Lachlan Dand, Murray Pioneer
Following the success of the 2024 Australian BAD Boat Championships, in conjunction with the upcoming 2026 event, Riverland Powerboat Club members last week competed in national championships in Victoria.
Held at Yarrawonga, three members of the club competed in the EC Griffith Cup weekend, with Daniel Jury finishing second in the 105 mp/h championship.
Riverland Powerboat Club spokesperson Kane Tschirpig, who competed alongside brother Troy, said it was a successful run for the local members.
“Dan obviously got second, and for myself and Troy it was our first weekend in the new boat, so we were just getting a feel for that, so we didn’t do too well,” he said.
“It’s a pretty big event over there, and there were probably around 10,000 people there, so for Dan to do so well was awesome.
“We’re a pretty small club here in the Riverland, but we’ve got some members who are competing at a fairly high level, and getting some really good results against people from right around Australia which was exceptional.”
Since the powerboats hit the water in Berri last year, the club has seen a boost in participation numbers, with more people becoming involved in the highoctane sport.
“We had a club day event over the Australia Day long weekend, and we’ve had really good crowd numbers at all of our events this season,” Mr Tschirpig said.
“Hopefully we can get that exposure out there for the sport because we’ve got a lot of young kids coming through, so it’s about trying to keep them interested and going through the ranks.
“The club days are massive for us because we use them as a practice day, and to keep people interested in the sport too.
“We’re into the preparations of everything now and we’ve confirmed a few people will be coming from the USA and New Zealand, so they’ll all be coming to Berri.
“Round one will be in Mildura this time, so we’re hoping to have a bigger crowd as it’s a bit closer, and we see that as a real positive.”
This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 30 April 2025.
