Paddle Mag 5 2017 October / November / December

Issue 5 2017

Celebrating World Marathon Champs TECH: Getting to backline CANOE POLO

KHAYELITSHA

FALL IN LOVE WITH CANOEING ALL OVER AGAIN

IMAGE Cameron Hudson

REGULARS

8 A WORD FROM YOU 51 OUT AND ABOUT

Spot yourself at PCC & Fishhoek Beach

47 NUTRITION Race day ready

FEATURES

18 ESTI VAN TONDER World Sprint expereinces

26

GETTING OUT TO BACKLINE AND BACK AGAIN

56 CALENDARS

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

63VIEW FROM THE BACK OF THE BOAT

RACES IN REVIEW

10 WORLD MARATHON WRAP UP

22BREEDE CANOE

30 CANOE POLO MARATHON 35 KHAYELITSHA CANOE 43VKB LIEBENSBERGVLEI CLUB

CANOE MARATHON

Send your letters to thepaddlemag@gmail.com

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

on the cover ISSUE 5 / 2017

IMAGE: Cameron Hudson EVENT: World Marathon Champs, PMB

CONTRIBUTORS Esti Van Tonder Christopher de Bree Kate Standley Jennie Dallas

PUBLISHER Terrence Pomeroy-Ward thepaddlemag@gmail.com AD SALES thepaddlemag@gmail.com DESIGNER Tracy Ward ADMIN thepaddlemag.adm@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHY Cameron Hudson Cape Photographic Studio Jennie Dallas

Cape Town Sports Photography Christopher de Bree

PUBLISHED ON Issuu.com

3 BEACHES 15 October 2017 9am Long Course: 15km Short Course: 6km Cost: R100.00 for long R50.00 for short course Beer, Boerie rolls and good coffee on sale JUMPING CASTLE for the kids * You MUST be WCCU/ CSA registered to do the long course @Fhbsc on Facebook Terrence 079 137 6963

NOTE FROM THE ED This is the

celebration edition! And there is LOTS to celebrate!!

We are an awesome bunch of people. If you do not feel good about yourself, paddling in your province and being part of a phenomenal group of people at the end of this edition then we suggest that you go back to page 1 and read it slowly this time.

One would have to start with World Marathon Champs 2017. We screamed when we could, we laughed when we had the chance and we nearly wept when people swam or lost their steering and we had a blast. Huge, huge congratulations to all the athletes that took part. Right from the word go at the World Masters Cup right to the end with the Senior Men K2 you gave it your all and we loved watching. And you survived the heat – Africa is not for sissies that is for sure. You made us proud to be South African paddlers all over again and for that we thank you.

The next thing to celebrate is how fast we are able to change tack and the very next weekend paddlers were gathering to either take on the VKB Liebensbergvlei Canoe Marathon in the Free State or the Breede River Canoe Marathon in the Western Cape.

They were raced under very different water conditions but similar weather conditions interesting enough.

The paddlers in

the Western Cape were fresh from their marathon experience and looked for every opportunity to jump out of their boats and run; clearly the format was still on their minds. Let’s hope that it has worn off in time for the Fish. But here is the truly remarkable thing – we just keep on doing it, from the paddler that makes the Breede their annual thing regardless of the conditions to the okes who lost their steering and then jumping in another boat the next weekend - we are an awesome bunch. We just keep going!

The other next thing to celebrate is the people that just quietly get on with doing a fantastic job. (Not me – I am an editor and make a noise about most things ;) ) One such example is the Khayelitsha Canoe Club. My family had the privilege of spending the morning with them a couple of weekends ago and they really touched our hearts. We were introduced to the club by Siyanda Sopangisa one of the co-founders of the club and Richard Kohler who has worked tirelessly with them to help get them off the ground. Please have a close look at the photos in the article and you will see that they are practicing in knee deep water that is probably the size of three car garages put together – that is it! But they are doing it and doing it well! When asked what do you want most – they asked to meet / paddle with other paddlers. Yes they need stuff like any club but their hearts desire is to paddle with other paddlers. Surely as the paddling community we can make that happen! We celebrate their award with them and we celebrate their fighting spirit that may one day get them to their own World Marathon Champs.

Enjoy, Terrence

A WORD FROM YOU...

Send your letters to thepaddlemag@gmail.com

WINNING LETTER Hi Just wondering why the “controversy� of the Berg River Canoe Marathon is given prominence and the race itself - One of if not the lowest on record and the first won by a foreigner and... - was not even mentioned?

Other than that a great read.

Kind regards Gordon Hi Gordon, You are absolutely right. We thought that we had it covered, but our writer did not make the deadline.

The problem is that we rely entirely on good will as we do not have a budget to pay writers. So if life gets busy we just get emails saying sorry or nothing at all. It was never our intention to ignore or trivialise the phenomenal effort that each paddler put in just to get to the finish in such low water.

Thank you for your response.

Hope that helps Regards

COMPETITION TIME! Our winner of the awesome Orca paddle is...

Tyron Hudson

Congratulations!!

IMAGES Cameron Hudson

WORLD MARATH

HON It’s a wrap

WMC 2017 Report Firstly a huge congratulations is in order for Steve Botha and the organising committee that worked so unbelievably hard behind the scenes. Steve’s ability to take over the reins in the 11th hour after the previous organiser ran out of steam and interest was just brilliant. It is one thing to pull a rabbit out of a hat once a day but to do it for six days in a row and to have the rabbits in order put him in the league of Merlin and other great wizards! The other aspect that in our opinion deserves huge praise was the online streaming; definitely the best marathon coverage we have ever seen!

Next congratulations must be to each and every athlete that took part. Wow right from the word GO! At the first race of the Masters World Cup the South African paddlers took this week by the scruff of it neck and made it their own. Team SA seemed

undeterred by the sweltering heat and simply got on with the job of producing outstanding performances. The Masters World Cup could have been another SA trials event we dominated it so completely. It was amazing to see so many people travelling from the four corners of South Africa just to be at the event. The results cards at the end were just covered with South African flags reflecting the commitment and support as South African paddlers came out in their numbers to make this an event to remember. Allan Hold once again got Team SA off to a flying start bringing home the gold in the Men’s 65-69 category. At the end of day 1 Team SA had laid claim to nine of the golds on offer that day with the other 6 largely going to the other team in Green and Yellow. On a lighter note it was great to watch Robyn Henderson and her neighbour Liz Hart fight it out in Pietermaritzburg

for the gold in the Women 50-54 age category. It was also encouraging to see a previous winner Ant Scot showing that he still has what it takes to romp home and claim the gold in the Sub-Veterans category. At the end of day 1, Team SA were the clear leaders with 32 of the medals out of a possible 45 tucked safely in their pockets.

