Paddle Mag 2 2018 April / May

Issue 2 2018

WIN! The New

Mat Bag p45

Peek Sprinters Sisters Tell All Dominate

+

Full Race Calendars

Dawid Mocke busting Myths

Spot Yourself: Out & About

NEW: Club Chat

FOLLOW LIVE! CLICK HERE: www.canoepololive.co.za

Find out more facebook.com/SouthAfricanCanoePolo

Contents FEATURES 12 peek sisters

Dominating the FNB DUSI 2018

20 SprinteRS

Get to know some of the best

32

BUSTED

Eating Myths by Dawid Mocke

49

bite me

Energy bars on the cheap

RACES IN REVIEW 36 Rio Negro

International regatta

Safas representing

41 High altitude ski championships of gauteng

28km

Oceana around Robben Island and back

ONLINE ENTRIES & INFO sasurfski.com/freedompaddle

REGULARS 10 a word from you 46 Opinion by Celliers Kruger The folly of boat selection

53 PRODUCT REVIEW The NEW Mat Bag

Send your letters to admin@thepaddlemag.co.za

FIND us on the WEB thepaddlemag.co.za FB @thepaddlemag

on the cover ISSUE 2 / 2018

46 clubs

Toti Watersports Club West Coast Canoe Club

61 Out and about

Spot yourself at Dusi, Hout Bay and Sprints

68 Calendars

Canoeing and Surfski events around the country, get training and planning

75 view from the back of the boat

CONTRIBUTORS Jennie Dallas Dawid Mocke Celliers Kruger

Toti Watersports Club West Coast Canoe Club

PUBLISHER Terrence Pomeroy-Ward terrence@thepaddlemag.co.za AD SALES admin@thepaddlemag.co.za DESIGNER Tracy Ward ADMIN admin@thepaddlemag.co.za

PADDLERS Cana and Jordan Peek IMAGE Supplied by athelets EVENT FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY Jennie Dallas Canoeicf.com South African Water Polo Graham Daniel grant_hewitt15

Sonja Bohnsack Toti Watersports Club West Coast Canoe Club World Paddle Awards

PUBLISHED ON Issuu.com

IMAGE World Paddle Awards

NOTE FROM THE ED the

What a year it has been so far, Fantastic 2 Day Klip, a low low Drak followed by a not so low Dusi and then a wonderful level Umko on the river front. And what amazing racing we have seen. Who would have guessed that the top 4 boats on day two of the Dusi would be paddling in in almost diamond formation? In the ladies race it was almost impossible to call before the race with all three top boats having such incredibly strong paddlers

in all of them. And then it was won by the runners – who knew?

While most of us were licking our wounds after the Dusi, Hank McGregor jetted off to Silkeborg, Denmark for the World Paddle Awards. Here he received recognition and the award for the Most Outstanding Achievement for 2017. I am sure that you join us in saying a Huge Congratulations to him for this phenomenal award.

Having the pleasure of interviewing him last year we are absolutely delighted that finally the rest of the world has acknowledged how good he is.

While on the topic of amazing achievements we would also like to wish our Youth Olympic Games team all the very best for their qualifier regatta in Barcelona

from the 12 – 15 April. This is an outstanding achievement just to make the qualifier. Team SA will be represented by Lizzie Conradie, Pierre van der Westhuyzen and Kwanda Mzolo and we are looking forward to watching them go through to the Youth Olympic Games later in the year.

Then rushing up to us, are a number of exciting events. The first of which is our distant cousins with the short boats are organising canoe polo SA Champs in Knysna over the Easter Weekend.

For all of you who wish that you could snack your opponent with a paddle – this is the one to watch!

Check out their ad in the mag for all the useful links to their games. If you are in the area for the Easter weekend do pop in to watch a game, they would love to have the support and it is good to meet up with the cousins once in a while.

Then straight after that there is SA Sprints and followed by that SA Schools sprints at Roodeplaat Dam. These are the cousins you wish that you spent more time with, with their super skinny boats, lightning reflexes and broad shoulders. We can all dream! This is amazing to watch and realise that their eyes are not set on just SA’s but on the World Cup regattas that they hope to attend this year as they try and qualify for 2020 Olympics.

That is no mean feat – training your heart out and staying focused for a 200m dash in 2 years’ time.

The level of commitment and independence that these paddlers show is the stuff books should be written about. On the admin side - the short notice has left the poor organisers a little skinny in the personal department so if you are able to help on any of the days please would you let Jennie Dallas know.

If I were to put out a challenge this year it would be that you either attend a paddling workshop or that you help organise one. I was delighted to hear that Hayley Nixon and Andy Birkett had given one before the HASSC and you will see that Kenny Rice and Shanti Stewart are giving one in May. I have signed up for Kenny and Shanti’s one already! Do yourself a favour and get to a workshop this year.

There are lots of really good paddlers all over this country so ask them to give a workshop or if you are that good arrange one at your local club for beginners/ kids or just people who want to paddle better. We spend hours with these people doing are best to catch up to them, we spend a fortune on equipment trying to be better; next time spend the money on you and get some great advice!

See you on the water, Ed.

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A WORD FROM YOU...

Send your letters to admin@thepaddlemag.co.za

LETTER from you...

Dear Ed. Thank you for a great mag and the effort that you put in to it!

Please would you pass on my gratitude to the family that helped my husband and daughter (who was doing her first Duzi this year) at the top of Inanda Dam. They had not reached the FNB water station, it was above the bridge. They were taking on a lot of water and had run out of juice long before that. Then they met this family on the banks of the river in a red bakkie who fixed their canoe and fed them before sending them on their way.

I am sorry we did not get their names or any other details in order to say thank you properly so we would like to try and reach them through your publication to say thank you so much. My family finished and loved it thanks to you.

Sarah

Dry bag Mat to change on Wet bag for all your wet gear hello@bottomlinesa.co.za

IMAGE Graham Daniel

Peek Sisters

Conquer the Dusi

IMAGE Graham Daniel

After their emphatic win at this year’s FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon the Paddle Mag was just dying to catch up with Jordan and Cana Peek and find out more about how they did it!

As luck would have it, big sister was busy checking up on her little sister and had come down to Stellenbosch, so while they took me on an wonderful tour of the coffee shops I managed to ask them a couple of questions.

TPM How did the race go - any anxious moments?

JP Yes a couple, on day one we broke our boat just in front of the front cockpit and while going through a rapid just before the cabbage tree portage the whole nose bent upwards. We fixed it that night but that was the start of the troubles as on day two I went down a rapid and the nose of the boat literally looked at me – shew that was bad. Luckily

and day three was definitely low. So we were able to make up a couple of seconds here and there.

When the other teams got stuck we managed to get through.

CP but also my sister knows the river so well so with her driving and her knowing the channels that we could get through meant that we had extra energy to keep going rather than trying to get going again.

the boat was not taking on any water. I think that is thanks to the Kevlar.

CP There were little dramas along the way but the only thing that really slowed us down was the swim at Ernies. Apart from that we had a really good race.

TPM What did you think of the water levels?

JP It definitely played in to our favour. The river was medium to low

TPM How did you decide who should drive?

JP Originally my sister was going to drive for the Dusi. Then we did a few races when we got back to Durban – the first being the Ozzie Gladwin. She is not a bad driver but I just think that pressure wise I know the lines a little better and can deal with the choices because I know that river backwards.

CP Also my navigation skills are terrible. So it is better that Jordan drives because she is confident in which lines to take. And it was easier because I was always going to carry the back of the boat for the portages. So we decided that it was less admin if we were both in the right place at the entry and exit anyway.

TPM Did you shoot everything or take a more cautious route?

CP We never thought that we had the luxury of a cautious route or that we had ‘time in the bank’ coming in to day 2 because we really expected them to catch us on day 3.

JP So apart from hippo we shot everything else rather than take the double down the main channel. We judged the water level at Tombi and we rubbed our boat but there was just enough water for us to get our boat over. Then the main channel at Hippo is a tight bend so I did not want to risk our boat there. We did look after the boat – for example we coasted over Gauging Weir with our paddles down, leaning back and only when we got to the bottom did we start paddling again.

TPM Best part of the race?

CP I love dragging the boat down Ngumeni – that is my best. I love dragging my boat and running on the portages. For the two of us – we laugh at my sister’s clumsiness. We wiped out properly at the bottom of Campbells when Jordans’s shoe got caught on a rock and we fell head first. That started it, then on day 2 we fell some more. The funny part is that we were doing our best to look professional and yet we were falling all over the place and at the put in’s we were distinctly wobbly.

JP When I could see the team in first place. At the end of the hole in the wall portage when I realised that we were going to catch them (Bridgitte and Kristy) after the swim. When we finally did catch up to them – I felt invincible!

TPM How many Dusi’s have you done?

JP nine CP four TPM When did you decide to do the Dusi together?

CP Jordon asked me if I wanted to do Dusi and it took me about a month to agree because I knew that if we were going to do it – it would require dedication and commitment. My sister said that we should do one competitive Dusi together. Last year we were both here (SU) and we were

running together already and fit so it seemed like the ideal time as we are not sure when we will be together again. So we started the running training and then used the Fish River Canoe Marathon to test out our paddling together. It worked out so we went to gym and run together and when we got back to Durban in December we paddled every day.

TPM When did you realise that you had this race in the bag?

CP For me probably only at Blue lagoon, but in my mind and going in to the race I knew that we had done

IMAGE supplied by athletes

everything possible to prepare for the race, there was nothing more that I could have done to prepare. I had never been that fit in my life.

TPM Who is the one that jumps out of bed and who sleeps in until the last minute?

JP Some days you do want to sleep in and on other days you are amped but in this case we were both keen especially for this Dusi because we did not want to let the other one down. So we motivated each other.

TPM Who coaches you?

