The Australia Day Surfboard Challenge is meant to be a fun event - and it is! In preparation for the Australia Day Surfboard Challenge take the time to read the following tips –What could be better than paddling across the most beautiful harbour in the world with your mates on Australia Day""

However, if you want to challenge yourself and increase the speed that you get across the harbour, you are going to need to do a little work. Training and exercise is the key!

Firstly paddle to your strengths. Choose the course you would like to enter. The Australia Day Surfboard Challenge is 3.5km and is suited to the serious paddlers who would like to challenge themselves (and of course be in the running for the cash prizes on offer!). Or choose the 2km course which is for the more relaxed paddler who may be a first timer or would just like the experience of being on Sydney Harbour – In either case you should be doing some training for the event.

FITNESS

Upper Body Strength
You need to have good upper body strength. It is no mean feat on a big day where you have to paddle the entire way across the harbour on a surfboard and you don’t even get to stand up on it! A good way to increase your upper body strength is to simply lift a few weights. You will look and feel better for it and you will find it helps your paddling. If you don't have the time, inclination or money to go to the gym then why not try doing a few push ups when you get out of bed. Swimming is also a great way to increase your upper and lower body strength and your stamina.

Endurance
Endurance means that you will be able to paddle better for longer. Try jogging - slowly build up the distance that you run over a period of time. Any aerobic exercise will help you increase your endurance and give your cardiovascular system a good workout.

Flexibility
To perform well at any sport it is a good idea to work on your flexibility. Touch your toes, do a bit of yoga or anything else that will help you. Being flexible (and warming up) will reduce the chance of sustaining a muscle injury during your paddle.

A good level of overall fitness is desirable for a healthy lifestyle anyway, so use the Australia Day Surfboard Challenge as an excuse to start getting into shape and living more healthily.

PADDLING TECHNIQUE

For the prone (lying down) paddling technique – follow these basic tips that will help to maintain an efficient paddle and prevent the waste of energy. Typically, when we get tired, we get lazy, and our technique deteriorates, making us more tired, and soon we cannot paddle any more. Focus on technique particularly during long paddle such as the Australia Day Surfboard Challenge.

• Make sure you're positioned on the board correctly. Most competitors paddle on long boards. The main thing is to concentrate your power as close to the midline of your body as you can.
• Finish all the way to your legs. A good way to ensure you are doing this is to try touching your thumbs at your thighs or the side of the board on every stroke, right before the recovery (arms out and over the water). This is important to prevent the nose of the board from tipping up too high, which forces you to plow through the water rather than skim along the surface. Being too far forward will tend to bury the nose and force you to arch your back excessively, which can lead to back problems. So find the balance.
• Hand entry should be flat and nearly at the limit of full extension. Don't slice your hand in sideways. Instead, arch the elbow on the arm recovery and bring it in with fingertips pointing forward and slicing under the water.
• The ideal paddle stroke is as close as you can get to a freestyle swimming stroke. Your hands should ascribe an 'S' motion, with the outside of the 'S' shape coming at the start of the stroke, accelerating under the board through to the finish.
• Don't throw water behind you at the finish, that's just wasted effort. Concentrate on power through the stroke in the region from shoulder to waist.
• Keep your hands flat and fingers together, but don't overexert trying to hold them together.
• Keep your hands pointed as a natural extension to your forearm; try to minimize any bending at the wrist... this will improve your power.
• Keep your head and neck down, conserve your energy and prevent injury.
• Keep your feet together, use them for balance in long paddles, and kick like a wild person when you are heading into the finish line!!
• Practice, practice, practice. If you can't get into the ocean, find a pool and work on your freestyle stroke. Using hand paddles and pull buoys provides an excellent approximation to the exertion of paddling your board.
• You should always keep strong hands and powerful technique. Don't let your hands slip, keep them strong against the water, and stroke hard. Don't flail.
• Alternatively – you can use the ‘iron man’ technique when you are kneeling on the board. Find the technique that works for you and go for it!

MAKE SURE YOU WARM UP BEFORE YOU START THE AUSTRALIA DAY SURFBOARD CHALLENGE OR WHEN YOU ARE TRAINING.

You need to warm up the muscles and tendons that will help propel you to the finish line. It will also reduce the risk of muscle injury or cramp whilst you are paddling. Warming up your shoulders is the key!

NUITRITION

Maintaining a balanced diet will keep you healthy and will also give you energy – carbohydrates such as pasta and rice are great. Eating lots of fruit and vegetables will give you an advantage.

Also having a snack or meal around the time you take in fluids will assist your body in retaining the fluid. Snacks such as a sandwich, crackers, muesli/breakfast bar, handful of rice crackers or a fruit bun are all excellent choices.

Have a variety of fluids on hand. Water, cordial, juice and sports drink are all good options. Using a combination of fluids will provide a range of tastes throughout the day which will often stimulate your fluid intake.

Sports drink, cordial and juice offer the added benefit of simultaneously assisting to meet your daily carbohydrate needs. These choices are likely to be best straight after racing as they will assist in rehydration and refuelling your active muscles.

During extremely hot conditions, when sweat losses are unusually high, it is useful to include fluids that contain electrolytes as this will help your body retain the fluid consumed. Sports drinks have an advantage over other beverages as they contain small amounts of sodium and potassium which assist with rehydration.

Keep your drinks cooled in an insulated container. It is likely that your fluid intake will decrease if your fluid is warm and unappealing. Use a couple of frozen juice poppers to keep your other drinks cold - once the poppers are semi-defrosted, they are a refreshing fluid choice.

RACE DAY

Getting your food and fluid intake right on competition day is critical to paddling well.

Carbohydrate is the preferred fuel source for events. The following tips will assist in meeting fuel needs while completing the Australia Day Surfboard Challenge.

Be sure to have a carbohydrate-rich meal at the start of the day. (At least one hour prior to the race) A breakfast based around foods such as cereal, toast, baked beans, spaghetti, pancakes, juice and fruit will offer you the best start to the day of racing.

If you are too nervous to eat on race day substitute your breakfast with a liquid meal supplement such as PowerBar Protein Plus Drinkpowder or Sustagen Sport. These are a carbohydrate-rich, easily digested, low-fibre option.

Sports drinks, cordial and juice assist athletes in meeting carbohydrate and fluid needs simultaneously. Using a combination of these fluids along with your favourite carbohydrate snacks will assist in meeting daily carbohydrate needs while paddling.

WHAT ELSE??

Get a good night’s sleep before the race.

Make sure you wear waterproof sunscreen and Grab some mates and enter the Australia Day Surfboard Challenge NOW!