Team SA’s domination of the event continued on day 2 as they again took 13 of the gold medals on offer to claiming most of the K2 titles.

They seemed oblivious to the souring temperatures as they marched on through the day.

Thankfully Wednesday was a rest day for all the race organisers and marshals. This gave everyone time to catch their breath before focusing on the next round of battles that were about to unfold.

Right from the start the Hungarian team showed why they are viewed as the world’s best marathon team

with their show of strength and near perfect technique. They were unstoppable on day one with bold displays of being quite prepared to go it alone in the front rather than wait for bunches to form. The best example of this being Adam Varga who had a lead of over 30 seconds after the third lap in the Men’s Junior race and just kept pulling away from the field.

But the Team SA’s juniors came back fighting and what a fight it turned out to be. To quote a great paddler – “it is not over until it is OVER!” and that certainly held true for our juniors. In the first race of the day Christie Mackenzie managed to stay with the chasing bunch of six after the Hungarian duo broke away at the start leaving the bunch to fight it out for bronze. What a fight it was but in the end Mackenzie was able to take the lead in the final portage and in so doing missed the carnage behind her and was able to claim a comfortable

third position and our first medal of the day.

In the K1 U23 Women we were well represented by Kyeta Purchase having just moved up for juniors last year and Kerry Segal. Once again the Hungarians proved to be too strong for the rest of the field and fought it out for gold and silver leaving the rest quite far behind to fight it out for bronze. It is here that experience really beings to tell and unfortunately our girls split their time and focus between rivers, sea and marathons and they were up against women who live and breathe marathons alone. They still did very well to finish seventh and eighth respectively.

In the Men’s juniors race it was wonderful to watch Alex Masina managing to be one of the leading four boats as they headed off to the top buoy. Unfortunately the pace was too fast for Masina and he dropped off the pack. This left

him in no man’s land between the leading and chasing bunches and a lot of work to do on his own.

Eventually he managed to reel in the Brit and at the third portage one of the Hungarians. At this point young Uli Hart was snapping at their heels in fifth position. This was amazing accomplishment considering the pace that was being set by the leading boats. In the end Charlie Smith from Britain was just too fast for Masina who was able to hold off the Hungarian and claim bronze. In perhaps a lack of experience, Uli Hart elected to paddle most of the race on his own being content to chase the leading pack but in the end was not quite strong enough to defend his position against Foley from Ireland and had to settle for sixth.

The first race of the day on Friday was K2 Women Junior and it was inspiring to watch these girls go! The Mackenzie cousins teamed up with their respective partners – Christie

teamed up with Sabina Lawrie and Caitlin with Amy Peckett. The Hungarian team of Kohalmi and Bako broke away on the back straight of the first lap and never looked back – quite happy to paddle the marathon on their own. As the race progressed it was clear that the race belonged to the Hungarians who finished two minutes clear of any other country.

Our girls raced their hearts out and certainly made us proud of their determination in the face of such well-oiled machines. The team of Christie and Sabina finished just outside the medals in fourth and Cailin and Amy were right behind them in sixth position.

Team SA Men Junior K2 marathons raced with a level of maturity we have not seen in a long time. They did incredibly well to be in the top 3 boats right from the start and as the race progressed they just got better and better. By lap 4 the leading boats were over 1:30 min ahead of the chasing pack.

The South African teams paddled

a mature and tactical race, taking turns to pull, constantly putting the pressure on the Hungarian team and then relaxing in the V before starting the process again. Their ability to pace themselves and hold on when the Hungarians put the hammer down is truly incredible.

In a freak accident after the fifth portage the rudder system in Davis and Lovemore’s boat broke and with it slipped away their chances of a gold medal. With tremendous tenacity they paddled on. The boat is very difficult to manage on its own without a rudder but when the chasing bunch came past their wake made it almost impossible to keep the boat going straight. They finished a gutsy sixth after their gallant effort to get the boat home.

This just left Evans and Mackenzie to fight it out with the Hungarian team of Vékássy and Adám who were just too strong on the day. For them to come away with silver is a remarkable feat considering that Evans and Mackenzie are still U16

and have a lot more racing to do in juniors.

The last race of the day again highlighted just how cruel and amazing racing can be. We were represented by Jean van der Westhuizen and Nicolas Notten in the U23 Men’s that always promised to be a cracker of a race. In a great show of determination and strength both Team SA paddlers did very well to be in the leading bunch of 11 boats after the first turn. Jean who was lying 6th was knocked out of his boat in the straight leaving Nicolas to fight it out in the leading bunch. In a wonderful display of youthful spirit Nicolas delivered the hurt just before the first portage and laid down the challenge for the rest of the race.

Nicolas in a surprise attack managed to get away in the 5th portage forcing the group to work hard to catch him again. He had a 17 sec lead going up to the top turn.

Finally in the last lap Franco Balboa from Argentina was able to bridge the gap and catch Nicolas. Once he

had done so he made it plain to everyone watching that he was simply not going to do any more work and was content to sit in Nicolas’s wake for the rest of the race.

Although Nicolas put in an unbelievable effort to shake Balboa on the last portage he was not able to and in the end it was Balboa who had the energy to put down the last hammer and claim 1st but well done to Nicolas for doing all the work.

Jean van der Westhuizen was having a different type of fight because he suddenly went from being in the leading bunch to 18th after his swim. His never say die attitude was a delight to watch as he steady caught boats in front of him and then proceeded to overtake them at the next opportunity. This he did this again and again until he finished a well-deserved ninth place.

The racing just got faster and faster as the days progressed and on Saturday morning it was the turn of Women’s K1 to take to the water after a phenomenal SA trial everyone was watching Bridgitte Hartley and Melanie van Niekerk take on the rest of the world.

Bridgitte has made a seamless transition from sprints to river and to a lesser extent surfski racing so we were all eagerly watching to see if she could make another transition look so easy. Unfortunately at this level of racing there is no substitute for experience and although Bridgitte paddling well she looked uncomfortable in the bumping around the turn buoys and trying to ride the slip in the bunch. It cannot be easy to go from neat lanes and nobody close to you to the type of racing were attacking, bumping and strategy are keywords in the game plan.

