Media Ambassador winner Steve West admitted into WPA Academy
Video interview and Writer: Nicolaas Harding | Video production: Gijs Takken
Steve West wins 2014 Media Ambassador of the Year and is further honoured by being appointed as a World Paddle Awards Academy member.
Canoe outrigger-windsurf-stand up paddle expert Steve West (GBR) won the Media Ambassador at the world premier of the Paddle Awards in Augsburg at the weekend. Much to his surprise and which he found out only yesterday, he was also selected by Academy Members to become a member himself.
Steve has proudly accepted the offer, he joins the association of the greatest living sporting legends and other figureheads in paddlesports with the likes of Clint Robinson (AUS) – World Champion in 5 different paddlesports including in 6-man outrigger and surf lifesaving board, Birgit Fischer (GER) – 12-time Olympic medallist in kayak sprint and Richard Fox (GBR) – 10-time world champion in kayak slalom.
“I would be honoured in being a member of the WPA Academy and thank you for thinking of me!”
Steve will now be involved in the decision-making and voting for next year's awards – location to be announced soon. However, he will no longer be able to win another Golden Paddle!
At the world premier ceremony on Saturday night Steve, originally from Hayling Island, UK but but born in Africa, received his shimmering carbon Golden Paddle from the Mayor of Augsburg Dr. Kurt Gribl.
“An awards like this is very much needed. Paddlesports tend to fly under the radar often, this way it brings it to the surface a little bit so there can be more, ironically, more media attention to the media but also to paddlesports in general, so yeah, very pleased!”
Steve dedicated his award to the Pacific Islands, of which he is also a leading academics on the region and has spent many years of his life working with communities there to develop canoe outrigger programmes.
In his post-ceremony video interview he explains how, “the culture is one of the primary driving forces of outrigger, beyond any other paddlesport you can think of. The level of culture there; the spirituality, the metaphysical, the resonance you have with the Melonesian, Micronesian and Polynesian people is like no other paddlesport and that is what keeps people connected to it.”
For aspiring journalists and writers out there, Steve outlines how he natured his writing initially from his experiences travelling, competing and providing localised advice to then publishing an interconnected volume of books that went global. He outlines how editorial has changed the '80s, both with good and bad consequences.
And with regard to stand up paddleboarding, Steve's interview is also ground-breaking as it praises how the sport has acquired its global popularity very quickly, both for members of the public and in high-performance competition, but he also warns of how SUP is evolving for worse rather than better and how the need for effective inter-country and inter-federation collaboration is more important now than ever before.
Congratulations once again to Steve West for both his award win and Academy membership!
Links
- Steve's publications at kanuculture.com
- Steve West WPA Academy member profile