JP We do not really have a coach, but we are both studying sports science so using that we drew up our own programme. In particular, there is this subject called periodisation in third year and that is the course that we really applied when drawing up our own programme. What we did is we noted the date of Dusi 2018 and then worked backwards from there.

From July onwards gym was a major component of our training for core strength.

TPM You were up against some really good sprinters and marathon

paddlers – how did that feel?

JP Shew, I thought that they were going to catch us on the dam which would then lead to a ping pong for day three. I thought that we might be able to catch them on Burma and then it would be a really tough race in to Blue Lagoon.

CP Going in to the Dusi – I really thought that the whole race would come down to Blue Lagoon. On the dam I kept looking over my shoulder expecting them to be right behind us.

TPM How did you get in to paddling?

JP It started at school (Epworth), I had been doing upper Umgeni races since grade 8 but we did this tour in grade 10 (2011) where we paddled around Mauritius for two weeks with your school mates. After that I did a couple of river races and did pretty well which inspired me to take it up more seriously. I did all sorts of sports at school but I was looking for a sport that I could focus on. It finally came down to choosing between squash and paddling. I chose paddling because we are outdoors, on a river and seeing new places all the time. In Grade 11 I was

sponsored by Kayak Centre and Best 4 Sport which was great as I went on to win the U18 Fish. In the following year I won the U18 Dusi with Bianca Haw. CP Also started while I was at Epworth. Started paddling and doing the races with a view to doing the tour. Then did my first Dusi in 2014 and came first in the U18 with Camilla Pennefather. Then in 2015 it was a singles year and I can second overall and first U18. In grade 11 I also managed to go overseas and paddle with Donna Hutton. Donna is an amazing sprinter and I was a

river paddler so and we worked well together and complimented each other in the boat. We were just not as strong as the European girls that focused on marathons.

TPM Where to from here? Rivers, sprints, marathons, surfski perhaps?

CP The difficulty with marathons lies in the finding the time to train for these events and one has to be able to get to the dam. It would be very difficult to get back in to that again.

Personally I do not enjoy flat water paddling at all. Trail running is much easier – you just put on your shoes and away you go. Paddling you need to find your kit, get to the dam; it is just much harder to do.

JP We did a couple of surfski sessions in the build up to the Dusi but it a different ballgame in terms of reading the swells and catching a run. I am moving back to Pietermaritzburg now that I have completed my degree and will soon take up an exciting position a with a trail running event company. I also have a sports massage qualification so I hope to pursue that too one day.

Dusi 2018 worked for us as we were together but we will just have to see what the future holds for us.

IMAGE supplied by athletes

TPM A lot of top paddlers seem to swop partners after a season - would you paddle together again?

CP Last year worked for us because we were both here (SU) and you spend every day with that person and we had fun together but we are not sure when we will be together again in order to train. Next year is a singles year and it is really quite lonely trying to train on your own.

TPM Sponsors?

Euro Steel was our major sponsor, they sponsored the boat which is fantastic. We certainly could not afford to buy a new boat so we approached them and thankfully they agreed. So we were able to order a new boat which gives one the confidence to race hard.

Max Paddles gave us our paddles.

We have always used M3’s from the Max Paddle range but in the run up to the Dusi we thought that we would try a bigger paddle in order to compete with the other teams that are all strong paddlers. So then we tried the M333 but it was too big for either of us. So a week before Dusi we finally settled on going back to the M3 blades. But our paddles were finished from all the races in the run

up to the Dusi. They had been filed down from all the rocks so we had to go back to Brendon and ask him to make us new ones a week before the Dusi.

I also got nervous in the run up to the Dusi so I asked Brendon to make me an M333 in carbon which I tried in a time trial but it was too big for me. So finally I phoned Brendon the Friday before Dusi and asked him to build me a whole new paddle (M3, 50/ 50 glass, carbon shaft). Picked it up from him on Tuesday and it was perfect. And he organised us spare paddles as well.

Waterra OCR helped with funding and were our super fit seconds for the race. They were so good at motivating us for example on the cabbage tree portage one of them was right next to us giving us motivational jibes.

Nature Zone gave us loads of fitness water which was excellent to hydrate before and after each day which is great because they understand what athletes need in terms of hydration and the pharmaceutical requirements.

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IMAGES supplied by athletes

SA

A Sprinters

Age:34 Weight: 66kg Boat: NELO Paddle: Braca Personal best: Bronze medal at London Olympics 2012

bridgitte hartley How did you get into sprinting?

I started paddling rivers with the Introduction to paddling by my Dad. While I was training at Tuks some fellow paddlers encouraged me to go with them to train in Benoni under a Hungarian coach Nandor Almasi. I initially didn’t want to as I thought sprint paddling sounded boring and I wanted to try win a river race!! I got hooked on the training improvements and spent many hours driving from Pretoria to Benoni with our little squad to train with our coach who fixed all of our techniques! Next I found myself racing world champs for SA in 2006.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I have been training in a few different places recently. I have spent some time in Durban training with my Dusi K2 partner Christie and the Macsquad. I have also spend many hours training at Camps Drift in Pietermaritzberg with a few different groups there. Now I am working on my technique and pushing myself with a Hungarian squad at Roodeplaat dam.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s

I really love the 500m. I have my best results in K1 so I do love it but it’s always fun to race a k2 when the combination works very well!

How do you manage race day nerves?

I have a race day plan worked out from the time of breakfast to travel to a warm up plan etc. but at big competitions I like to listen to music to prevent me from watching my competitors as they have their race plan and I have mine.

Your goals for this year?

I have a few mixed goals for the season, if they work out then I would love to race world champs sprints again!

However I would also like to compete in Marathon world champs and a few Surfski races later in the year too! World champs sprints, World champs marathon, Nelo summer challenge, There is also a race in Ireland and Holland which I might compete in.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

If I can keep training to a Tokyo, qualify and win another medal then I could safely hang up my paddles and be proud of my paddling career racing for South Africa!

How did you get into sprinting?

I got involved in paddling through school, I went to Epworth in both primary and high school. Epworth is so well known for their paddling it’s no surprise I gave it a try, the primary school canoeing club headed by Solly Peckett was very good at getting us involved in all disciplines of the sport and that is how I was first exposed to sprinting.

It was from there that I got involved with my Coach Craig Mustard and that’s when I began to take it more seriously.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I am training with HP Training in Pietermaritzburg, our team is based at Camps Drift and we are coached by Craig.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s My favourite distance is the 500m and I prefer racing in my K1 though I do enjoy K2 every now and then, it’s just so difficult to find someone who works well with you in a boat and but when you do team boat racing can be really awesome!

How do you manage race day nerves?

Race Day nerves usually only hit me on the start line and by then there is not much you can do other then look down the course and give it your absolute best.

Your goals for this year?

This year I really want to make an A-final at u23 World Champs after a disappointing year last year where I didn’t anticipate the massive jump from juniors to u23. I would really like to step it up this year and prove myself in the age group. I also would like to qualify for Senior World Champs. Other than that the main goal is qualifying next year to race in Tokyo in 2020 so my focus is mainly on that and everything I am doing now is aimed at that goal.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

Hopefully I will be racing in Bulgaria at u23 world championships and again in Portugal at seniors, it all depends though on the outcome of the trial next month.

Age:19 Weight: 73kg Boat: NELO Quattro Paddle: Braca 4 min/ GARA Freya

donna hutton

Age: 25 Weight: 71kg Boat: Nelo Cinco Medium Paddle: Jantex Gama Rio Personal best: u23 World Champs; 500m A-final 5th - Sprint World Cup; 500m A-final 8th

esti van tonder How did you get into sprinting?

My family has a long history of paddling and when Nandor Almasi came to SA to coach the National team, my brother was part of that training group. I basically just latched on and tried to train and learn as much as I could from all the greats that were in that group. Watching Jen Hodson, Shaun Rubenstein, Bridgitte Hartley, Michelle Eray, Carol Joyce and Calvin Mokoto train and prepare for Beijing 2008 was definitely a milestone in my life where I learned nothing comes easy and saw exactly what was required to qualify. I also watched my brother and his K2 partner Adrian Gebers prepare for their Junior World Champs in 2005. The way they trained and the effort that both athletes and coach put into their preparation was amazing. Walking away from Worlds with an A-final, the first for a South African boat at a JNR World Champs was just the absolute cherry on the cake.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I’m based at Roodeplaat dam with the Academy for Canoe Development. I work closely with Niel du Plessis from Sport Science Lab on all strength and conditioning aspects and PVM for my nutritional needs. My brother, Fouche, helps me with technique training and as well as Niel helping with video analysis from a bio-mechanics point of view.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s

I prefer K1 500m as my main event, but I have developed a liking for the K1 200m as well. Choosing between K1 and K2 it would definitely be K1. I have teamed up with Kayla de Beer for the K2 200m this year as well just for a bit of a change in routine and I have been enjoying training with her a lot! As for K4, I don’t think I would be keen to race it again anytime soon. We have had a few K4 ladies in SA and I have been in almost every single one of them. I don’t think people always realise what it takes to make a K4 perform at international level. It is definitely not the “easy” route to qualify for an Olympic Games like many people seem to believe. There are so many aspects and variables that need to come together and it takes years, not months, to get a K4 race ready.

How do you manage race day nerves?

I just try to stick to my routine and focus on the things that I can control. Racing overseas with the massive crowds that show up to support the racing, I always try to feed off their energy and excitement.

Your goals for this year?

Main goals for this year is good performances at World Cups and World Champs. Every year that you get closer to Olympic qualifications the racing gets tougher. I want to aim for A-final in the 500m at both the World Cups and World Champs this year, ultimately always trying to race for that podium spot!

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

The Tokyo Olympics the main and ultimate goal for the next few years. Everything that I do is ultimately to build up to qualification and the Games itself. I have stood on the side-lines for quite some time now and finally I feel like this is now my time! Nothing good comes easy, but the reward will be so sweet! I’ll be racing at the SA Sprint Champs on 2-4 April at Roodeplaat. From there it will be World Cups in May, World Champs selections in July and then World Champs in August.