In spectacular fashion Lani Belcher from Britain managed to go up several gears in the last 500m to out sprint Vanda Kiszli from Hungary. Jennifer Egan from Ireland did not rise to the challenge and paddled home to a comfortable third. Bridgitte came in twelfth and Melanie sixteenth.

In the afternoon it was the turn of the Men’s K1 and all eyes were on Hank and Andy to see if they could repeat the performance of 2016. Right from the start the men’s race was far more physical than the races that had preceded it. The mens ability to use the wash, boats around them and on occasion the shallow water to gain an advantage or squeeze ones opposition is the mark of great tactics at work. I am sure that we all held our breaths as Adrián Boros upped the pace at the end of lap one and the big bunch suddenly became a group of five boats

in the lead. We all cheered when Hank and Andy stormed through the first portage and it was Boros left to do the work to catch up. This breakaway split the big bunch in to the leading four boats of Boros, McGregor, Birkett and Ramalho and the rest trailing about 30 seconds behind. Hank truly should his skill as a tactician to place himself at the front of the leading pack on the back straight to the final portage. He held all the cards going in to the last short lap but he had to defend his position first against Boros and then twice against Birkett to finally take the end sprint in spectacular style to claim gold and his ninth world title. Andy Brikett finished a spectacular second and Boros third.

The last day of the Wold Marathon Champs dawned in to a stunning day for racing for the women K2 teams

of Hayley Nixon and Michelle Burn and Jenna Ward and Nicky Russell.

All of these ladies are phenomenal paddlers in their own right, and their personal ability to stay calm in the face of tremendous adversary showed in their approach to the race. But once again there is no substitute for experience. In what can only be described as a rookie error Jenna and Nicky appear to have set off using ‘new’ paddlers that clearly did not suit them. Thankfully they opted to change on the first portage and were soon back to their fighting ways but it was too late to try and catch the leading pack.

Hayley and Michelle looked like we were in trouble in lap 3 when the 2 Hungarian and 1 British boat broke away at the portage. But after a phenomenal effort they managed to catch up to the leading bunch in lap

4 and it was game on again.

In the final portage the Hungarian team showed their true colours and closed out the potential steal by the British pair and rocketed off to the short turn. Hayley and Michelle did incredibly well to race against more experienced teams and stayed in the leading pack to finish a fantastic fifth.

Jenna and Nicky did well to recover and claim eleventh place but we are sure that they must be disappointed after their win at SA trials three weeks prior.

We are sure that the paddling world stopped what they were doing to watch the final race of what had been a suburb four days of racing.

The day before our World’s number one and two had successfully defended their titles and now everyone wanted to see if they could do it again. Representing Team SA

was Hank McGregor and Jasper MockĂŠ in one boat and Andy Birkett and Jean Van Der Westhuizen in the other boat. Hank and Jasper were clearly quite happy to take the fight to the other paddlers. One of the clashes left Hank with a nasty gash above his left eye for the rest of the race. By the time the first lap was done the leading group was whittled down to 5 boats and away they went. In the first portage Hank and Jasper ran amazingly well to take the portage and lay down the gauntlet for the rest of the race.

Andy and Jean paddled a different race constantly challenging the other teams and forced them to paddle a little harder than they would have liked to. It was fascinating to watch two different strategies by the South African Boats. Andy and Jean opting to constantly challenge the pace

and race leaders from the flanks and Hank and Jasper happy to mix it up in the middle of the pack.

It was status quo until in lap 5 when the Hungarian and German boats after a gigantic struggle managed to re-join the leading bunch. It was fascinating to watch the group jostle again for positions and authority in the bunch. The next lap and a half was clinical racing to the T by Hank as he used the V to conserve energy only taking the lead to force a position before heading back to the V. When Hank and Jasper finally made their move it was explosive which left the Norwegians reeling and it was Hank and Jasper leading in to the final portage and they took it leaving them in control for the last 1000m.

In the end sprint it was gold for Hank

and Jasper and silver for Hungary and bronze for Andy and Jean.

With that Hank got his 10th World title and Jasper retains his title as the most decorated K2 marathon paddler in the world.

Clearly our coaches are on the right track and they are working with very talented and motivated young paddlers. Perhaps the one area that needs work is experience. We need to find a way that our marathon team and potential team members can race together more than once a year. It is too expensive to compete at the World Cups in the run up but maybe an Easter Weekend of racing where everyone mixes it up may be a possibility?

Esti Van Tonder IMAGES Curtesy ICF Media and Esti Van Tonder

Racin’ in Racice

ICF Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships 2017, Racice TPM Congratulations on an impressive tour. You have had a whistle stop tour of KZN, Portugal, Hungary and recently the Czech Republic. How do you feel that it has gone?

EVT After the disappointment of not qualifying for the Rio Olympics I had a very long stretch of lonely training with no short term motivation in terms of races to look forward to.

Fortunately for me my coaching programme was structured in such a way that I had definite monthly targets to work towards in training and this helped to speed up time.

I also started playing around with some new training methods which definitely turned some heads, working with Niel du Plessis from Sport Science Lab and PVM Nutritional Sciences, to start thinking outside the box when conditioning

the body and approaching sessions with a different frame of mind.

Leading into the local racing season I was very excited to see how my nine month preparation phase has changed my racing and after KZN Champs I was confident that we were on the right track.

After World Cups there were still some pieces to the puzzle that needed some fixing, but there will always be something that needs improving.

World Champs was the ultimate test for 2017 and I couldn’t have been happier. Racing was consistent and every race was a good one, leaving me to be a very happy camper!

TPM The Europeans seem to take sprinting a lot more seriously than us. What is it like being on the starting line with so many people

watching?

EVT Sprinting in Europe is at a whole different level than in South Africa.

They recognize the importance of supporting and preparing their athletes in this Olympic sport and take huge pride in their results!

Lining up against the likes of Lisa Carrington and all the other Olympic finalists and medallists is quite a daunting thought. Once you line up you have to confident in your own preparation and abilities, this is where the mental game starts playing a role!

I always just think of my own path that I had to walk to be able to line up in the blocks and feel assured that my preparation was the best of my abilities.

TPM What is it like being one of the smallest teams on the circuit?

EVT With it being an individual sport for me, the size of the team isn’t really something that comes up for me. I am quite private and tend to keep to myself, especially during racing so having a smaller team makes things easier for me to cope with my introvert tendencies.

TPM You have been racing overseas since 2015 – does it get easier over time?

EVT I’ve actually been racing internationally since 2007 when I raced my first Marathon World Champs at the age of 14. That was a very scary experience for me!

