A woman born and bred on the Isle of Wight is set to represent the USA at a world championship event.
Nikki Ridley-Miles, a former resident of Freshwater who was born and brought up on the Island, has been selected to represent the USA in the fast-growing sport of outrigger canoe racing.
The former Freshwater and Shanklin resident, whose late mother Shirley Miles played a key role in establishing Freshwater’s famous indoor pool, has lived in Southern California since the mid 1980s.
She only took up the sport of outrigger canoe racing six years ago having joined her local club in Dana Point, California.
She will now represent the USA at the IVF World Long Distance Outrigger championships which have been organised by The Samoa Outrigger Canoe Association and are being held in Apia City which is the capital city of the South Pacific island nation of Samoa.
Teams from 27 countries will be competing in this year’s world championships.
It is a sport that has grown rapidly and is now popular well beyond the Pacific Islands into Florida, Bermuda, the Caribbean as well as much of Southern California.
Nikki is no stranger to competitive water sports having represented the Isle of Wight in many national swimming competitions during her youth.
She admits she has been bitten by the bug of outrigger canoe racing quite late in life but describes herself as always having been very competitive.
She said:
"Although I do seem to have taken to it quite naturally, am shocked and surprised but very proud to have the opportunity to represent my adopted country in my chosen sport.
"Outrigging is a tough sport covering some long distances and is a real test of both teamwork and endurance."
Each canoe has a crew of 6 and courses are set in open sea with distances of 15 –20 nautical miles having to be navigated non-stop from point to point.
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