When three times Olympian slalom canoeist Warwick Draper cut his foot on glass a few days before the 2016 Victorian Slalom Championships, he was told the wound dressing had to be kept dry. Not easy when you’re racing on water! Thankfully Jill
Bassett, mother to Lachlan, one of the upcoming stars Warwick is coaching, came up with the perfect solution.
“I knew about Bloccs covers from Jill but hadn’t thought about using one until she suggested it,” said Warwick. “I put one on and it was 100% effective, completely watertight. Without the cover I wouldn’t have been able to compete – as it was I scored the fastest time of the day.”
Warwick Draper, from Melbourne, is one of Australia’s most successful slalom canoeists. He started paddling in 1991 when he was just 16 and represented his country for the first time in 1998. Olympic appearances for Australia followed in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. In the 2008 Games, he produced one of the greatest performances of his career to qualify second fastest for the K-1 final, finishing fifth overall.
“I’m so pleased to have been able to help Warwick out,” said Jill Bassett, who distributes Bloccs products in Australia. “He’s such a great competitor, it would have been awful if his injury had stopped him from taking part.
“Keeping a wound dressing or cast dry when you’re so close to the water is impossible without the total waterproof protection that a Bloccs cover gives you. Wearing his, Warwick was not only able to race impressively fast through the water but also to shower and swim.”
ProtectaCast Australia is the distributor of the UK-based Bloccs waterproof range.