My first international sprint event was the 2008 Africa Champs in Kenya and the 2009 Junior World Championships in Moscow.

It definitely does get better with time, you get more confident in your own abilities and you learn to shut

out the big crowds and all the noise, but you also learn to draw energy from such an amazing vibe that the crowds create!

TPM Paddling the 200m and 500m on the international circuit means at least 3 races per discipline that must be very demanding wouldn’t it be better to specialise?

EVT Racing both the 500m and 200m is definitely demanding but with the right support at the event that obstacle can be easily overcome. If I did not have Niel with me in Racine this year my racing towards the last two days of racing could have been quite different. He made sure my body was relaxed, loose and ready before and after each race, working in recovery sessions in the pool to keep me activated but not fatigued and taking my mind off all the racing at appropriate times with walks to nowhere and good talks over some coffee. Having him there to support me goes a long way, not only physically but also mentally. I think that is one of the biggest factors that

affect South African athletes. We try and do everything as professional as possible back home during our preparation and lead up to an event, but then our athletes travel alone to the events, leaving behind all their support.

TPM Although sprinting is clearly your passion it is not your full time job – what do you do?

EVT Yes, unfortunately sprinting is not a sustainable career. So in order to keep myself alive and get to training I work, mainly, with children affected on the Autism spectrum, working on their physical development and trying to help them work towards independence.

I also do the same for children affected by Sensory Processing Disorder or any other form of developmental delays. I’ve also got a part time admin job to go with all of that and then I’m studying part time through UNISA as well.

It is a demanding schedule and sometimes it all becomes a lot to handle, but thanks to my amazing

employers I am able to deal with everything.

TPM How did you start sprinting?

EVT Back in the good old days when sprinting was still at the top of its game with Nandor Almasi appointed as the national coach, I was fortunate enough to have been able to train with him and all the athletes, Jen Hodson, Michelle Eray, Bridgitte Hartley, Shaun Rubenstein, Calvin Mokoto, my brother, Fouche and everyone else who was part of that elite group. I got an inside view of what it takes to really make it and I learned from a very young age that nothing will come easy and everything you want you have to earn!

TPM Who do you train with in Gauteng?

EVT For the last few months I’ve been training by myself, training under the watchful eye of Niel du Plessis from Sport Science Lab as well as getting valuable input from a biomechanics perspective from

Gavin MacMillan.

driving force is Olympic glory!

TPM Sprinting and being on tour must take a huge commitment – how do you cope?

EVT I think sprinting and being overseas is the easier part of my life.

Feels like I’m on holiday, not rushing from one place to the next all the time. Staying committed to sprinting is easy, I love what I do and I do it for me. There will always be challenges and frustrations, especially when it comes to trying to fund my dream, but in the end it’s about the achieving the dream at any cost and sacrifice needed.

TPM Now that you have experienced the international sprint circuit what are your plans going forward?

EVT I will be continuing my preparation towards 2020. I have a four year plan, not a one year plan that I just keep repeating. I will continue to challenge my body and mind every day in pursuit of my goal!

TPM With the sprinting calendar finished for the year – how do you stay motivated until 2018 racing starts?

EVT Time flies when you’re having fun! Between now and the 2018 season there really isn’t that much time. I still have my monthly training targets and feeling and seeing the improvement after every test is motivation enough. Ultimately my

TPM And lastly sorry I have to ask your thoughts on how we can build the sport? (For example - I love the online coverage that your races got) EVT Giving the sport more coverage is definitely a step in the right direction, but I think ultimately it begins with the athletes. We as athletes will have to go out and promote the sport and ourselves as athletes, because no one is going to do it for us. Along with my club, Academy for Canoe Development, we have started a school league to promote sprint racing, which provides children in Gauteng with the opportunity to take part in a

sprinting event monthly. This league has grown significantly over this year and we have now expanded it to include an open category for anyone to take part. Myself and some of our other elite athletes then race each other and try to also be the example of what it takes to be great in the sport, just like the example I had growing up training with Nandor and his team.

Sprinting is a difficult sport to practice and even more difficult to perform in, mostly due to the huge lack of support for the sport in our country. We need to teach the younger generation that nothing good comes easily and that every day you need to work on it for yourself, not for what you can get out of it.

Be the example and give back to the sport!

IMAGES Cape Town Sports Photography

Mud, Sweat & Tears

conquering this year’s Breede

BREEDE CANOE MARATHON

50TH ANNIVERSARY RACE While the people of the north had opted to make use of the constantly flowing water that forms part of the Lesotho Highlands project the people down south opted to show their determination not to be conquered by the drought that has ravished their province for so long. From the middle of winter the reports on the Breede River were not looking promising with races being

cancelled or shortened and with little relief in sight everyone knew that it was going to be hard on the boats and murder on the heaver okes.

And yet still they came to take their chances. Just over 150 paddlers took to the water on Saturday morning in defiance to the drought. It must be said that at least 10 boats opted to live another day and did not make it on to the water.

The race organisers had almost no option but to make the call that instead of paddling the traditional two days, the paddlers this year would have to do day two twice as there is very little water in the top reaches of the river. They had hoped that the tributaries that feed in to the Breede River would make enough of a difference to the water

level that day two would at least be possible.

It was hard going for all the paddlers as there were numerous times when they had to jump out and pull their boats over the rocks or sand banks.

Some in shear exhaustion opted to try and stay in their boats and grind their way over the rocks to the detriment of the boats and paddles.

Even the well-known Waterfall Rapid was just a rock bed this year. At the end of day one it was an elated and exhausted Stuart Maclaren and Kenny Rice that came in to take the lead from a determined Craig Flanagan and Dominic Notten. In the ladies race the team of Kirsten Penderis and Irish international paddler Aisling Smith had already started to display their dominance of the race with an impressive lead of more than fifteen minutes over the U18 pair of Keegan Kieser and Caitlin Mackenzie who had only just got back after her two fantastic races at the World Marathon Champs.

The race organisers then made the call to shorten day to 16km starting at Drew Bridge rather than further back up the river. This was the best decision considering how tired

everyone was after the battering that they took on day one. To their credit Craig Flanagan and Dominic Notten came storming home on day two beating Stuart Maclaren and Kenny Rice by a good six minutes and now hold the record for the fastest day two ever! Well done! Let’s hope that this record is secure. But their effort was not enough to rein in the far more noteworthy record of Stuart Maclaren managing to clinch the overall win for the third consecutive year. He won in 2015 with Graeme Solomon and in 2016 with Jasper MockÊ.

