HELP SOFIA CHASE THE GREEN & GOLD — AND BRISBANE 2032

At just 16 years old, Gold Coast sprint kayaker Sofia Payne has gone from being relatively new to the sport to becoming an Australian representative and formally categorised high-performance athlete in the space of one extraordinary break-through year!

And now, the next challenge begins.

Sofia’s upcoming domestic season starts with Grand Prix 1 in Adelaide - December '26, Grand Prix 2 in Penrith - February '27 and the Australian Canoe Sprint Championships, back in Penrith in March '27, where she will be racing for the opportunity to represent Australia again... this time at the Junior World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in July 2027.

Her long-term dream remains clear:

Brisbane Olympics 2032.

A BREAKTHROUGH YEAR

Sofia was only 15 years old throughout the 2026 season, yet established herself among Australia's leading young sprint kayak athletes.

At Paddle Australia Grand Prix 2 in Penrith, she delivered her first major breakthrough:

🥇 Gold — U16 K1 500m, PB

🥇 Gold — U16 K4 500m

4th — U16 K1 200m A Final

Just weeks later at the Australian Canoe Sprint Championships in Perth, she backed that performance up on the national stage.

🥇 Australian Champion — U16 K1 1000m, PB

🥇 Australian Champion — U16 K4 500m

🥈 Silver — U16 K1 500m

🥉 Bronze — U16 K1 200m

Sofia also chose to race up into the U18 age group to stretch herself against older athletes:

🥇 Australian Champion — U18 K4 500m, PB

🥈 Silver — U18 K1 1000m

6th — U18 K1 500m A Final, PB

That season earned Sofia something she had dreamed about; her first opportunity to represent Australia.

FIRST TIME IN THE GREEN & GOLD

Sofia was selected for the Australian U16 team to compete at the Asia Pacific Sprint Cup in New Zealand (May 2026).

Against international competition she produced:

🥉 3rd — K2 500m

🥉 3rd — K4 500m

K1 500m A Final — PB pace

Her K1 final also delivered one of the tougher lessons of her young career. Sofia was on track for approximately a 2:04.7 finish (almost 3sec faster than her current PB) and challenging at the front of the race when she fell from the kayak with around 50 metres remaining.

It was heartbreaking... but also showed just how quickly the gap to international-level racing is closing.

NOW OFFICIALLY PART OF AUSTRALIA'S HIGH-PERFORMANCE PATHWAY

Following her 2026 domestic season, Paddle Australia formally reviewed Sofia's performances and elevated her to EMERGING athlete categorisation.

That decision has now been ratified by the Australian Institute of Sport, formally recognising Sofia within Australia's high-performance Canoe Sprint program.

For a 16-year-old athlete still early in her development, it is an enormously exciting milestone!

But categorisation and selection don't remove the financial reality of pursuing high-performance sport.

They create more opportunities - and more costs.

THE NEXT TARGET: JUNIOR WORLDS 2027

The next chapter begins with:

December 2026 — Grand Prix 1, Adelaide

February 2027 — Grand Prix 2, Penrith

March 2027 — Australian Canoe Sprint Championships, Penrith

Performances across the domestic season will determine whether Sofia can earn another Australian team selection.

Her target is clear:

Junior World Championships

Plovdiv, Bulgaria — July 2027

That would be another significant step toward competing against the world's best junior paddlers; and another step along a pathway she hopes will ultimately lead to an Australian Olympic team.

WHY WE'RE FUNDRAISING

Sprint kayaking is an equipment-intensive international sport.

As Sofia progresses, her opportunities increasingly require significant family funding for:

• interstate flights and accommodation
• international competition travel
• Australian team levies and racing costs
• race entry fees
• training camps
• competition surf ski, kayak and paddles
• equipment transport
• strength, recovery and athlete development
• ongoing high-performance preparation.

The better she performs, the further she has to travel.

Our goal is simple:

We don't want finances to be the reason Sofia has to say no to an opportunity she has earned.

Through the Australian Sports Foundation, individuals and businesses can make eligible tax-deductible donations directly toward supporting Sofia's sporting journey.

Every contribution helps.

Whether it helps cover a race entry, a flight, accommodation, physio sessions, equipment, a new kayak, or part of the considerable cost of representing Australia internationally, it gives Sofia one more opportunity to keep progressing.

THE LONG ROAD AHEAD

There are many races, selections, setbacks and years of work between being a promising 16-year-old and standing on an Olympic start line.

We know that.

So does Sofia.

But she has already shown what can happen when she is given the opportunity to test herself.

In one season she became a national champion, Australian representative and AIS-ratified Emerging athlete.

Now she wants to find out how far she can go.

Junior Worlds 2027.

Then the next challenge.

Then the next.

And, one day, perhaps:

Brisbane 2032.

Thank you for being part of Sofia's journey and helping her continue to say yes to the opportunities she earns.