Returning home from her first Open squad experience at the recent ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged, Jasmine Rayward is holding tight to her Race One paddle as she pursues success on top of her ski and in her kayak.
At the conclusion of the 2025 Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships Jasmine was
named Female Competitor of the Carnival, she walked off the beach with half a dozen gold medals in one hand, held onto her paddle in the other, entered a kayaking training camp the very next day before boarding a plane to Hungary to compete on the kayaking world stage.
“Let's just say in the off-season there was a lot of kayak training!” Jasmine laughed.
“I didn't really get much of a holiday, but it was a really good training experience.”
When Jazzy speaks of training, a sense of passion comes through with her words.
Training for Surf Sports; juggling 4 individual disciplines, balancing the mental and physical load, work, friendships and family, the addition of kayaking, the commitment, time and effort appears to simply bring another level of happiness to her life.
When asked what has sport given her, Jazzy’s raw and honest answer may bring a tear to
the eye of a sportsperson.
“It’s everything really!” She said without a moment of hesitation.
The words falling fast out of her mouth with pure honesty.
“I mean, it’s my entire life!”
“It’s what I wake up every day for, it’s what life is all about and I just enjoy it so much, it’s
where my family is, it’s where my friends are!”
Her vibrant energy bursting through with each word, Jazzy finished up with a sentence that everyone and anyone around the world, involved with sport can relate to.
“It’s an amazing community, and I, I just love it! Sport - it’s everything really!”
Loving every moment of her kayaking journey, Jazzy’s racing in Szeged was a great
experience for her future in the sport.
“It was my first time in an Open squad which was pretty cool, and to experience that sort of environment for kayaking was great.”
Heading back to Portugal in the coming weeks, joined by sister and rising star Bianca, Jazzy finds herself in a space of excitement as she hunts success in her kayak and her Race One Ski.
“I'm really trying to see how well I can go in the kayak,” she spoke.
“I was a bit disappointed last year, but I'm really excited to have another crack and represent the country as best as I can.”
For her first sporting love, Surf Lifesaving, and its upcoming BIG season with big changes, Jazzy is eager to kick off the summer calendar with confidence that her strength from her kayak will give her an edge in the exciting summer that lay ahead.
“All I can say is, I am glad I’ve been doing so much kayaking,” she giggled.
“I have been doing a lot of running and look forward to racing!”
Despite the many doors that open, the opportunities that continue to rise and the shear
talent and hard work that Jasmine Rayward continues to experience and execute, our
humble Race One teenager continues to keep her head level and her heart on her sleeve.
“I don’t really want to place any expectations on where I may be in 1 year or in 5 years’ time, for now, I am just trying to enjoy this year, embracing the opportunities that arise from Shaw and Partners Financial Services and Race One.” She spoke.
With a glimmer in her eye, there was a small mention of gold.
“I do hope that the future does hold a few more gold medals!”
Riding her Race One craft, accompanied by her work ethic, determination, passion and maturity, we at Race One know that the only future for Jazzy Rayward, is plated with Gold.
