ABOUT six months ago a group of women took up paddling with the Maroro Kanu Club in Port Macquarie.
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Between them, they had a total zero experience when they hit the water for the first time.
This weekend though, the group heads to Penrith for the Australian National Titles.
Chayanne Harihi, Kerry Owens, Leanne Haldane, Mandy Worth, Julie Stein-McAsey, Juels Pellow and Julie Smith will compete against almost 40 teams from Queensland, Victoria and NSW in a 500m and 1000m sprint.
They're fit, they're ready and they're sending out a warning to the others.
"Eat our spray," Smith jokes.
"Just try and catch us, we'll be gone."
The women are committed to the sport.
They're up at 5am four mornings a week to train on the Hastings River with coach and club president Brendan Kete.
Their first competition was a 15km race down the Brisbane River recently.
They finished, but were beaten to the line by a boat led by former Olympic swimmer Lisa Curry-Kenny.
The group hopes for a better result this time around and, if the training times are anything to judge by, it just might be competitive.
The women are paddling 500m in two minutes 15 seconds and cover 1000m in five minutes and eight seconds.
Both times would have got them into the finals at last year's championships.
"We've been doing a lot of work," Pellow said.
"We're training hard and in there with a good chance."
And, whatever result they come home with, be assured the group will be proud of itself and back on the river preparing for the next competition because the women enjoy it.