The low water obviously favoured the lighter teams who were able to float through the trickles when the heavier teams had to get out and haul their boats over the rocks.

This is a good thing in a way as it gave the lighter teams the podium experience. The most notable one being the KZN team of Hamish Mackenzie and Cara Waud who finished 4th overall, 1st mixed double and 1st U16 team.

In the ladies race Kirsten Penderis and Aisling Smith, although winning on day one, took a hammering in the low water on day two and slipped

behind the U18 pair of Keegan Kieser and Caitlin Mackenzie who won by three minutes on day two, posting the fastest time for day two.

But it was not enough to dethrone the local heroes and they took the overall win by a comfortable ten minute lead in the end. Kim Peek and Marion Young also just returning from the Masters Cup in Pietermaritzburg dashed on to the last step of the podium.

FINAL RESULTS Men 1.Stuart MacLaren / Kenny Rice 4:28:15 2.Craig Flanagan / Dominic Notten (1st U23) 4:31:23 3.Bartho Visser / Chris Prinsloo (1st U18) 4:33:30 4.Hamish Mackenzie/Cara Waud (U16, 1st mixed double) 4:33:32 Women 1.Kirsten Penderis/Aisling Smith 5:04:11 2.Keegan Kieser/Caitlin Mackenzie (2nd U18) 5:19:08 3.Kim Peek/Marion Young 5:34:02

IMAGES Michael MacLachlan, Cape Photographic Studio

Getting out to backline and back again

A couple of weeks ago we had a wonderful opportunity to join SurfSki School Cape Town on a brilliant initiative to get more women paddling. Their idea is simple- free lessons to all women from the 16 September to the 2 December. A really neat idea.

While many of the ladies opted to charge the backline waves in single surfskis we joined a number of other experienced paddlers in taking out the ladies in doubles which seemed to make sense for first-timers. But it got us thinking about the fact that summer is coming and with the water levels at all-time lows in the Cape and KZN we thought that it would be a great time to encourage new surfskis.

HERE ARE SOME HINTS

1 Find a friend

I remember battling and battling when I was learning to windsurf until finally I invited a more experienced friend to come and sail with me one afternoon. Well I went from swimming to loving it in the course of the afternoon. We strongly recommend that you do the same.

Find a friend that knows the local

conditions and is stable enough in their own boat to be able to paddle next to you.

2 Find a stable boat

At the moment we are watching people loving their Kynsna Racing CLK’s, Epic V7 (but not the V8 Pro yet!) and Fenn Blue Fins. So if at all possible try and get your hands on to one of those.

You want a boat that is a snug fit for your buttocks and the footrests are adjustable to your leg length to start.

Aim for the most comfortable / stable ski in your price range to start with.

The sea conditions change from day to day and you do not want to be sitting on the beach because your boat is too tippy.

3 Get a paddle that fits you

For really good advice on paddles please see a previous edition (TPM 2 2017), but suffice to say that something in the old Lettman style is a good start- it is forgiving at entry and exit points and does not require a huge amount of effort to get through the water.

4 Start on a flat / calm day

Do not start on a day when the wind is blowing from the beach towards the waves – you may find it very difficult to get back to shore!

IMAGE Tessa Brunette

Don’t make the mistake of waiting for the perfect day because that may never come! Rather try on a day when the wind is not too strong or the waves are not too big to venture out for the first time. Choose a beach with a short stretch out to backline. To give you an example Muizenburg beach can have a wave area of 50m whereas around the corner Fish Hoek may only have 10m.

Fish Hoek is a better starting point.

5 Put your boat in the water

It seems pretty obvious but it is a must! If you came down to paddle – paddle before you go home. To start with jump in and just be content to paddle in to the small waves / foamy’s. As the waves approach your ski try and straighten up so that your boat is at 90 degrees to the wave and paddle towards it. Keep paddling for as long as possible. As the nose of your boat hits the wave / foamy it will pop up – that that point brace on either the left or right hand side by placing your paddle blade flat on the water. As soon as the foamy wave has passed regain your balance and start again. As you gain your confidence try going further out to sea. If you feel wobbly take your feet out and put them over the sides of your ski until you feel more stable again.

6 Time to go OUT

The only advice that we can give you is that as you are bobbing over the waves you will probably notice that every so often three big waves come in. Those are often called the sets. Try and time your paddle out so that you are not getting to backline as they arrive again. The only other advice we can give you is that once you commit – just stay calm and keep on paddling. Bear in mind that it is often only a distance of 30m / 40m that you have to get through.

If a wave comes paddle in to it and try as best you can to punch through the top section of it. If you can remember too – pull back on your foot straps with your feet so that the wave does not suck you off the back of your boat. Lastly don’t stop paddling until you are well clear of the backline waves.

7 Have fun out there

Paddle around after all you have done it – it is time to soak up the sun, enjoy the view and just be grateful that you live in a place that allows you to this sport.

8 Time to come IN

Wait just past backline until the sets have gone past and then come closer to shore.

You need a wave that is steep but not just about to break so that you can paddle and have some momentum before the wave breaks behind you.

Decide on your swell and start to paddle. You should be catching waves 1- 3 feet high on your first attempt so this will work. Use your rudder to get the boat to point straight to the shore. If it starts to turn left or right gently lean out in the opposite direction and wait for your boat to correct itself. As your ski goes down the wave try and lean back – this is to limit your boats nose from going under water for too long.

As soon as you feel stable, start to paddle towards the shore and keep paddling as the wave catches up to you.

Lastly, enjoy the ride back to shoreturn your ski around and start again.

CANOE POLO

IMAGES Christopher de Bree

The Paddle Mag got to know a little more about canoe Polo from Christopher de Bree, South Africa Canoe Polo Chairman.

TPM Canoe polo looks like a mad sport – how did you start playing?

CDB I personally started playing when I was 13. I was a boy scout and the national coach at the time came to our group and did a talk about the sport. I tried it out and I never looked back. A lot of the guys started playing through scouts or kayaking.

to learn how to roll (perfected over a few weeks) but I have seen it take 3 years for someone to learn. It comes down to whether the person is scared of going under water. It is also not how strong you are. I have a 12 year old I coach who can roll and there is also a girl around 14 in Knysna who can roll.

TPM Do people ever get hurt playing canoe polo?

CDB This does not happen often.

Most guys get common shoulder injuries but that is normal for most paddlers. The most common injury is a banged finger from a paddle but there are rules on the equipment you have to use so injuries like this is rare.

