers participate, with more than 200 people in attendance enjoying the day’s events and the beautiful surroundings of the Snowy Monaro region.

Attendees came from Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Victoria to partake in the annual event.

A SRER organiser, Henry Friend, said it was a fantastic day overall and the weather truly made it an “extreme” race.

“At the expert race, competitors faced very windy and challenging conditions, making it a real test of skill and endurance,” Friend said.

“However, we were fortunate to have great water levels on the river, resulting in some exciting paddling and impressive performances across all categories.

“The intermediate section, as always, provided opportunities for paddlers of varying skill levels to engage and challenge themselves, and the race went smoothly.”

Expecting to return in 2025, SRER are excited that the race will take place again next year over the October long weekend and hope to welcome even more participants and spectators.

Friend said as always, their aim is to provide a fun and safe environment for whitewater paddlers to test their skills and share their passion for the sport.

“The Snowy Monaro region offers an incredible setting for the event, and we are really grateful for all involved in making the event possible, particularly National Parks for their support and Snowy Hydro for letting the event take place below Munyang power station,” Friend said.

“Looking ahead, the SRER is reliant on the water flows from Munyang power station and changes in the energy market have created uncertainty around releases.

“This has put the future of the race into doubt; however, we will continue to have discussions with key stakeholders to see if we can guarantee the races future.

“We are committed to securing good water access for future events, supporting sustainable water management practices in the region, and giving back to the local community.

“Our dream would be to have reliable paddling options on different sections of the Snowy River to enable a 'paddle week' which would see paddlers come to the region from across Australia.”

This year's SRER event saw impressive race results with expert race winners, Dan Hall, and Tom Elms, taking top position.

Followed was intermediate race winners, Ben Taylor and Tim Taylor, inflatable class winners, Aston Cox and Nors Corstorphan, junior class winners, Bane, and Caitlin Burr, C1 class winners, Clayton and Sebastian Young, and the women’s class winners, Sophie Ellis, and Cally Turner.

“We want to thank our amazing major sponsor, Horizonline Canoes, and our silver sponsors, Paddle Sports Australia, The Kayak Shed, Kayak Factory Direct, Electric Water, kokopelli, Immersion Research, Waka Kayaks and Astral,” Friend said.

“They have donated over $13,000 of prizes to the race in 2024.”