Age: 25 Weight: 75kgs Boat: Nelo quattro Paddle: jantex Personal best : K2 200m African Champions 2016, 9th A final World Student Games 2013

calven clack How did you get into sprinting?

When I was younger I started off by participating in numerous surf ski races and I really enjoyed myself. In these surf ski races I would always try race as fast as I can in the start of the event but would shortly die out. Regardless, it was always such fun trying to beat the older competitors to the first turning buoy – even if I went slowly after that.

However, as my coach has always said, “in these events, it’s not how you start but how you finish”. My coach then introduced me to the sprint kayaking discipline as he could see that I enjoyed going as fast as I can. Since then I’ve stuck to sprinting and have never looked back.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I train at a few different locations such as Point Yacht Club, Shongweni Dam and as of recently, at Illovo River with a few of the Toti guys. I find chopping and changing locations keeps things interesting depending on weather conditions, as I prefer to stick to flat water when training for Sprints. Neil Evans has been my coach since 2008. I met him at Glenwood High School in Grade 10 and I am still training with to this day. He joins me on the water for majority of my training sessions. At 50 years of age he still gives me a run for my money.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s

My Favourite distance is the k1 200m event. I love going as fast as I can whilst trying to get my max speed at 170 strokes a minute before I start to die out. I also really enjoy the K2 200m event with my sprint partner Cameron Hudson – put us in a k2 and we seem to click very well. I would definitely consider the k4 as paddling with 4 people in a boat is always a change to the norm and I have no doubt that it would go fast! I think that it would be a lot of fun.

How do you manage race day nerves?

There will always be those race day nerves and “butterflies”, regardless of your planning, so I believe that trying to manage these nerves in a way that gets you focused on what you are about to do is the key. When lining up on the start line I try to focus on my “own” race by blocking out the other competitors at the start of the race. I run through my “race plan” from start to finish in my head. This keeps me calm and focussed. During my warm up I also like to paddle alone, making sure I’m feeling race ready and focused.

Your goals for this year?

To try do as well as I can at the SA Sprint Championships so that I will be selected to represent South Africa later this year at the World Championships, which are being held in Portugal.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

Yes, it’s definitely the ultimate goal. If there’s a chance and opportunity to go, I will be grabbing it with both hands, because I think that every athlete dreams to compete at the Olympics sometime in their sporting career.

WCCC SPRINT CHAIR Age: 26 Weight: 78.5kg Height: 175cm Personal Best: 1st place B-final men’s 200m k1, World Cup 1, Montemor-O-Velho, Portugal.

African Champion men’s 200m k1, Shongweni, South Africa

Chrisjan Coetzee On the day that my father took me to do my first ever race, the Hermanus Stanford, my uncle showed me videos from sprint world championships and Olympics. I didn’t know what sprint racing was at the time and the races in those videos looked really interesting and exciting to me. Soon after my second race of my life was the WP sprint champs.

I was still only racing in a guppy against the others in K1’s in my age category but I really enjoyed it. Sometime later WCCU appointed Hungarian 7-time sprint kayak World Champion Robert Hegedus as Head Coach. With Coach Robert in the WP and national athletes like Shaun Rubenstein, Michelle Eray, Jen Hudson, Carol Joyce and Bridgitte Hartley at the time doing really well on the world stage, I was inspired to pursue sprinting and have been ever since.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I started paddling on a small dammed up stretch of the Berg River in Paarl (Paarl Canoe Club) and am still training there today. I have not had a coach for the last 5 years or so unfortunately but have gained invaluable experience from previous coaches; my farther Jan Coetzee, Wayne August, Robert Hegedus, Zoltan Bako and Marcus Melck. Over the years I have had the opportunity to train with and race against some great athletes and coaches from around the world and have always tried to build on my experience from every opportunity.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s

My first ever national win was in the 500m K1 as a junior, so obviously the 500m is a classic distance to me. However, I really like to go all out and see just how fast I can go on the 200m and have been focusing on the 200m k1 for the last couple of years. Some of my best paddling experiences of my sprint career was racing the national K4 1000m along with teammates PW Basson, Gavin White, Fouche van Tonder and Greg Louw with Coach Zoltan Bako at the helm for the years 2010 and 2011.

How do you manage race day nerves?

For me to best manage my race day nerves is just to stick to my normal warmup routine that I do before almost all my training sessions daily. I’m obviously very used to this routine and therefor it sets me up best for my race. I also like to watch some races to get me excited and in the racing zone and listening to good music always helps.

Your goals for this year?

My goals for this year is to get back on the international racing circuit and try to improve on last year’s performances.

Training has been tough due to the severe drought in the Western Cape and hard financially due to no support from our sporting bodies. Racing internationally comes at great financial expense and this can be very demotivating as well as there are not many local sprint races to look forward to.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

After missing out on London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics I am as always aiming for the next Olympics as long as I can keep on improving.

KNCU SPRINT CHAIR Age: 22 Weight : 74 Boat : Nelo Cinco ML F Paddle : Brasca IV Max Personal Best : 12th k2 200m at Jnr worlds in Canada, 2013.

Gold k2 200m at Africa Champs 2016

cameron hudson How did you get into sprinting?

I got into sprinting after my first SA schools Sprints in 2011 at Nagle Dam, I absolutely hated it. But as I got more into paddling I started to enjoy sprints more than everything else and ended up going that direction. It’s definitely my favourite now.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I train at Blue Lagoon in Durban under Lee McGregor. It’s a great training environment, no one gives you an inch and you always have to fight to stay with the group. It’s massively out of my comfort zone but that’s why it’s so good for me.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s I’ve always preferred k2 over k1 just because I’ve always performed better in a k2. I’m working on improving my k1 performance for the future. K4 is always fun and I would definitely be keen to jump in one.

Your goals for this year?

My goal for this year is to improve my overall performance and ability over all distances and not just sprints but other disciplines as well. I’ve always stuck to 200m but I feel that Ineed to branch out. I’ve broken three PBs and set a new PB to break at SA Sprints, so so far I think I’m on the right track.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

Absolutely!

Age: 22 Weight: 80kg Boat: Nelo Cinco large Paddle: Gut Medium Large Personal best: First K2 junior marathon world championship

louis hattingh How did you get into sprinting?

I got into paddling due to my brother wanting to do the Mudman’s (a multi-sport event) which has a paddling leg, and I started playing in a boat on the side of the dam while waiting for my him. I started sprinting because there was a large group of older guys that were doing sprints, and this lead on to the river and marathon seasons.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

This just carried on till I started training under Craig Mustard at camps drift, and since then he has been my only coach.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s My favorite distance is the K1 1000m, I have always preferred paddling K1 although some of my best results have been in a k2, I have also done K4 at world championship level.

How do you manage race day nerves?

Personally I’ve never suffered form race day nerves but my theory is that we do the sport because we enjoy it therefore why should we be nerves for a race if the main goal is to doing it for the pleasure? If you enjoy what you do then by default you’ll try your best.

Your goals for this year?

After my little ‘Accident’ last year my only goal was to see if i was able to get back in a boat. So far that has fortunately worked out but the goal is to be the best paddler that I can be.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

I have an International Olympic Committee bursary that runs up to the next Olympics so yes, definitely aiming for it.

Jean van der Westhuyzen Age: 19 Weight: 84 kgs Boat: Nelo Quattro L Paddle: Braca 1 S-min Personal Best: 1000- 3:33

How did you get into sprinting?

I started kayaking as it was a sporting option at my junior school, Bridge House. The club I joined was very much focused on the sprinting aspect so naturally I also become passionate and interested with sprinting.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I have recently made a move to the Gold Coast in Australia, which is now my training base. I have also recently started working with two new coaches Jimmy Owens & David Smith who are the national coaches in Aussie.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s

My favourite distance is the 1000m. I would say I prefer the K1, although I am definitely interesting in developing my team boat skills in the future.

How do you manage race day nerves?

I like to stay very relaxed before my race. Maybe make a few jokes in my warm and just keeping the atmosphere fun. I don’t have any pre-race rituals and don’t really think I ever will. The only thing I make sure of before my race is that I have warmed up properly and that my body is ready to go.

Your goals for this year?

To be honest I never really set goals. I train the hardest and best I can and then come race day I try leave everything out there and whatever that result may be I will be happy. However A-Finals and medals is always in the back of my head. I’m hoping to do the world cup series as well as the junior and senior world champs.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

Tokyo is definitely something I will be aiming for. The Olympics have been a lifelong dream of mine.

Age: 21 Weight:85 Boat: Nelo Vanquish II Paddle: Braca 1 Personal best: 11th Overall k2 200m World Championships

david rodriguez How did you get into sprinting?

I began Sprinting 10 years ago. My father got me hooked at a young age, as he enjoyed events such as the Dusi Canoe Marathon and I preferred Sprinting for a few seconds as opposed to having to suffer for a few days. Needless to say he made me suffer for one Dusi and I have incredible respect for Marathon and River paddlers alike.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I am very fortunate to be coached by Adrovicz Attilla, who is an ex-Olympic Hungarian silver medallist, we train at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club, who are very supportive towards us and we are extremely grateful The team that I train HPP-High Performance Paddling, are extremely fortunate to be supported by Euro Steel Sport as well as the AdReach group, they have hopped on board and been nothing but supportive and we are extremely grateful for their support.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s

I have competed in three Sprint World Championships and two in Canoe Polo (5 World Championships in Total), my main focus is the 200m, I have represented South Africa for both K1 and K2 at a World Championship level.

How do you manage race day nerves?

For me to best manage my race day nerves is just to stick to my normal warmup routine that I do before almost all my training sessions daily. I’m obviously very used to this routine and therefor it sets me up best for my race. I also like to watch some races to get me excited and in the racing zone and listening to good music always helps.

Your goals for this year?