TPM Are you allowed to push someone over in the game?

CDB Yes you are. Canoe Polo is a semi contact sport which means you are allowed to make contact with another person’s boat with your boat. There are many rules around safety to prevent injuries. With pushing, you are allowed to push someone over as long as it is done safely. Players will push someone over who has the ball. It is a form of “tackling someone” as they only have 5 seconds to pass the ball.

TPM You seem to spend a lot of time rolled over, how easy is it to right the canoe?

CDB It does take practice to learn how to roll. It took me one evening

TPM If I cannot right it up again –

can one get out easily enough?

CDB Yes of course, one of the first things a novice is shown is how to exit the boat safely if they capsize.

When underwater you pull the tag on the splashy and you grab the side of the boat and push yourself out.

Even if a person passed out in their boat, other players are shown how to right that person for them.

TPM How would one get started?

Where could you go to watch canoe polo?

CDB Canoe Polo is played around the country at various clubs. In Gauteng we are actively playing at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club and at East Rand Kayak. In KZN the guys are playing at Shongweni dam and at the PMB varsity pools. In the Western Cape we play at the canel in Cape Town and at the water front in Knysna. If someone would like to get started they are welcome to contact myself and I can guide them in the

right direction. Each club has a coach and club equipment so we would be able to get someone started.

TPM Our guys look really good – is there space for beginners?

CDB Yes most definitely. On a national level our focus at the moment is building the youth and growing the numbers. At Each club we have a wide range of different skills levels and age. All the way from 10 years old and above. The guys at each club will be able to help anyone to get started.

TPM We had no idea that there is a schools league and a provincial league – please would you talk us through this.

CDB At the moment we have schools tournaments in KZN. We are working on getting this set up in Gauteng and Western Cape going forward which will in time feed into a national schools tournament.

Outside of the schools we have a national champs once a year and a few other tournaments around the country. Our national championships

is normally in March each year. This year’s national championships is in Knysna for the first time so it is going to be great to play in a new venue.

TPM Who are the best teams at SA Champs?

CDB What is very exciting to see is that this has kept on changing each year. The men’s category has been fought out between KZN and Gauteng over the years but the Western Province guys are improving each year. The U21 men’s category was very exciting this last year as the KZN, Western Province and Gauteng teams were neck and neck up until the finals and the final was won in overtime. The ladies division is also hotly contested between KZN and Gauteng. What I am very proud to say is that we have started a new U16 category which has grown each year. The current SA Champs are Gauteng (Men’s, U21 Men), KZN (Ladies) and Western Province (U16).

TPM We hear that you are going to the World Championships in Canada in August next year. How many

teams are you sending?

CDB We are currently still in the initial stages of this. We have put out applications for the players who would like to attend and the teams will be selected closer to the time. We would like to send a Men’s, Ladies and U21 Men’s team overseas. The national selection committee will decide closer to the time whether the teams will apply to go to world champs or whether they will do a European tour.

TPM How would one get selected for one of the teams?

CDB We have three national training camps. The first being in October 2017 and the Last being in February 2018. After the three selection camps the selection committee would select the top players to represent their country.

TPM Who are we likely to play again in this World Championship?

CDB This we do not know yet. The pools at world champs are ranked according to the previous worlds.

We would have four teams in a pool

with the top two going to the top 12 and bottom two going to bottom 12 teams. This is also different across the various categories. The current

world champions are Italy but there are other teams like Germany, France, Spain and Netherlands who are very strong.

TPM Is there funding to assist in the costs or is the tour self-funded?

CDB No the tour is completely selffunded.

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

Khayelitsha Canoe Club... developing young talent

WE WERE PRIVILEDGED TO MEET UP WITH SIYANDA SOPANGISA, KHAYELITSHA CANOE CLUB, AND RICHARD KOHLER, CENTURY CITY CANOE CLUB, TO CHAT ABOUT THE AMAZING THINGS HAPPENING IN KHAYELITSHA AND OF COURSE MEET SOME OF THE YOUNG PADDLERS. WE HOPE THAT YOU ARE AS INSPIRED AS WE WERE. TPM When and how did the club start?

SS It was in 2013 that the idea of canoeing came about. Actually it is a really funny story; my brother and I were watching TV and saw the club in Gauteng called Dabulamanzi Canoe Club. So we started doing our research and that is how we met Richard Kohler and he helped us start the whole research process over again in order to set up a club.

We got all the documents and started organising boats, lifejackets and paddles. The coaching guys,

Akhona Sopangisa and Sandile, went for training with Richard so that they could in turn come and train the guys here.

RK I put them through a whole instructor’s course – it is an ICF level 0 course. It was done unofficially just to give them a handle on where and how to start coaching.

The club itself has a constitution, website and Facebook page. Now we need to work on the actual running and managing of the club and doing that in a constitutional manner. At the moment it is really just Siyanda

and Akhona that have taken it upon themselves to run the club. So they are doing everything themselves, in the next couple of months we need to set up a proper committee and bank accounts.

TPM Where did the boats come from?

SS It is all thanks to Richard, some of them we got as donations and the fluids came from LOTTO and Western Cape Canoe Union. It seemded more feasible to get mini canoe polo going because of the size and amount of water – it is not really suitable to K1’s

so the idea it that eventually this will become a feeder group for canoe polo.

RK We got some donations from overseas and we were able to use that to buy two boats, a number of the boats come from my paddling academy or kayak school as it called now. We just fixed them up and away we go.

TPM If we can just go back to canoe polo for a minute; has it worked and is there someone to coach polo?

SS There is a club at the waterfront in Cape Town. Akhona and Sandiswa actually went on a canoe polo coaching course, on how to coach.

We had an international German lady came over to do the course on the waterfront and our guys did it.

It was a little too advanced for them – being straight off the bat. But they certainly got to learn a lot and roll a boat and all that cool sorts of stuff.

Quite a taxing experience when you do it for the first time. Sandiswa was exhausted when he got home from the course – like a sick puppy, he was that tired. They learnt a lot and the skills that they learnt they are now

implementing at the club.

TPM Let’s chat about this amazing award.

SS It was actually a surprise to us because we were nominated

by Laura – Western Cape Metro, we were nominated under the recreational sporting body of the year. So on the 31 July attended this gala evening in Cape Town where all the representatives from the various sporting bodies were present. It was a surprise and it was an honour to be a finalist and it means that at least people recognise that we are doing something for the community. It was a huge surprise to be the overall winner. It was the first time we were nominated so to come away with the recreational sports body of the year is a huge honour.

