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Mike Chan

For a few hardy Hong Kong outrigger canoe paddlers, non-professional athletes in their fifties and sixties taking part in the International Va’a Federation (IVF) World Sprint Championships in Singapore this month, age is “definitely” just a number.
“For me, it’s not about proving that I can compete despite my age,” said Adrienne Ng, 54, one of four paddlers who spoke to the South China Morning Post before departing for the tournament at Marina Bay.
“It is about proving to myself that there is still so much I can achieve because of the experience, strength and confidence that come with it.”
Fellow paddler Polly Snaith started with “a bit of dragon boating and some outrigging” on and off 30 years ago. A bad back injury led to a decade-long absence from the sport for her, and she revisited paddling only in 2017.
What was meant to be a “take it easy and very wary of injury” approach quickly became something a lot more serious after the 60-year-old artist also started surf-skiing in 2019.












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“I am really excited to experience new waters and races around the world with my paddling mates; we are quite a gang of over 50s,” said Snaith, who is a part of the OC6, or six paddlers, crew. “Queen Lily Race in Hawaii is on the cards for 2027!”
Outrigger canoes were originally developed thousands of years ago in Southeast Asia. These seaworthy watercraft were used for transport, enabling ancestral voyagers to migrate across vast stretches of the Pacific and Indian oceans, reaching as far as Hawaii, Tahiti, and Madagascar.
Today, it is a growing club sport in which enthusiasts in Hong Kong can participate through local groups including the Victoria Recreation Club (VRC) and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.
In Singapore, a 43-strong Hong Kong team is competing across the full spectrum of the sport, from solo racing through to six- and 12-person crews, and from elite through to Masters 60+, signalling the growth of outrigger canoeing from a niche pursuit into a sport with some serious and genuine depth in Hong Kong.
Among the city’s largest-ever squad fielded at any IVF World Championships are the women’s Masters contingent – women in their fifties and sixties who trained around their full-time jobs, often before sunrise, and funded their own international racing.
“I believe you should continue to challenge yourself at every stage of life, but I also believe that the people around you are a huge part of what keeps you motivated,” said Ng, the founder and owner of Treasure Island Group, an outdoor education, events and F&B group based in Pui O on Lantau Island. “Outrigger has reinforced for me that individual strength only gets you so far. It is the team that makes the boat move.
“Growing up, my sporting idols were Serena Williams and Michael Jordan. I admired their competitiveness, discipline and determination to keep pushing themselves to be the best.
“Today, though, some of my biggest inspirations are the women I train with. Seeing them continue to work hard, compete internationally and support one another is incredibly inspiring. We show that getting older does not mean becoming less ambitious. There are still new goals to set, new challenges to take on and new teams to be part of.”












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Martha Levin, who is a leadership and talent management trainer and coach in her daily life, was among the city’s outrigging pioneers; she became interested in the sport when she returned to her birthplace from Washington DC in 1995.
“I did a lot of road cycling when I was in Washington, but after having ridden the road from Repulse Bay to Stanley, I decided to try something different; the double-decker buses were just too close for comfort,” said the daughter of a United States foreign service officer, who grew up internationally in nine countries and cities.
The 63-year-old not only started paddling, but she also enjoyed “dreaming up new things to do”.
“We organised an outrigger paddle expedition from Hong Kong to Macau with 48 people, about 70 kilometres from Deep Water Bay to Hac Sa Beach,” said Levin, who is also the chair of the VRC, the oldest sporting club in Hong Kong, having been established in 1849.
“In those days, we had to do immigration to get into Macau, so the immigration officer rolled up his pants and brought a little table, and so he stood in the high water line and stamped our passports.
“I enjoy bringing other people into the sport, and it’s great to see the spark of excitement: ‘I’ve never seen Lamma from this angle’,” she said. “What started as a way for me to simply meet people and get some exercise when I first came back has become a way of life that I love.”
First held in California in 1984, the World Sprint Championships were a biennial event until 2018, when the global pandemic scuppered the next one before its return in Windsor, England, four years later.
The distance version debuted in Tahiti in 2017, the same year that Hong Kong started sending teams to compete. It was subsequently held in Australia two years later, followed by Samoa and Brazil in 2023 and 2025.

Snaith and Ng competed in the latter two, while Levin has “too many to count”, having competed in all the major races globally for several years. The trio formed part of the 35 athletes donning the Bauhinia flag at the various championships over the past decade before the current edition in Singapore.
Joining them this time is newcomer Wang Xiaoxin, who relocated to Hong Kong from Shanghai in 2014, and who has been paddling for only two years, after her husband introduced her to the sport.
Previously a brand manager for 15 years and now a jewellery designer with over a decade of experience, the 50-year-old had her first race at the iconic Around The Island Race (ATIR) in Hong Kong last year, and Singapore is her first overseas event.
“I have always loved water, and was a competitive youth swimmer for seven years during my teenage years,” said the Anhui native, whose biggest challenge in training was time, having a 10-year-old daughter to take care of.
“The greatest [paddling] joy for me is the deep connections between human and nature, and it has taught me to respect nature even more, while enjoying Hong Kong’s breathtaking coastal scenery.
“I also treasure the strong sense of unity – everyone moving forward as one heart, one team. A canoe does not move unless you paddle. Life is the same.
“The Singapore event will be a beautiful and unforgettable experience, especially for racing alongside so many fellow paddlers from Hong Kong.”












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To Ng, who was surfing in her 40s but missed “being part of a team competing at a high level, and being on the water”, prompting her to start paddling. It was the growth and the bond of the community that meant the most to her.
“I was amazed by how much experience we had in the training room, both on and off the water when I first joined,” she said. “There is a real maturity that comes with age, and having a community of strong women around you, who motivate each other to stay fit, challenge ourselves and keep improving, is a blessing at this stage of life.
“Most of us are juggling families, work and finances, so competing at this level requires commitment and determination. But that is also what makes it so rewarding.
“We are not professional athletes. We are women with full lives who have decided that we still want to challenge ourselves and see what we are capable of.”


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A six-paddler female team are among the city’s 43-strong squad taking part in all categories at the World Sprint Championships in Singapore


A six-paddler female team are among the city’s 43-strong squad taking part in all categories at the World Sprint Championships in Singapore.


Ageless Hong Kong women outrigger canoe paddlers more than happy to keep on going

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A six-paddler female team are among the city’s 43-strong squad taking part in all categories at the World Sprint Championships in Singapore

A six-paddler female team are among the city’s 43-strong squad taking part in all categories at the World Sprint Championships in Singapore