Major Upset in Shaw & Partners Dash for Cash as Junior Sweeps the Board

Noah Harvard on his way to collecting $5,500 courtesy of the Shaw and Partners Dash for Cash Credits: Alese Watson Photography

You’d think that in a field studded with Olympians, Aussie SLS Champions and Iron Men, competition would be intense… but you wouldn’t expect one athlete to dominate no fewer than four races in row. But that’s what happened.

Sydney-based U19 paddler Noah Harvard beat some of the best surfski paddlers in the world to win not only the U19 category, but every heat in the Open category too, to walk away 2019 Shaw and Partners Dash for Cash champion – and with a cool $5,500 to boot.

Dash for Cash

Shaw and Partners started the Dash for Cash in 2018 and it was an instant hit. Combine the world’s fastest paddlers with a short distance knock-out sprint format, spice the mixture with a fat wad of dollars and you’ve got some fireworks and proper crowd pleaser.

In the inaugural year in 2018, South African Jasper Mocke took the win. “You might think that a short paddle doesn’t take it out of you,” he said, “but it’s so intense!”

The race course comprised a 600m straight paddle into the beach, with a short run up the sand.

Competitors in each category competed in heats for fifteen spots in the final. Each final comprised two heats, in which the slowest five paddlers were eliminated, leaving the last five standing to compete in the final of the final!

In the open categories, the prize money went to the winner of each race:

• 1^st Race: $500
• 2^nd Race: $1,000
• 3^rd Race: $3,500 (and as consolation the other four paddlers earned $125 each).

Women’s Dash

Competition was intense, with multiple boats arriving on the same wave, and paddlers sprinting up the beach

Tasmania’s Georgia Laird dominated the women’s event – but in the first race tripped in the sand metres from the finish, to let Jordan Mercer through for the win.

But she made no mistakes in the last two races, sprinting through each time to take a total of $4,500 home.

“It was such fun – and such exciting racing this morning,” she said. “To be honest, it was so close and so competitive, it could have been anybody’s day.

“It was a great hit out before the race tomorrow,” she added. “I can’t wait!”

Men’s Dash

In Men’s event, it was U19 campaigner Noah Harvard who blew the opposition away, albeit in a tightly fought set of races.

He managed not only to win the U19 race, but also to win both heats and the final; this against Olympians, Australian surf lifesaving champions and iron men… Not only that but both the principals of his main sponsor, Epic Kayaks, were there on the beach, watching. How good is that?

Noah Harvard disembarks... in a manic lunge for the finish line

“I’m absolutely stoked,” he said. “I absolutely love it. For someone like Earl Evans to come and put all this money into the sport is great and I’m really appreciative.

And a shout out for sponsors, who not only put up the cash, but love the sport for the sake of it.

Next up: The Shaw and Partners “The Doctor”

Conditions look fantastic for the Doctor tomorrow. If all goes to plan, the SUPs and early starters will set off on the 28km course from Rottnest Island to Sorrento Beach at around 11h30 am while the surfskis will be sent off around midday.

The forecast is for classic Perth Doctor conditions – 11kt of SSW at 11am, strengthening steadily to around 20kt an hour or two later.

What the Ocean Paddler Facebook page for updates and surfski.info for a race report in the next few days.

Shaw and Partners WA Race Week

The race was the second event in the Shaw and Partners Race Week in Perth, Western Australia.

The week-long festival comprises:

• Sunday, 17 Nov: Fenn West Coast Downwinder
• Tuesday, 19 Nov: Ben Hewitt Sunset Surfski Series Race
• Thursday, 21 Nov: Ben Hewitt Sunset Surfski Series Race
• Friday, 22 Nov: The Shaw and Partners Dash for Cash
• Saturday, 23 Nov: The Shaw and Partners “The Doctor”

The $100,000 prize pool comprises:

• Shaw and Partners Dash for Cash: $15,000
• Shaw and Partners “The Doctor”: $50,000
• Shaw and Partners WA Race Week series overall: $35,000

Click here for the latest series points scores

Results