TPM How did the presentation of the award go – were you shortlisted on the night or before the event?

SS Before we got there I received an email stating that we had been selected as a finalist for the award of the Recreational Sporting Body of the year. Then at the event the

first award to be handed out was the Recreational Sporting body Award and it came straight to us. Craig was surprised that canoeing won; it is a very rare occasion that a canoeing club wins something and that is why I say that it is an honour. It really is incredible when there are so many other, often more recognised sports like soccer and rugby.

RK Also remember the recreational side of the award. Because the club is unable to do any kind of competition, they are not a competitive club because they just do not have water to have canoe races. That is why that received the recreational award. They are in a slightly separate different category to the rest of our clubs. Is really nice that they recognise the difference because not everyone has a competitive focus. And obviously the social development side of the club is huge and I think that is one of the big reasons why they got the award.

TPM The recognition of all the hard work is fantastic but does it come with any sponsorship or any kind of help?

IMAGES Tracy-Lee Anderson

RK I think that it is a massive stepping stone because it gives the club some publicity. We have been working hard at getting it going but without the award you probably would not have heard about the club (True) but now it has been thrown in the limelight and the guys have to capitalise on it. Use it now to get all the sponsors and get all the stuff that we need.

SS it also gave us the opportunity to raise the profile of the club within the community. The parents have also been a little sceptical to bring their kids to come and paddle and now they are bringing the kids and some of the parents have even come and tried paddling. So that in itself is a huge achievement. It has also opened up the minds in the community so that they can see that we are doing something to benefit their kids. It has also helped with the littering problem. Previously people in the neighbourhood used to litter around the wetland. But now each and every day during the week

they come and clean here without being asked so it has really opened people’s eyes that something big has happened.

RK Some of the challenges that they faced from the beginning is that water is not a common medium for sports and mostly because the parents themselves are scared of water. So the fear of water and the lack of understanding of the sport means that when the children are approached the parents block them because the parents don’t understand it so they do not let their children to join. But with this award the parents are realising that there is something to this so let’s explore it and that is what we are seeing now.

Because that was a huge stumbling block – the parents would just say “no, you may not go paddling..”

SS Most Black people went they see water they think of mermaids, sharks, crocodiles and whales so it was a challenge to change the mind-set of the parents. So this award has really helped a lot. It has

helped change the mind-set of the parents in to a slightly more positive way. We have even recently got two girl paddlers. The girls tend to be busier than the boys so they come occasionally.

TPM So how do you keep the momentum with the parents because one thing is clear if one watches any sport. Parents sitting on the side-lines shouting for their kids makes a big difference for the children.

SS If the parents don’t buy in to the sport and let their kids come and paddle it would be a waste of time because we will be sitting here with the boats, water and no paddlers.

So we are constantly working on that by inviting them to come and experience what their kids are doing. In that way they can see that their kids are having fun in a safe environment and that there are adults that are there to look after them and take care should anything happen.

TPM So what is the next step from here?

SS As you can see there is very little water here after 3 years of drought so it would be a great thing if the kids could go and paddle in different areas – that would help a lot. Paddling on the same stretch of water tends to dampen their moral but if they could go out and experience paddling with paddlers from other clubs that could help.

RK On that note, I have been toying with the idea of trying to find sponsorship in the form of MY CITI passes, because they are able to take a bus from here to Century City (Canoe Club) and we are geared for them and we would like them to come but that is the challenge – the transport. Once a month we would like them to come through and paddle on different water, deeper water and receive a higher level of coaching and instructing.

TPM When they get to CCCC is there some sort of academy that they could join?

SS Yes a coaching school. Akhona and San went for training there.

RK in the past they have gone through to Marties Canoe Club and received some coaching and took part in a race. It is the closest club to here but it is not ideal because it is not on a public transport route so it is difficult to make it a regular event and their dam is shrinking fast in the drought. Peninsula Canoe Club and Century City CC are ideal venues. The big advantage of CCCC is that they are on a MY CITI public transport route. So I think that the next step is to look for some assistance to keep that as a regular event. There is a social group of juniors that train at CCCC on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. So if it all works according to plan the KCC children could come on a Tuesday and if they have progressed enough, they could stay for the time trial. Our club has a lot of K3’s which we use to take novices around the time trial so we could always put the KCC kids in some of those when they are ready.

It all boils down to the transport issue. How do we get them there and home again. The idea is just to let them have fun and meet other paddlers. The Hungarian model is to just to have fun in team boats until they are twelve years old, up until then they are in double guppy’s or K2’s.

TPM Is there enough equipment for the KCC to use once they get to CCCC? RK Yes there is, it is pretty much just a transport issue. Getting the kids there once a week would be great but they should get there at least once a month.

SS We have 30 registered members at the moment so I think that once a month would be great. Not all have to come those that are available can come this time and others on another occasion.

RK We don’t really need more boats until we start racing. We need more Fluid Vaya’s. We have 6 and need 6 more to have a working polo team.

As you can see the Vaya’s are best

suited to these conditions; they are fine in shallow water and any kid can paddle one. Plus the Vaya’s can be used when people are starting canoeing, we can use them to teach skills and balance and from there the kids can progress to the guppy’s.

Kids need to learn how to do draw strokes, paddle backwards and have fun on a boat before getting in to the competitive side.

TPM Siyanda, you really do appear to be on the right track but what drew the kids here in the first place?

SS We arrived in this neighbourhood in 1995 and used to swim in this river and we started by trying to recruit the young kids that were swimming in the water with us. Because downstream there are kids that still swim in the river. So we started with the kids that already have a love for the water and trying to introduce them to a water sport rather than just swimming. Most of them come across because they already love the water so it is fairly easy to get them to try paddling.

Ok, but how did you personally get in to paddling?

SS I love the outdoors, for me the outdoors is like medicine. When we arrived in 1995 this was what I knew, I do not play soccer but canoeing I did want to try. So after we saw the advert on Dabulamanzi we contacted Richard and there was this old row boat in the neighbourhood that was not being used (read abandoned!) and we managed to persuade the owner to give us the boat. That is where it started with a row boat right in in this water. There were reeds all over. We still have the row boat and it is in the shed with all the other boats.

RK The club logo actually has the boat as part of the logo – so that fills in why they have a row boat and not a canoe.

SS the row boat was our entry to canoeing, Akhona and I and a couple of friends started paddling just for fun. When Richard came to visit for the first time we already had the row boat and he was pretty amazed.

TPM Is there any kind of homework programme that goes with the canoeing?

