THE North West Canoe Club has held its last warm-up event before next month's Gregory River Canoe Marathon.
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All registered Mount Isa teams took part on Sunday morning at Lake Moondarra, grabbing the opportunity to put themselves to the test one last time.
Team Havin-a-go epitomises what the Gregory is all about: getting a group of friends together to have an enjoyable time.
Same have paddled the river while others haven't. There may be spills and tired shoulders by the end, but the memories will last a lifetime.
As well as the Isa teams, there were three teams from Cloncurry who hit the waters on Sunday morning: team Oarsome, Oarsomer and Oarsomest.
In a huge coup for the event, the Gregory River Canoe Marathon has landed Olympian Rachel Lovell, who will be competing in the mixed teams event besides partner Geoff.
Rachel represented Australia in the 2012 London Games coached by Geoff, who paddled the Gregory last year.
Even with an Olympian gracing the water, the stars of the show will be the Spinifex School students, according to North West Canoe Club president Alison Whitehead.
``Tony Cridland will be instructing 18 school students on river paddling and they will then compete in teams in the short course event,'' she said.
``This is a wonderful way to get the students involved in paddling and anyone camping at Mellish Park on Friday and Saturday will really get a kick out of watching the students learn the necessary skills.
``In fact, a lot of our senior paddlers pick up a tip or two when watching the instructors.''
The Gregory River Canoe Marathon will take place on May 4 starting at 8am.
Paddlers can still register at Gregory on May 3, with the racecourse taking nominations between 1pm and 3pm.
Entry is $80 a paddler and all competitors must wear type 2 or type 3 PFDs and a paddling helmet.