Currently I am aiming to represent South Africa this year at both the Junior/u23 World Championships to be held in Bulgaria on the 26th -29th of July as well as the Senior World Championships to be held in Portugal on the 22nd 26th of August, this year I will be focusing on the K1 & K2 200m as well as the K4 500m. My goals for this year will be to make the A-final at the u23 World Championships for the K1 200m as well as make the A-final for the K2 200m & K4 500m at Senior World Championships.

Are you aiming for 2020 Olympics?

The main national event of the year and the most spectator friendly event has to be the South African Sprint Championships which will be held on the 2nd- 4th of April at Roodeplaat, Pretoria. The ultimate goal for all of us as Sprinters is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this dream is the reason many of us get up in the morning.

IMAGE grant_hewitt15

Age: 24 (SNR) Weight: 73Kgs Boat: Kayak Racing Hyperion Paddle: Braca 1 PB: 36.5s (K1 200m)

nicolas weeks How did you get into sprinting?

I got into paddling through being a scout. I was paddling on our dam one day and a 200m sprinter, Dave Gerber, approached me and said I should join them for a training session. I joined them for a session, he became my friend and mentor, I guess the rest is history.

Where do you train? Do you have a coach?

I train at East Rand Kayak (ERK) which is a really great facility. I currently get a program from Adro (Atilla HPP), train alone and try to join a session at Dublamanzi (Not sure on that spelling) canoe club once a week where the sessions are coached by Adro.

Which is your favourite distance? Do you prefer K1 or K2 and would you consider K4’s I am a 200m paddler, and I’ll race the odd 500m and flat water/ river marathon. For me K1 represents your true ability so it seems slightly more prestigious to win in a K1 which is appealing. On the other hand it is very enjoyable to race with team mates in a K2 and K4 as you share the experience, the highs and lows in training, results at events, etc. Coming from canoe polo, I find the comradery of team sport and touring together really enjoyable.

How do you manage race day nerves?

I’m a calm person so I don’t jump around and get hyper active like some other guys, I prefer to be focused and relaxed. Nerves will always build until you start the race and then they are gone. I guess I get comfort in the fact that the training is done and you can only do what you can do, and its the same for everyone. In essence the result is already decided, you just need to go and make it official.

Your goals for this year?

To win SA champs, K1 and K2 200m, and to make the team to go to sprint world champs in Portugal.

Popular Eating Myths I’ve spent the better part of 15 years competing as a professional athlete.

I’ve also been at the front end of teaching and coaching in my sport. Needless to say, the topic of nutrition has played a daily part in my life; first on a personal level and secondly as a coach.

It’s a

scientifically held position that to perform at one’s best as an athlete, your nutrition needs to be spot on, and as a coach, it’s one of the topics which I’m always being asked about. It goes without saying then that, as an athlete and a coach, I’m a veritable expert on the matter of eating and nutrition.

I must be, right?

Well, you’ll be surprised that I consider myself a complete ignoramus on the matters of eating, diet and nutrition. Yup, I wouldn’t dare venture into that potato patch touting any level of expertise. Despite the huge importance that eating plays in peak athletic performance, it’s not an area I’ve spent much time on researching. I’ll rather leave that to the pros.

There have been libraries of blogs, books and veritable bibles published on the topic of nutrition. And not by ignoramuses either. From Nobel Laureates to renowned doctors, scientists and coaches, it’s safe to

say that the intellectual resources on the topic abound. There’s a reason you can get a PhD in Sports Nutrition – its serious science! But for us “on the ground” guys, a better strategy is to wait for the more important nuggets of information to be simplified and processed down to those eager to digest. It seems a simple and easy meal, however there is one hiccup: Conflicting theories.

Not all nuggets are from the same farm! Research is complex, science

is muddy. Without having to go into a theoretical deposition of what research entails, basically not all research or scientific findings should be taken as gospel truth, because, and especially with regards nutrition, the subjective variables are many and theories change. The fact is that not all facts are in fact, facts!

An athlete doesn’t have time to research nutrition. You’re too busy training. And eating afterwards. The best way to plan nutrition, is to get

fed the information by a pro, call it a Nutrition Coach; and then filter it through your own subjective and anecdotal research and observation, namely the School of Experience.

My nutrition plan was, and is, quite simple.

I follow three rules: Put fuel in the tank. Listen to your body. Eat everything and anything.

As an athlete you become used to referring to your body as if it were a machine. Just like machines, or engines, need fuel to run, your body needs energy to run. Even if you weren’t an athlete, and just lay on your bed all day, your body would need to burn fuel because it’s working. Your lungs, your heart, your brain – all burning energy. Now, when you become active, or extremely active, you need extra fuel. Fuel for our bodies, called Kilojoules, are found in all foods. They are not all equal. They burn at different rates and bring different nutrients to the fore. So, before I go training, I need fuel, but just for that session, so some quick energy like fruit is great. Then, after the session I need more fuel, to replace what I burnt, and some extra to help with recovery, as well as the usual fuel I need just to live.

Fuel in the Tank

Listen to your body Cravings are put in a bad light most times, however, if you learn to listen to your body and what you “feel” like you should be eating or put into it, you will be amazed at the results. A simple and very good example is being thirsty. We all know what it’s like to feel or be thirsty, and we don’t have a problem quenching that thirst. Well you’re thirsty because your body is telling you it needs water, and the same principle can be applied to other nutrients or foods that we need.

I may need a dose of vitamins and suddenly develop a craving for some banana or oranges. Or, after some serious running I suddenly feel like I need a glass of milk, my joints and bones are craving calcium. It also goes the other way. Certain bodies simply can’t do certain foods. If you are lactose intolerant, your body will feel a certain way after eating lactose heavy foods. Take it out of your diet and you will feel wonderful! You need to learn to listen to your body.

One issue: us humans get addicted to “feeling good” so we can become addicted to certain foods or environments. This is the dark side of cravings when the craving changes from needing the actual substance to the pleasure hormones associated or released along with the substance.

Once again, if you are attuned to “listening to your body” you will learn to distinguish between the two.

eat everything and anything It’s very important that we have experienced and ingested as much of available foods as possible.

It’s about teaching your body to be rigorous and adaptable. Become a resilient eater!

To be able to listen to your body, and rule in or out what works for you and what doesn’t, you must have experimented with what and how you eat. These days, you can’t go a season or two without one type of food being the saviour one year and the devil the next. The only real litmus test here is You. Also, for many people, what is being touted as the gospel diet of the day, is just not practical.

The current diets which are being prescribed are either hellishly expensive, or need culinary genius to execute, or both. For a journeyman Iron Man living in the burbs, with three kids under 8, a cauliflower bake with roasted salmon and pine nuts and a side of rocket every night is just not going to happen. Mac and cheese and a side of All Gold, yes.

Or, the flip side, you CAN afford the gold standard, but then you travel to your event you spent the last 12 months preparing for and it’s in Shanghai and for the entire week you’re there you’re eating deep fried sweet and sour pork and drinking coke because of the humidity... you’ve tanked the race before even starting!

Follow the three simple rules of nutrition.

Note what works for you and what doesn’t.

Take the golden nuggets of research info you receive, filter it through your extensive library of experience, and the only degree in nutrition you will need it is the one you’ve earned through practical learning.

DAWID MOCKE

A R G E N T I N A

IMAGE supplied by athletes

Rio Negro International Regatta At a the time when most of us were either frantically putting in the last hard yards getting ready for the FNB Dusi 2018, or resigned ourselves to the fact that we should have put in the hard yards, paddlers in Argentina were putting the final touches to their preparations for a much longer race. They were about to race 300km in seven days – that is an average of 43km per day!

The 6th January was the start of the Rio Negro International Regatta which is often billed as he longest and toughest canoe marathon in the world.

A brief glimpse of the history of the race shows that the idea originated in 1933 when two paddlers paddled the whole Rio Negro (Black River in Spanish) from Bariloche (in the west on the Chilean Boarder) to Viedma. Thankfully in 1964 they decided to shorten the route and make it from NeuquĂŠn to Viedma and in 1965 the Rio Negro was born.

We were delighted when we heard that two South African paddlers; Clinton Cook and Hamish Lovemore (straight out of school) had gone off to do the race and then waited eagerly to catch up with them and find out more about it. In the end not only did they do it, but they also managed a spectacular 3rd place.

What made you decide to do it?

After the Fish River Canoe Marathon we chatted to the internationals and they recommended it. It was also a good time of year to travel as we had no major local races at the time.

When did you start planning to do the race?

Toward the end of November plans really started to take shape and we knew in December that we would be boarding the plane in January.

The race days look like this

Day 1:45km Day 5: 43km Day 2:59km Day 6: 59km Day 3:38km Day 7: 30km Day 4: Rest Day 8: 24km

Do either of you speak Spanish? How did you know what was going on?

We tried our best to catch onto the basics. Most of them spoke no English, but our host was a great translator for interviews and explaining the course each day. We had two Spanish girls on the trip with us and they tried their best to teach us some Spanish although we were pretty useless.

Did you manage to get some form of

IMAGE Rio Negro International Regatta

support or was it self-funded?

We had support from Colin Wilson and the guys from EuroSteel, our sponsors KDH Group and Superbar as well as family. The race organizers also contributed to the trip.

What did you do about a boat?

Miguel Correa from Argentina helped us out with organizing our boat which was great, it had a T-bar steering system though which we had to change after the 3rd day

m m m m

because we couldn’t steer the boat.

300km is far - how did you train?

I had been doing long paddles in the ocean and on the river; I’d also paddled Fast Drak the week before.

Mush (Hamish) had just raced Cape Point so we had a fair base to work on. Luckily training with Lee McGregor we always are in good shape.

Seven days is a long time to spend in the boat together how did that go?

Clint drove the first 5 days and we were feeling comfortable, the racing was going well. I drove the last two days just for some fun. We sat straight in the boat most days until we both started getting tired, then the leaning started, but it was not too bad.

