Ambassadors & Athletes


AMBASSADORS

Norm Hann

Norm Hann 🇨🇦

Norm Hann is Quick Water Canada's Sunova Technical Rep. You can Contact Norm about any questions you have about a Quick Water Canada Product.

Norm has been working with Sunova Surfboards and Quick Water Canada for the last few years and is really excited to continue supporting an innovative surf and sup brand like Sunova here in Canada. Norm is driving the touring design of their expeditions boards with his passion for remote coastal adventures. Paddle surf Canada's remote cold water breaks is another area where he will be able to promote the unique, beautifully designed line up of Sunova Surfboards.

Norm has been at the forefront of standup paddleboarding in Canada since 2008 as an expedition guide, Paddle Canada Instructor, Trainer and distance athlete. Norm has competed in numerous sup events and races around the world in the last decade with a couple highlights being the first canadian to cross the finish line at the Molokai2Oahu Paddleboard Championships and more recently as part of the first group of standup paddle boarders to finish the 717km Yukon River.

Norm's Expedition company offers world class multi day paddleboard trips with a focus on experiences to the Great Bear Rainforest on the north coast of British Columbia. Through his instruction business he has introduced thousands of people to the sport here in Canada and continues to be an ambassador for paddleboarding. Norm is most proud of his conservation expeditions and work to protect the BC Coastline through his Standup4GreatBear and STAND Expeditions. He continues to share the message of conservation, as a sought after speaker, Norm continues to use coastal expedition paddling and his years spent in the Great Bear Rainforest to bring education to advocated presentations and to elementary and high school students through his “Take a Stand for Conservation” Program.

In 2010, with the threat of oil tankers in the Great Bear Rainforest, he paddled the 400km proposed tanker route on an expedition called Standup4Greatbear. A few years later he was part of the award winning adventure conservation documentary called Stand, a project which again brought more awareness to the threat of oil tankers on the north coast.

Norm lives in Squamish with his partner Jen and son Kiel.

STAND
Standup4GreatBear
Norm's Expedition company


ATHLETES

Lina Augaitis

Lina Augaitis 🇨🇦

Originally from Ottawa, ON Canada now lives and trains in Vernon BC Canada. Lina Augaitis spent much of her youth as a competitive gymnast.  In 2003 after a move out west she began exploring outdoor adventures beginning with rock climbing then, trail running, mountain biking and backcountry skiing.  By 2007 Lina was competing in triathlons, marathons, and adventure races. In 2010 Lina discovered the sport of stand up paddleboarding (SUP) by chance, while visiting California.

She has since established herself as one of the world’s top female standup paddlers. She has built momentum with wins around the world in 2014, she became the ISA World Champion in Nicaragua (Distance), the "FASTEST FEMALE PADDLER ON EARTH" (2014and 2015), 2014 Battle of the Paddle Distance and overall champion as well as the Overall 2014 World Series World Champion. She is also the first Canadian female to complete Molokai 2 Oahu and the first Canadian SUP Champion (14ft).  In 2016 she won the ISA World Championship Sprint race and became the first female to officially complete the Yukon River Quest (750km race).

Most recently in 2019, she finished an amazing 2nd in the distance race and 4th in the sprint at the APP World Tour in London, England, and also represented Canada at the Pan Am Games in Peru.

sunovasurfboards.com/en/biography/lina-augaitis-bio

https://www.outdoorvancouver.ca/lina-augaitis-interview-sup/

explore-mag.com/Profile-Lina-Augaitis-The-Fastest-Woman-on-Water
totalsup.com/news/lina-augaitis-parenting-paddling-breastfeeding-stand-up-paddling/ 


Geordie Goodman

Geordie Goodman 🇨🇦

Patrolling the sand as the Head Lifeguard on Vancouver's busiest beach, constant trips in and out of the water are nothing new to Geordie. After being introduced to SUP by a coworker, he's been in love with it ever since and has gone on to hold a top rank amongst Canadian paddlers in the SUP racing scene.

A former collegiate athlete, Geordie thrives on the challenge that competitive SUP racing brings and continues to be motivated to improve his expanding ocean skill set.


Leanne Stanley

Leanne Stanley 🇨🇦

Leanne began her paddling career in marathon canoe back in 1998. Her paddling evolved to incorporate dragon boat, outrigger, sup and surfski over the past 20 years. She has won numerous individual Canadian titles in marathon canoe and outrigger as well as several team titles at the World Dragon Boat and Outrigger Sprint Championships, along with a team win at Queen Lili, a 4th at Na Wahine O Ke Kai, and 4th at the 2017 inaugural World Va'a Distance Championships with Team Canada. 2017 was a break out season for Leanne with a 4th in the V1 (rudderless outrigger) at the World Distance Championships in Tahiti, a 2nd place Canadian finish at the Canadian Surfski Championships followed up a week later with a win in the OC1 at the Gorge Downwind Championships.

