[1] Born in Oakville, Ontario, Simon McTavish moved with his family to Sydney, Australia where he began paddling in 2011 at the age of 14.

In 2019, at the conclusion of his Project Management Degree at the University of Sydney, Simon moved back to Canada and secured his spot on the Canadian National Team in May at the Olympic Basin in Montreal, Canada, winning the k1 1000m and the k4 500m races.

In 2019 he qualified an Olympic quota spot for Canada at the World Championships in Szeged, Hungary with his teammates Mark de Jonge, Pierre Luc Poulin, and Nicholas Matveev in the K4 500m.

Simon went on to fulfil his dream of competing for Canada at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, taking place in August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since moving to Canada Simon has represented the Mississauga Canoe Club domestically earning 11 National Championship titles to his name.