What the river like?

Fast flowing. Flat, very wide (up to 30km wide in the wet season – ed.) and full of channels. The headwind was insane on most days and the huge river gave us massive waves to deal with. It was unlike any we have here at home.

What were your fellow competitors like?

The guys in the race were pretty aggressive and there was lots of shouting and vocals in the groups.

But once it broke down to four boats it was more chilled. When there were a lot of boats on the bunch you got the sense that they were all working against you so we had to

constantly be awake and wary of any attacks. We tried to dominate early on to get the bunch to four, that way you were secured a spot on the bunch.

Who were the internationals and where were they from?

There was a K2 crew from Spain with Kiko Vega and his partner Jóst. We knew Kiko from racing him in the local Races in South Africa. So we tried to work with them whenever we got the chance. The other crews were all locals. We had two Spanish girls Aurora and Océane who spoke good English and won the ladies Title. One man From the UK Richard came and raced singles along with another man from Venezuela. We all travelled together.

Did anyone host you or did you have to find your own way? You paddle far every day so did you stay in a different place every night?

We were hosted by an ex Olympic sprinter Miguel, he was a great host and made our trip very enjoyable. He organised accommodation and food each day for all the internationals.

We stayed in four different apartments during the race and had a driver who drove us to the start each day. The race organisers were very accommodating.

Was there any point in the race where you thought - ‘we must be mad to be doing this’?

On the 5th and 6th day we both were starting to take strain, we

struggled with the food they were giving us as it was completely different to what we were used to at home. I think excitement and adrenaline carried us home on the last day.

What was your highlight of the trip?

HL Paddling across the finish line of each stage where hundreds of locals were standing in the water splashing us and giving a loud applause. The final stage was amazing as there were fireworks and loud music playing. It was an awesome way to finish off a great race.

CC It’s hard to pick one single highlight, there were many great moments. Spending time traveling across Argentina with a mate doing what you love is awesome. When we were paddling into the finish, there were hundreds if not thousands of people lined on either side of the bank, there were fireworks as we paddled past the crowd on the left bank before the final turn, Mush and I said to each other that we both instantly got goose bumps.

Would you do it again?

HL I think it was a great experience and well organised race. Argentina is a beautiful country with awesome people and I think I would do it again but maybe when I’m more experienced and older.

CC I’d do it again yes, it was an amazing experience.

IMAGE Sonja Bohnsack

HIGH ALTITUDE SURF SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS OF GAUTENG

It was with brave faces that paddlers headed down to Emmarentia Dam to see what conditions would prevail for the 8th running of the High Altitude Surf Ski Championships.

The race organisers had strategically run the race in the afternoon hoping that the wind would come

up! So the questions on everyones minds as they examined the surf was ‘will we get through the shore break?’ followed shortly by ‘how will we cope with the downwind conditions? ‘ Well luckily the guys at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club are now well accustomed to helping people

cope with their pre-race nerves and were on hand to serve them nerve numbing refreshments while the paddlers surveyed the conditions.

In a stroke of genius, the guys from Euro Steel had brought up two experts in dealing with BIG waves

and epic downwind conditions in the form of Hayley Nixon and Andy Birkett. They were on hand to present a workshop on how to deal with these exciting conditions if for some reason you are not allowed to drink beer (U10 for example).

Hayley was amazing in her ability to get young and old to warm-up before the race and consider their exercise regime. Then next was Andy Birkett who had everyone wishing that they had trained a little more for this ambitious race through the surf. He had them easting out of the palm of his hand as he described the different ways to prepare and train for a race.

The dam crusaders clearly took the old adage ‘Safety in numbers’

to heart because they sure rocked up to take on the challenge. There were over 140 intrepid paddlers who were hoping that their mates would keep an eye on them if things got hairy out there. Clearly they have not heard about the NSRI and Safetrx! From what we saw the guys on the SUP’s were taking no chances – they had six people on a SUP. Trying to balance by yourself is tricky; having six on a SUP must be nearly impossible. We have it on good authority that it was essentially only four paddlers and two live bait offerings should the men with big teeth show up! Judging by some of the photograph’s the live bait paddlers were quite keen to be offered and regularly slipped off the

SUP’s to chance their fortune.

Paddlers now giddy with anticipation were given a final sending off to the sound of bag pipers and encouraging PA announcements. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it!

The world’s only High Altitude Surf Ski Races was about to begin.

The reason for the excitement was that firstly everyone likes a challenge and secondly the race organisers were able to drum up some amazing support for the race from sponsors such as Adreach who for the 8th year in a row providing dry bag giveaways, Standard Bank sponsoring meals, FENN providing a donation of a swordfish lucky draw prize, as well as Set paddles giveaways from Set

Kayaks. Add Resins provided prizes, PLUSSSZ sponsored handouts of evervescents / bottles for their product while Moringa provided goodie bags of health products.

Hutton motors provided the fuel for the wave generators which were provided by a number of club members - speed boats and Jet ski’s - without which, there would be NO SURF for the Surf Ski champs!

The official race was 10km - won in 43 minutes and 10 seconds by Dabulamanzi crew of Dave HamiltonBrown and Wayne Jacobs, (1st Sub Veterans) followed by Piers Cruickshanks with Michael Arthur, 4 seconds later, while the Andy Birkett and Colin Wilson were the

3rd finishers across the line, in 43 minutes 27 seconds. Andy clearly still in coaching mode after his inspiring workshop a few minutes before gave the leading pack a wonderful display of how to link runs and paddle over the crest in front of you. When that was not so successful he then gave the chasing pack a practical demonstration on how to hunt down the leaders. It is so refreshing to know that our top paddlers really do take time out of their day to help the common paddler. * At the time of going to the press it was unclear whether his partner was a willing or reluctant participant in this demonstration. Grant Ahlschlager with Luke Symons were the 4th finishers in the leading bunch, in 43

minutes 22 seconds - all members of the hosting club except for the Natal participants Andy Birkett and Michael Arthur who were guest appearances! Proof once again that local knowledge of the conditions is fundamental.

Siseko Ntondini was the first S1 home in a time of 47 minutes.

Hayley Nixon(KZN) proved that her World Surf Ski title was not fluke when she romped home as the first lady finisher in 48 minutes, (SV3), the second Lady home was Mariaan Lombaard (Watuni) in a time of 54 minutes.

JENNIE DALLAS

Opinion

The folly of boat selection

In this first instalment of my new ‘Opinion’ series, I would like to focus on the most basic decision when it comes to paddling: which boat to choose.

In the 25-odd years that I’ve been involved in competitive paddling, many things have changed. One thing certainly hasn’t: the ego-driven idea that anyone who is paddling a stable boat is somehow inferior. The reality is that most K1 paddlers in South Africa are paddling boats that are actually too unstable for them.

If a paddler can’t put 100% of their pulling power into a forward stroke because of the need to use some energy to maintain their balance, the paddler is in the wrong boat.

This applies to flat-water (which includes windy conditions and the mess at the start of a race), surfskiing as well as river-racing. It is just about impossible to establish good paddling technique if a paddler is not 100% comfortable with the (in)stability of the boat. When it comes to river paddling, it is just as impossible to learn different paddling strokes and techniques if

stability is in question.

In the SA racing fraternity, there has always been a big drive to get paddlers into the fastest, slinkiest K1 as quickly as possible. In addition to that, most paddlers tend to do river races using similar boats to those they use in flat-water time trials. This makes zero sense. A more stable boat means better control, which means less swimming, better safety, less boat-breaking and also more fun.

I’ve been a spectator at many K1 river races over the years, and every time I am appalled by the bad lines and silly swims on display. Building better skills is a topic for another day, but it is clear to me that most swimmers were paddling boats that are actually too unstable for them.

For many paddlers, river racing is a survival mission every time they get on the water. They end

up bracing through rapids instead of paddling and controlling their boats. Inevitably, they also take unnecessary swims, which is timeconsuming, exhausting and always carries the risk of losing or breaking a boat.

On our local section of rapids below Parys on the Vaal River, many ‘experienced’ K1 paddlers have had bad swims, broken boats, etc. Yet, my 9-year old son paddles the same rapids regularly with his sit-on-top kayak. He is a competent and safe paddler; he now leads the rapids when we trip. He can catch just about any eddy in most rapids, do difficult ferries and surf some waves.

Why can he do that? Because the stability of his boat matches his skill level. Another example is that of the thousands of commercial clients who run rapids every year on inflatable two-person rafts (crocs).

I’m not suggesting that paddlers

should enter races in slow inflatable rafts; the point is that with the correct craft, anyone can be a safer paddler by being more in control and swimming less.

It is not easy to resolve this issue, as a macho view on boats has been entrenched in the SA racing community for decades. But, I believe that this is the single biggest

factor that keeps the sport of competitive paddling from growing.

Some ways to address this issue When new paddlers join clubs, encourage them to paddle stable boats, even sit-on-tops,

for as long as possible. Don’t push them into unstable boats too quickly. This will require a fundamental mind shift from current club members, as it has been the default mentality to do exactly that. New paddlers very quickly realise that they are being looked down on for paddling stable boats.

Join a club. Encourage paddlers who are not currently in K1s (in other words, paddlers with recreational sit-on-

tops, touring kayaks, etc) to join clubs and races too, and allow them to keep paddling those stable boats instead of pushing them into fast K1s.

Encourage paddlers to use much more stable K1s and K2s for river races. We all want our sport to grow. Welcoming, accepting and encouraging paddlers with more stable boats will go a long way in achieving that. Experienced paddlers, remember this: an unstable paddler is an inefficient paddler.

CELLIERS KRUGER

We have all been in that position when we are on the way to a race and suddenly realise that we have not had breakfast because we were so caught up in getting everyone ready and in the car. Or during the race you get starving and realise that there are still two hours of racing to go. We often finish races on the banks of a river or beach with the prize giving venue still a drive away. With the promise of boerewors rolls we are enticed to the venue but what do you do if you your hunger pangs are killing you NOW? Well with this in mind we took a look at some of the CHEAP energy bars that are currently on the market. As with all products we strongly recommend that you try them on a training day before taking them to a race.

