APM's Nik paddles way to world championships

“You don’t have to be ready for a challenge, you just have to be prepared to work hard.”

APM’s Nik Hoey (pictured right) could easily be talking about what makes her one of the top performing employment consultants in Townsville - but she’s actually referring to her experience representing Australia in the world championship of outrigging off the shores of Tahiti.

Armed with a paddle, determination and the support of APM teammates following every race from their Aitkenvale branch, Nik joined paddlers from across the globe at the VA’A World Sprint Championships.

Taking on the best in the world at outrigging – or Va’a as Tahiti’s national sport is known locally – Nik and her Far North Queensland Masters 40+ Crew, achieved the best position of any Australian team in the competition.

Reaching four finals and one semi-final, Nik and the crew narrowly missed out on medals when they clinched fourth place in two final races.

“While we did not medal, we’re proud of our performances, running clean races every time and working the strongest we could as a team,” Nik said.

“The competition was at its toughest - and knowing how hard we worked we have nothing but respect for the work our competitors put in.”

“Tahiti don’t usually travel to other events around the world because the strongest competition is in their own backyard. So we really were up against the best in the world,” she added.

Nik, a Disability Employment Services consultant, returned to the Aitkenvale branch and her APM crew on Monday morning.

Business Manager Laura Jones said everyone was proud of Nik’s achievements and the competition had brought the whole team closer together.

“It’s a great achievement in her personal life. We had a group chat going so we could all follow her and Nik sent back links so we could watch the race together,” she said.

“Nik is a major figure in the team here and we’re very proud of her.”

You can see video of Nik in action during the Masters 40+ Women’s V6 1000 Final for Australia here… (She’s in boat 4!)