Suzy (far right in both photos) with her NZ Women’s U23 White Water Rafting crew.
Nurse paddles to victory on world stage
Tauranga Hospital’s APU team has a world
champ in its team. Recently new graduate
nurse Suzy Cumming captained the NZ
Women’s U23 team competing in the White
Water Rafting World Champs. She talks about
her success here in Checkup.
I started paddling on white water when I was 12 years old, firstly in
Canoe Slalom and then at 16 I began rafting. I was at canoe slalom
training on the Tarawera River in Kawerau when I was told there
was a youth raft race set up for that afternoon. Myself and five other
girls put together a team and competed. We won the competition
and beat most other teams including those in the male category.
From there, our team was approached by one of the NZ Open
Men’s team members who had been competing in White Water
Rafting World Champs for over 10 years. He offered us the
position as the NZ U19 Women’s team and offered to coach us for
the 2013 World Championships to be held in Rotorua at the end of
that year. We trained hard and ended up winning, becoming World
Champions at the age of 16 or 17.
The feeling of exhilaration as I paddled down the river with a
group of my closest friends, the hours put in on the water and at
the gym, the amazing people you meet through the sport is what
inspired me to keep paddling. I eventually made the change to just
paddle white water rafting and give up canoe slalom as I enjoyed
rafting more and found I performed better in a team environment. I
then went on to compete at the 2014 World Champs in Brazil and
the 2015 World Champs in Indonesia in the Under 19 category. I
captained that team and was also requested to coach the Masters
Women who went on to win Gold in that particular race.
I took three years off while studying a Bachelor of Nursing in
Wellington and secured a NETP position in APU at Tauranga
Hospital. Whilst waiting to start I decided it was time to get back
to doing what I love. This time in the NZ Women’s U23 team and
captained this new team at this year’s White Water Rafting World
Champs held on the Tully River in Cairns, Australia. We had a
hugely successful campaign receiving medals in three of four
races. We picked up a bronze medal in the Sprint, silver in the
16
Head to Head, placed 4th in the Slalom, and gold in the Downriver
– the toughest race, finishing second overall.
Our next competition is the NZ National Selections in November
in the South Island. If selected as the NZ U23 team, we will
be heading to China for the 2020 White Water Rafting World
Championships and that will be my final year in the U23 category.
My aim beyond that is to train hard and be selected for the NZ
Open Women’s Team.
Suzy in action pictured front right.