SuperBar – I am training

Soft, easy to chew and not overly sweet. This was my go to snack for Dusi 2017. It is claimed to be made with 100% raw ingredients. The bad news is that their distribution is limited to mostly Bootleggers Coffee shops who sell them but once you are sure that you like the taste you can order online from Superbar or Takealot!

Natures Valley - Crunchy

– A sweet pick me up if you need it. Essentially it is two granola bars in one packet which is ideal for eating on the go or on the banks of a river. There is no chocolate outside so they can get as warm as you like in your car or tripper without producing a gooey mess. Two of the testers thought that you would need to have water close by before chomping down on these.

Safari - To Go

Good to see Safari going in to snack food. Soft and chewy with a chocolate bottom makes for a great snack. Plus it is the combination of dried fruit that you have probably grown up on.

PVM – energy bar

Not the cheapest but an old favourite that has certainly been field tested to the limit. They are a standard go to snack for paddlers, runners and all sorts of sports people.

The good news is that you can also buy them in boxes so they are easy to keep a stock of for your next event. One tester thought that they may be to chewy to eat on the go!

Safari – Tropical Snack

Another great venture from Safari. Nice and soft and a little chewy makes it a great snack to have on the go.

Two of the testers thought that it tasted too sweet to eat on the go but as before event energy booster it may be ideal.

BA!

We tried the Cranberry and orange flavour which has a great easy to chew texture and the citrus ensures that it is not so sweet it leaves you thirsty afterwards. Well worth the try but only available at Clicks as far as we could see.

These are the kids favourite as they are sweet and chewy. The chocolate on the outside quickly becomes a sticky mess if they are allowed to melt in your PFD (lifejacket) but apart from that they work well as a quick pick me up. It has the highest energy count by far so do keep count of how many you eat if you are trying to manage your weight.

remember if you are eating on the go to tuck your wrapper in to your PFD to dispose of later. We really do not need more plastic in our waterways – thank you.

Sodium (mg)

Of which total sugar

Carbohydrate

3.5

23 14.8

7.1

83 8.99

Jungle - Dark Choc 48g 864

3.1

29 13.9

8.4

27 7.99

Future Life - High Protein 50g 733 10.9 (Chocolate)

14 10.7

6.5 140

24 13.9

6.6

Safari Snack - original 40g 683 (cranberries)

3.5

Cost

Safari Snack - Tropical 40g 692

Fat

Protein

Jungle Bar – Dark chocolate

Energy

It is no surprise that this bar is the all-out winner in terms of protein. They manage to package it in a ‘big’ bar at 50g in terms of filling empty tummies which is also great. Everyone enjoyed testing this one but thought that it is best left for after the event when there is a lot to drink.

Weight of bar

Future life – High Protein

17

74 7.99

Natures Valley - Crunchy 42g 805 (Oats & Honey)

3.4 27.1 11.9

7.2 138 9.99

Natures Valley - Crunchy 42g 830 (Roasted Almond)

3.8

11

3.8 153 9.99

Natures Valley - Crunchy 42g 805 (Maple syrup)

3.3 27.1 11.8

7.2 124 9.99

Safari To Go - Peanuts & 40g 511 Raisin

4.7

1.2

25

22 12.9

PVM - Choc Strawberry 45g 767 5.25 27.4

BA! - Cranberry & Orange 40g 673

2

Superbar - I am training 45g 656

5.7

29

95 8.99

5.37 81.9

16

18

3.5

64 9.99

25 14.4

7.1

7g

20

Ponta do Ouro

Orange River Mouth

Tugela River Mouth

Port St Johns Dassen Island Cape Agulhas

SALDANHA PORT CONTROL Tel: 022 714 1726 Stn. 24 Lambert’s Bay – 060 960 3027 Stn. 04 Mykonos – 082 990 5966 Stn. 34 Yzerfontein – 082 990 5974

CAPE TOWN PORT CONTROL Tel: 021 449 3500 Stn. 18 Melkbosstrand – 082 990 5958 Stn. 03 Table Bay – 082 990 5963

Seal Point

Great Fish River Mouth

Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Tel: 021 938 3300 NSRI HQ: 021 434 4011 MOSSEL BAY PORT CONTROL Tel: 044 604 6271 Stn. 33 Witsand – 082 990 5957 Stn. 31 Still Bay – 082 990 5978 Stn. 15 Mossel Bay – 082 990 5954 Stn. 23 Wilderness – 082 990 5955 Stn. 12 Knysna – 082 990 5956

EAST LONDON PORT CONTROL Tel: 043 700 2100 Stn. 07 East London – 082 990 5972 Stn. 28 Port St Johns – 082 550 5430

DURBAN PORT CONTROL Tel: 031 361 8567 Stn. 32 Port Edward – 082 990 5951 Stn. 20 Shelly Beach – 082 990 5950 Stn. 05 Durban – 082 990 5948

Stn. 14 Plettenberg Bay – 082 990 5975

RICHARDS BAY PORT CONTROL Tel: 035 753 1991

Stn. 10 Simon’s Town – 082 990 5965

P.E. PORT CONTROL Tel: 041 507 1911

INLAND DAMS AND LAKES

Stn. 16 Strandfontein – 082 990 6753

Stn. 36 Oyster Bay – 082 990 5968

Stn. 22 Vaal Dam – 083 626 5128

Stn. 09 Gordon’s Bay – 072 448 8482

Stn. 21 St Francis Bay – 082 990 5969

Stn. 27 Victoria Lake – 060 991 9301

Stn. 17 Hermanus – 082 990 5967

Stn. 37 Jeffreys Bay – 079 916 0390

Stn. 25 Hartbeespoort Dam – 082 990 5961

Stn. 29 Air Sea Rescue – 082 990 5980

Stn. 06 Port Elizabeth – 082 990 0828

Stn. 35 Witbank Dam – 060 962 2620

Stn. 30 Agulhas – 082 990 5952

Stn. 11 Port Alfred – 082 990 5971

Stn. 38 Theewaterskloof – 072 446 6344

Stn. 02 Bakoven – 082 990 5962 Stn. 08 Hout Bay – 082 990 5964 Stn. 26 Kommetjie – 082 990 5979

Stn. 19 Richards Bay – 082 990 5949

CRAIG LAMBINON: 082 380 3800 (Communications)

You can download a digital version of these emergency numbers from our website: http://www.nsri.org.za/emergency-numbers/

PRODUCT REVIEW Sometimes you get a product that just makes sense and this is one of those products. I used to use a big yellow box to hold all my wet things after a paddle but a couple of months ago I was given a mat bag to try out and since then it has been everywhere with me. In the past if I was travelling/ flying I would have to ditch the yellow box in favour of a black plastic rubbish bag.

These bags would in inevitably catch on something in the boot, tear and leak and would just be mess by the end of the day. In a world where we are trying to not use plastic and if we do, to keep it away from our water ways this is a brilliant solution.

The big advantage of the mat is that you can change on the mat. I have done a number of races that have finished on the side of the river or on a beach. After the race, one of the annoying things is trying to change out of your wet clothes and in to sand free dry clothes.

Well the great thing about the mat bag is that you just spread it out where ever you are. Dust off your feet and step on to the mat (1.2m diameter gives you lots of space) and start changing – drop off wet kit. It is tough – I have not had thorns through mine yet.

It is so easy to pack up after changing – the drawstrings on either end make it really easy to close it up when you are finished. It is completely waterproof so sand does not stick to the bottom of a damp bag when you load it in to the car. Plus you can safely put it on top of any other things in the boot because it does not leak.

Lastly because it is material one can roll it up and pack it in to your paddle bag for when you need it – it does not take up any space.

No more filling up the boot with everyone’s boxes so that there is no space for the allimportant cooler box.

Waterproof up to 10 000mm Available in 600mm and 1.2m diameter Drawstring allows the bag to accommodate bulkier items Made in South Africa from local materials

!

N I W w e N e

Th

g a B t Ma

To stand a chance to win a MAT BAG

SIMPLY Share The Paddle Mag post that announces the release of this issue!

A fantastic series of informative books all aimed at improving your paddling experience!

Available from www.lulu.com (just type in “surfski�), or contact author Kevin Brunette: brunette@iafrica.com

Contact people: Taxi Kotzee 083 609 8051 Chairperson: Rene Boehm 073 363 9866 Secretary: Belinda Morkel Safety officer: Phillip Stumper Dev coach: Etienne Laubscher 079 554 0050 Publicity manager: Andrea Kotze

The West Coast Canoe Club, which had a name and location change in 2015, started as the Navy Canoe Club in 1972. When the interest for canoeing grew within the Defence Force, the name changed to Defence (WP) Canoe Club.

Many great canoeists were members of this club, e.g. Steffan Hugo, 5 x winner of Berg River Marathon.

JT Basson, 2 x Berg winner. Chris Greeff, Berg winner 1979 and 6 x Springbok canoeist and many more.

The club grew in strength and in 1989 it boasted a membership of over 60 paddlers and was ranked 4th amongst canoe clubs in WP. A number of events, during 1990 and shortly after, forced the club to be closed. The chairman was retrenched, the secretary was transferred and national service was abolished. Due to lack of suitable leadership and interest from the members the club closed in 1992.

DSC struck canoeing of the list of defence sports and sold all the club equipment on auction.

In 2000, the club was re-established and was known as the Simon’s

Town Military Canoe Club. Over the next 15 years most of the active paddlers where civilians and many of them came from the West Coast.

In 2014 it was decided to add West Coast to the name. In 2015, new management at the Military sports office stopped supporting civilian club members, so it was decided to break away completely from the Military and establish the West Coast Canoe Club. The club members are very active and have already taken part in major races, like the Swartland / Pink lady, Berg, Oliphant’s, Brede, Green Kalahari and Fish River Marathons.