Leanne is happiest when sharing her passion for paddling with others.With all the travelling, coaching and racing that Leanne has done, her favourite paddling experience has been helping with the development of the Kelowna Paddle Centre. The unique combination of outrigger, surfski and SUP programing, paddling excellence, social events and community has put Kelowna on the radar of many of the world’s paddling elite.

One thing Leanne never leaves home without is her insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (mostly because they are attached to her). As an athlete with Type 1 Diabetes, Leanne demonstrates that with careful planning and listening to your body, people with Type 1 can compete with the best in the world.

With her KPC teammates pushing her in every workout, Leanne currently has her sights set on the next World Outrigger Championships, and in the coming years, a top 10 placing at Te Aito and her first Molokai Solo.


Cyril Burguire 🇺🇸

Cyril Burguiere is a French/US national living just south of the Canadian border in Northwest Montana. Cyril’s career and lifestyle revolves around sustainability and in particular wind energy. He has worked in the wind energy industry since its early days and has managed some of the largest wind energy projects in California, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

As an athlete, Cyril has achieved quite a bit of success. A two time NCAA Division 1 Academic All American in Track & Field and Civil Engineering. He has been SUP racing for the past 10 years and has won almost every local race he has entered within the Northwest and the Northeast during a 2 year stint when he lived in Montreal, Quebec. He also regularly finishing in the top 10 at all of the big US races.

Cyril takes sustainability seriously and made it guide both his career, how he lives and the products he uses. When living in Portland, Oregon, he was known as “that guy” who commuted to work every single day by SUP and bike.

You can now find Cyril most summer days down-winding or foiling on his favourite lake, St. Mary Lake, using some of that wind energy for his own personal pleasure before it heads on up into Canada to power our some of our businesses and homes.


Marty Chomik 🇨🇦

Marty has made a life as an adventurer and waterman from his earliest years. When he’s not with his young family, wife Freya and two boys, you will find him out on the water kitesurfing, surfing, SUP’ing or Foiling in all its iterations. Graduating from Mount Royal University in the Outdoor Pursuits program in the 1996, he moved to whistler and spent over a decade as a mountain adventurer. Much of his passion was poured into White-water Kayaking where he worked as an instructor and explored most of the world class rivers and creeks found in BC and internationally. Along the way he attained a degree in Environmental management and is a member of the A.Sc.T-BC (Association of Science and Technologists) as an Environmental Technologist.

Marty is an experience fabricator and designer, working with composites for both construction and repair. He knows how things are put together and how they fall apart. As an Environmental practitioner involved in ProjectManagement for the DND, he finds his values aligned with the vision that Quick Water Canada strives to achieve- offering the highest quality and most sustainable products available as well as supporting companies thatinvest in quality and sustainability.

Marty is a well-known waterman on Vancouver Island and he now lives in Sooke, BC which enables him to spend more time to be on the ocean and to explore what the Island has to offer. If you see him at the beach chasing surf or harnessing a 40 knot gales, say hi and you will most likely get wrapped into a passionate discussion about the conditions of the day and the gear he is using!

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Christopher Curran 🇨🇦

From a very young age, Christopher has had a deep affinity for the water as well as the "flow state" that so often accompanies the experience of riding waves or being propelled by the wind. Early family vacations to Maui opened his eyes to the possibilities and magic offered by the ocean. Windsurfing from the age of 9, and kitesurfing since 2008, his greatest passion still lies in riding southern Oregon coast groundswell in gale force winds. An accomplished athlete in high school (basketball, volleyball and track), he eventually set his sights on rowing for the University of British Columbia. While the experience of rowing at a high level was rewarding, he found himself missing his true calling to be back in the water as a windsurfer, kiteboarder, and surf-chaser, and happily returned to the fold.                                                                                   
Today Christopher's fire for these pursuits burns strong as ever, but he now enjoys sharing these activities with his wife and 8 year old daughter in locations around the world. Water and action photography has been added to his interests over the years and he is excited for the possibilities to come as an ambassador athlete/photographer for Quick Water Canada.

Jake Collard 🇨🇦

 There is nothing Jake would rather be doing than to be on the ocean. 

Truly passionate about riding waves, he is always looking to improve and sharpen his surfing technique. A skilled Jiu Jitsu grappler, he now translates all those skills to mastering the waves. Thankfully, Jake gets just as much joy from teaching others to progress their surfing as he does himself. This makes Jake invaluable as a surf coach and a treasure to be on the water with.