Where is the club situated?

Velddrif West Coast. We have limited space at the Velddrif Yacht Club for boat storage When is the time trial?

There is no official time trial but there is lots of flat water training as organised amongst the members. It happens mainly on the weekends.

Does the club have canoes / Skis for the beginners to try?

We have a limited amount of canoes, mainly for the very underprivileged

children from the fishing communities.

What makes us great There are lots of social paddlers meeting on the water over the weekends and you could rub shoulders with ex-Berg River winners. We believe that the club is very active and is hosting the West Coast Canoe Challenge, which presently is the most popular canoeing event on the WCCU calendar, with over 200 entries.

The West Coast Canoe Club (WSC) was established to promote canoeing and environmental awareness in the geographical area of the West Coast and surrounding areas of the Western Cape.

Some of our club members have taken the initiative to introduce and promote canoeing along the West Coast and more specifically in Velddrif.

The aim of the club is to establish and maintain a development initiative, which will give children from the West Coast a chance to get involved in the sport of canoeing.

WEST COAST CANOE CLUB

IMAGES West Coast Canoe Club

Contact: Ross Fountain 066 221 6403 for all info

Amanzimtoti Canoe Club was founded in 1990 when approximately 10 keen watermen got together and decided to paddle in the Amanzimtoti River. The competitiveness grew amongst the now paddlers which led to a weekly time trial initiated by the late Terry Grotte. In 1992 the clubs doubled in size to 20 members allowing Amanzimtoti Canoe Club to become affiliated to the KwaZulu Natal Canoe Union.

In 1998, the club had grown significantly to a record 43 members and it was them time to establish a clubhouse that didn’t resemble a boot of a car and a cooler box. The club now resembling a club thanks

to Marvin and Roy Palframan in the shape of 2 containers and deck, allowed for regular paddlers to store boats and paddle daily. It was at this point that Mike Chiazzari, one of SA’s top canoeing coaches combined his natural talent and passion to develop a number of dedicated and committed paddlers to KZN and SA colours. Many Toti Club paddlers excelled in the sport even though most of the times they were up against the lager more established clubs in KZN, Russell Sadler, Mike, Dean and Brent Chiazarri, Tiffany Kruger, Jenna Ward, Kerry Segal, Brett Hadiaris, Oliver Burn, Quinton Rutherford, Gary Albers to name a few. In 2007, Mprojects, Marty and Ricky Lodetti came on board

and sponsored us with a clubhouse second to none.

A thriving club well positioned on the Toti river exceeded 100 members for many years, until the unfortunate regular sewerage spills created a significant health risk to the paddlers. The impact on the club was immense as paddlers began to drift further north into healthier water to resume their passion leaving Toti canoe club with less than half its members and essential little to no development in the youth.

The great part of about the Toti canoe club is the massive heart and determination of paddling community that are always willing to fight for survival.

The Toti Canoe Club went through a rebranding and social upliftment program with the objective to get

IMAGES Toti Water Sports Club

the club back to where it was and provide suitable facilities and craft for the next generation to be able to take advantage of. The rebranding process began modernizing our logo and encompassing all water sport activates (SUP, Surfski and canoe) and thus becoming Toti Water Sports Cub. As part of the development process, we saw the need to exposure our sport to the general public by hosting a number of open days. With having to beg borrow and steal craft, we enjoyed in the region of 30 new paddlers each open day. We were pleased to have Mark Barber and Brent Chiazarri step in as coaches allowing for a great structure in order to build from. Parallel to this process, we required a “fresher” river, to which to our delight we found in the shape of the Illovo River. A pub with no beer is the same use as canoe club without a river and within 2 months of using the Illovo River, the footfall was evident. A huge thanks to Umsinsi adventures, Namely Stuart Henderson, Lynton Roberts and Ken Lombard for being in a position to

allocate us a portion of their business park to house containers until such a time as we can permanently relocate our clubhouse.

As in all nonprofit clubs, we rely hugely on the annual subs to carry us through the year as well as any profit obtained from the one race we host on an annual basis, The Sam Wyer Memorial, 5 beaches. This is one of the longest standing races on the KZN coast that starts at Umkomaas and finishes at Toti Main beach whilst mandatory short portage on each beach.

The journey to making the Toti Water sports club the club of choice continues daily with an encouraging number of guppys joining the club.

We currently have 23 kids (6 – 14) which is certainly one of the largest groups of up and coming stars in the country. Our aim is to support them as such as we can and exposure them to suitable gear, coaching and events. With this said, we are pleased to welcome back Mike Chiazarri back into the coaching mix, side by side with his son and

head coach at Toti, Brent. We intend to introduce Gary Ablers as an additional coach in the immediate future to ensure we maintain progression in our coaching system as paddlers progress.

Join us on Facebook and twitter or better still come and join us on the Illovo River any day of the week.

It is here that you will still run into paddling household names like Stan Whiting, Solly Segal, Gavin Smith and Gordon Bateman. We have craft available for anyone wanting to give the sport a go without having to initially invest their hard earned shekels.

Where is the club situated The club is now situated at 1 Deep Tank Road, lower Illovo, at the Illovo Industrial Park When are your time trials Every Wednesday from 17:30 in summer and 17:00 in winter.

Saturday training sessions and help and communicated through our What’s app group.

TOTI WATER SPORTS CLUB

Price: R700 Book before 25 April and get R100 off (limited to 10 spots)

Improve your stroke ____ Get training smart ____ Nutrition in paddling ____ Develop racing mentality

5 MAY 2018 INTERMEDIATE SURFSKI WORKSHOP

____ 3 steps to master the downwind

Learn from the best:

ICF u23 Surfski World Champion Kenny Rice and SA Lifesaving High Performance team member Shanti Stewart invite you to their intermediate surfski workshop aimed at any paddlers looking to improve their skill set or technique. this workshop is ideal for long distance and spec ski paddlers.

PLACE: FISH HOEK SURF Peter Creese Way, Fish Hoek Cape town

CELL: 0798914455 | 0769571413 tImE:

09:00 – 12:00

OUT

&ABOUT

FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon February 2018

OUT

&ABOUT

FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon February 2018

OUT

&ABOUT

Hout Bay Tuesday Series March 2018

OUT

&ABOUT

WCCU Junior & Senior Sprints March 2018

Let’s Race Events to keep you busy

E A STER N C A P E DATE

RACE

APRIL SAT 31 MARCH - SA canoe polo champs SUN 1 APRIL SAT 1 Buco Race SAT 14 Clipperty Challenge

DETAILS

CONTACT

Knysna

cdebree@hotmail.com

Plet CC

secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

MAY SUN 6 SAT 12 SAT 19

Spar Swartkop Challenge Goukamma Race Chalumna Challenge

Knysna CC East London

dvanwyk231@gmail.com

JUNE SAT 2 - SUN 3 FRI 15 - SUN 17

ECCU Marathon Champs SA Marathon Champs

St Francis Bay St Francis Bay

dvanwyk231@gmail.com

Knysna, 22km Knysna

dvanwyk231@gmail.com

SUN 29

Harbour to Heads Knysna Festival Canoe Polo Border Winter Series 1 Pam Golding Winter Challenge Border Winter Series 2

AUGUST SUN 5 SUN 19 SAT 25

Border Winter Series 3 Border Winter Series 4 Kowie Intercity Challenge

JULY SUN 8 SAT 14 - SUN 15 SUN 22 SUN 22

secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

info@eccu.co.za

dvanwyk231@gmail.com secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

St Francis Canal, 10 and 20km info@stfrancispaddlingclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

G A UTE N G DATE APRIL SUN 15 SAT21 SUN 22 SUN 29 MAY SAT 5

RACE Florida and Schools League Race 6 Marathon K1 Marathon K2 Sprints at Roodeplaat 1

DETAILS

CONTACT

FLC

dennis@seacob.co.za

JCC JCC

Rhys Herbert 082 561 6539 Rhys Herbert 082 561 6539 info@gcu.co.za

SUN 6

BASF Watuni Klip Novice Race Scout Hall to Caravan Park, 16km Sprints at Roodeplaat 2

info@gcu.co.za

SUN 13 SUN 20

Likkevaan Vaal VLC Flat

Lisa de Speville 082 936 2509 Theresa Welsh 082 330 0214

JUNE SAT 2 - SUN 3 SUN 10 SAT 30 - SUN 1 JUL

GCU Marathon Champs and Schools League Race 7 Sprints at Roodeplaat 3 JCC Vaal Marathon

ERK

info@gcu.co.za

Roodeplaat

info@gcu.co.za Rhys Herbert 082 561 6539

BUCO Adventure Surf Ski Challenge Singles and Doubles (K1 and K2) 1 April 2018

➢

This year will be the 11th Easter Surfski Challenge in Plett and we have up the ante with the “DASH For CASH” having R15000-00 worth of prize money.

This year we will once again choose a route according to the ocean conditions. With options of a lap course including the New Mouth at Keurbooms.. The race will be moved to the Keurbooms River if the sea conditions do not allow for safe paddling.

➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Singles and Doubles race will take place together to make space for the “Dash For Cash” in the afternoon.

Singles Results will serve to create seeding for The DASH for CASH in the afternoon Date: Sunday 1 April 2018 Start Time: 09h30 Registration from 08h00 Venue: Central Beach, Plett Surf Life Saving Club Distance: 12km Entry Fee: R100.00 pp Prize Giving: 11:30 (cash and fun prizes) Food and drinks on sale Goody Bags for the first 50 online entrants Please note that life jackets, leashes and cell phones are compulsory

➢

BUCO Adventure “Round the Blinders Dash for Cash“ Sunday 1 April 15h30 ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Entry Fee R50-00 The R15 000.00 total prize money will be on offer The race will be from the beach around a can on the ocean side of the blinders and back to the beach Distance will be approx 1km The race will be held on a knock out basis with heats drawn before the start Men and ladies will compete together (seeding from the morning will count) , with the roads to different finals The total number of paddlers will be drawn into first round heats . Some seeded paddlers from the mornings race may skip the first round The winners of each first round heat will progress towards A final The losers of each heat will progress into various semi finals so that all paddlers will paddle at least twice in the afternoon but finalist will paddle more than this . These paddlers will head towards B and C finals depending on numbers Prize money will be awarded to semi finalists in all the different legs towards the different finals (depending on numbers) The winner in the A final will win R5000-00 (excluding his/her semi final winnings) For more information call James 082 925 7885 or email muddyfoot@roystonfarms.co.za

➢ Life jackets compulsory

Enter online at https://entrytickets.net/pletteasteradventure (website muddyfootadventures.co.za )

DATE

RACE

DETAILS

CONTACT

JULY SUN 8 SUN 29

Sprints at Roodeplaat 4 Schools League Race 8

info@gcu.co.za info@gcu.co.za

AUGUST SAT 4 SAT 18 SUN 19 SUN 26

Centurion 9 Miler SAMC Watuni Klip Sprints at Roodeplaat 5 FLCC Klip

garthgerdi@gmail.com

K W A - ZULU N A T A L DATE APRIL MON 2 - WED 4

RACE SA Sprints - WC and CUP Selection

FRI 6 - SUN 8

SA Schools Sprints

SUN 29

Surfski Series 1

MAY SUN 6 SAT 12 - SUN 13 SUN 13 SAT 19 -SUN 20 SUN 20 SUN 27 JUNE SUN 10 SUN 17 SUN 24 SAT 30 or SUN 1 JUL JULY SAT 7 - SUN 8

mariettezandbergh@gmail.com

Ixoxo Manzi to Caravan Park

DETAILS

CONTACT

Shongweni Dam

NB - moved to Roodeplaat!

Shongweni Dam, 500m, LD, 200m, 100m Marine 1 Singles

Surfski Series 2 Durban International Canoe Polo Festival Surfski Series 3 KZN Marathon Champs Surfski Series 4 Surfski Series 5

Marine 2 Doubles Shongweni Dam

Surfski Series 6 Surfski Series 7 Surfski Series 8 Surfski Series 9

Pirates - Umhlanga- Pirates 5 Beaches Scottburgh to Brighton Durban Downwind

kncuad@sai.co.za

cdebree@hotmail.com

Marine 3 - Surf Challenge kncuad@sai.co.za Durban Surf - Dairy Stella - King of the Bay

SUN 8 SUN 29

Final Sprint Trial for Senior World Champs Point Water Sport Ski Race 1 Point Water Sport Ski Race 2 Share-List Property Season Opener Point Water Sport Ski Race 3 Point Water Sport Ski Race 4

DUC, 9am, 6 or 12km DUC, 9am, 6 or 12km

AUGUST THU 9 - SUN 12 SAT 18 / SUN 19 THU 23 SAT 25

Tugela 20’s Gara Dolphin Coast Challenge Lance Park Memorial Capitol Caterers Schools Polo

Winterton / Bergville Pirates SLC NCC Camps Drift, 16km Shongweni

SUN 8 SUN 15 SAT 21

info@gcu.co.za dennis@seacob.co.za

stella.canoe.club@gmail.com

kncuad@sai.co.za DUC, 9am, 6 or 12km DUC, 9am, 6 or 12km Upper Umgeni, 16km

NCC 033 342 1528

DATE

RACE

SAT 25

Shaka Challenge

SUN 26 TUE 28

Alex Caruth 2 Duncan Scotney

W ESTER N C A P E DATE

RACE

DETAILS ZKC Clubhous, Meerensee, Richards Bay Upper Umgeni, 16km PYC, 16km

DETAILS

CONTACT

mike.jackson@lake-agri.co.za stella.canoe.club@gmail.com

CONTACT

APRIL SAT 14 SAT 14 SAT 21 FRI 27 FRI 27 -SAT 28

Mini Marathon Event There and Back Challenge Paarl Le BAC Novice Race Freedom Challenge Orange Descent

PRL or PEN, 9.30am Fish Hoek Beach Sports Club Paarl, 9am, 12km Oceana Power Boat Club Uppinton

chrisjanc@gmail.com

MAY SAT 5

Marina Da Gama K1

Peninsula Canoe Club, 9am, 16km Paarl,9am, 16km

secretary@peninsula-canoe.org.za

thepaddlemag@gmail.com chrisjanc@gmail.com info@stroke2max.com

SAT 12

Paarl to Lady Loch Novice K1 Race

WED 16 SAT 19 SUN 20 SAT 26

10KM K1 WCCU Marathon Champs k1 WCCU Marathon Champs k2 Skooljie k1

Milnerton Peninsula CC Peninsula CC Paarl, 9am, 23km

richarda@akaciamedical.co.za

JUNE SAT 2 SAT 9

Gouda - Bridgetown K1 Herman - Gouda K1

9am, 30km Berg River, 9am, 32km

secretary@peninsula-canoe.org.za

SAT 23 - SUN 24 Pink Lady Drakenstein Berg River, 53km Marathon - MCCU K1 Champs SAT 30 Elanie - Misverstand 9am, 30km Soetdraai

enquiries@pinkladyrace.co.za

secretary@peninsula-canoe.org.za secretary@peninsula-canoe.org.za

chrisjanc@gmail.com

chairman@centurycitycanoeclub. co.za

chrisjanc@gmail.com reneboehm@mweb.co.za

JULY SAT 7 Wellington to Herman WED 11 - SAT 14 Berg River Marathon

9am, 30km Berg River, 240km

petervandermerwe@vodamail.co.za

SAT 21 Breede Winter Series SUN 22 Nekkies Eilande K2 WED 24 10km K2 Pen SAT 28 - SUN 29 Olifants Marathon K1

Ossdrifbrug, Worcester 10am, 27km PCC Olifants River, 10am, 36km

jon.g.adams1@gmail.com

10am, 28km Wyzerdrift bridge, Breede River, 10am, 20km 10am, 27km

secretary@peninsula-canoe.org.za

Breede River Breede River Breede River, 71.5km

richarda@akaciamedical.co.za

AUGUST SAT 4 THU 9

Robertson to Bonnievale K2 Wyzersdrift K2

SAT 11

Elandia to Robertson

SAT 18 Drew to Swellendam K2 SUN 19 Bontebok K2 SAT 15 - SUN 26 Breede River Marathon

chairman@centurycitycanoeclub. co.za petervandermerwe@vodamail.co.za secretary@peninsula-canoe.org.za

richarda@akaciamedical.co.za

chrisjanc@gmail.com chairman@centurycitycanoeclub. co.za

chrisjanc@gmail.com richarda@akaciamedical.co.za

I N TER N A T I O N A L DATE APRIL 21 APRIL 12 - 15 MAY 18 - 20 MAY 25 - 27 JUN 25 - 30 JUL 28 - 29 AUG 1 - 5 AUG 22 - 26 SEP 3 - 4 SEP 6 - 9

RACE Amsterdam Waterland Marathon Youth Olympic Games Canoeing World Qualification Event, Barcelona, Spain ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup 1, Szeged, Hungary ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup 2, Duisburg, Portugal Mauritius Ocean Classic World Series, Mauritius ICF Junior and u23 Sprint World Champs, Bulgaria

ICF Canoe Polo World Champs, Welland ICF Senior Sprint World Champs and PARA Champs, Portugal ICF Masters Marathon World Cup, Portugal ICF World Marathon Champs, Portugal

image www.canoeicf.com

DETAILS info@amsterdamcanoemarathon.com www.canoeicf.com www.canoeicf.com www.canoeicf.com dhenry.jphboathouse@intnet.mu

View from the back of the boat View from the back of the boat.

We certainly are a resilient group of people. At the start of the mag I noted how busy the year has already been and we have only just begun the sprint calendar; the canoe polo and World Surf Ski Series are just about to kick off. We have also had a trying time with the river races, the 2 Day Klip had great water, the Drak almost no water and now at the time of writing this the Klip and the Tugela are in flood!

When the sprinters had to change their venue from on the coast where the water is warm to far inland where the water is well, not so warm there was hardly a murmur. Yes, it is inconvenient and expensive but in life it is ‘just one of those things.’ The sprinters still entered the provincial trials in the hope of making it to SA’s.

When asked how they are getting to Roodeplaat they just smiled and said “we will make a plan!” A remarkable amount of resilience!

We have an insatiable need to challenge the odds. Hundreds of paddlers lined up on the start line of the Dusi in the hope that they would survive three days. Straight after the Dusi was the mighty Umko with it heaving waters, big drops and indistinguishable lines through the rapids – it is enough to give one the impression of the e.coli bug! And yet people turn out for the challenge, the comradery and laughs.

As you may know my partner came down with the dreaded bug at the end of day 1. So after making sure that she was safely home we went back down to the river to watch paddlers negotiate Marianni Foley rapid and make their way down to the dam. Well the water level was ‘low, low’ to quote an expert so it was difficult to find a line through the rocks and yet paddlers tried and tried and when they got stuck – they climbed out pulled their partners over the rocks and got going

again. Again remarkably resilient to the conditions. Then standing at the fabulous watering point at the top of the dam we met a number of paddlers that had wrapped their boats, sprained ankles, broken paddles and were basically were having a very tough day but none of them complained. None of the paddlers we met were throwing in the towel – saying that they would never paddle again. With a shrug of their shoulders they commented ‘that’s life’ and cheered on their mates.

Let’s try and take this kind of resilience into the rest of the year.

There are a number of challenges lying ahead so remember to support each other when you get the chance even if it is just an encouraging comment. With regard to the bigger issues, I believe that if we can discuss it together and then laugh it off we will be stronger for it and our amazing sport will grow in all of its different disciplines.