SS Yes, we do help the children with maths and business economics at the moment, but that is a fairly new part of the programme.

TPM Who have been your big supporters along the way?

SS Richard – he has been here from the beginning; guiding us and supporting us.

RK We do get coaching funding from Canoeing South Africa but the money that they get they have put back in to the club. For example with the money they got they had t-shirts printed. We got great donations from Evy Lantz and her friends and with that money we were able to buy two beautiful K1’s and numerous people have donated their canoes, paddles and lifejackets.

VKB LIEBENSBERGVLE

IMAGES Jennie Dallas

16 - 17 SEPTEMBER 2017

The dust had hardly settled on WMC 2017 and already people were clicking away to enter the VKB Liebensbergvlei Canoe Marathon.

The reason was soon clear to see; with the promise of an amazing 27 cumecs of water, great hosting and wonderful vibe at the camp grounds – it was the best place to put in practice on big water for miles and miles around. It was encouraging to see the number of KZN paddlers also make the great trek up the hill and on to the flat lands for the Gauteng Canoe Union K2 River Championships hosted

by Dabulamanzi Canoe Club. The race was from Reitz to Tweeling on Saturday 16 September 2017, and from Tweeling to Frankfort on Sunday 17 September 2017 a distance of some 30/32km per day.

More than 250 people took to the water at the start of day one for what was going to be a thrilling

adventure down the Liebensbergvlei River.

The race organisers pulled out all the stops to arrange a superb two day racing event with great organisation, fantastic sponsorship from VKB, as well as Standard Bank - there were superb giveaways including Boat Tie Downs and Mielie corn paddling shorts - great catering, energetic marshalling at all the right points, accommodation and just super race management - well done....it will take a lot to beat a race organised to this calibre.

The rapids on day one from the Reitz Waterworks were really fabulous fun with a good 27 cumecs flowing down the river and warm sunshine although the Vrystaat wind howled up the river with power. Day two was a grind on flat water after a blustery night and surprising cold heralding possibility of rain, so it was hard

work although the river was flowing, and provided excellent training to strengthen muscles and improve stamina three weeks prior to the Hansa Fish.

There was an excellent turn out for a long drive to a river race, with 104 K2’s finishing, as well as 32 K1’s, as well as 10 K3’s plus some paddlers who only did day one and aren’t listed on the results.

The race attracted a number of high profile paddlers including the Bronze Medallist Bridgitte Hartley with international paddler Krisztina Bedoc, and Cyprian Ngidi (Central districts) also a former Olympic participant in the Slalom discipline.

A number of SA’s top paddlers also participated, some having competed at the recent ICF World Marathon Champions hosted in Pietermaritzburg, while also drawing our paddlers from KZN,

EI CANOE MARATHON

Lowveld, Witbank, Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, Parys!

The top three lady finishers in this K2 championship race were Bridgitte Hartley with Krisztina Bedoc (KZN/ INT) in 4:03 as 12th K2 in first place, with second place taken by Jenna Ward and Vanda Kiszli, (KZN/INT) in

4:11 as 17th K2.

Sonja Bohnsack (Dabs / Gauteng) and Merrill King (KZN) were our first South African lady finishers in 3rd place, and a time of 4:54, as the 65th K2 finishers. Cally Henderson and Lisa Currell (Dabs) were the 4th lady finishers and the first fully Gauteng

team finishing in a time of 5:06, as K2 81.

The winning men were Clinton Cook and Hamish Lovemore from KZN in a time of 3 hours 48 minutes over the two days setting a high standard for our Gauteng paddlers to match!

The second place finishers in 3:49, were Gauteng’s Sisko Ntondini (Soweto) with Kiko Vega (Int), while Thulani Mbanjwa and Banesti Nkhoesa from KZN took the third podium position a bare second later.

The first Under 23 finishers crossed the finishing in 3:57, from KZN, Tyron

Maher and Thomas Lovemore, while the Under 18 top finishers were also from KZN, Callam Davis, and Emanuel Zaloumis, finishing in a time of 3:58.

It was a super weekend of training, great racing, excellent vibe with music / party and most enjoyable -

well organised, well sponsored and much appreciated!

JENNIE DALLAS

House of Nutrition’s dietitian Kate Standley prides herself in providing a comfortable environment for individuals to come and see a registered dietitian working with evidence based information. She remains up-to-date with nutrition trends and ensures that clients make informed, health promoting decisions.

Kate provides a ‘hands on’ approach which helps clients achieve their dietary changes. Clients will learn to love healthy, nutritious food and discover easy to use recipes that keep you satisfied. Follow the House of Nutrition on Facebook, Pinterest or on their website for quick easy recipes you and your family can enjoy.

OFFERING Vitality Weight Loss Rewards

Kate Standley RD (SA) 461 Main Road, Lakeside Kate@Houseofnutrition.co.za 078 999 8363

Ready, Steady, Go CHOOSING THE RIGHT FOODS AND PROPER TIMING OF NUTRITION HAS A VITAL ROLE TO PLAY IN SPORTS; THE QUESTION YOU MAY ASK IS WHAT BENEFITS WILL THIS ADD TO YOUR TRAINING AND RACE DAY? The following list is just some of the advantages to good nutrition. It • improves the overall energy levels during the event • can prevent ‘hitting the wall’ • can alleviate uncomfortable hunger pangs during the sporting event • improves your weight and general physique • reduces the likelihood of illness and injury • enhances recovery and work on consistent performance.

Working as a Dietitian and having seen athletes from novice level to week-end warrior, intermediate all the way to the professional, the number one question that they all ask me is ‘what

do I eat on my race day to improve my results?’

There is no quick answer to this, but understanding the basics around exercise and nutrition may help to simplify things. It goes without saying that activity requires fuel to get you moving; however the

Anaerobic alactic energy system

100m

400m

800m

10 seconds

1 minute

2 minutes

Anaerobic lactic energy system

type of activity will depend on which fuel your body will choose to use.

Given my audience, let’s focus on activity that lasts longer than three minutes (in other words, more than a sprint). This activity is fuelled by aerobic energy. In the first 1- 4 hours of ongoing activity the body will derive approximately 50-60% of its energy from glucose (carbohydrate in its most simple form). Glucose will be taken from your blood stream or from glycogen (glycogen is glucose in a stored state) stored in the muscles, liver and intramuscular space. The remaining energy will be retrieved from fat tissue that is broken down into free fatty acids and then small amounts of amino acids (simple proteins) found in the muscle, blood, liver and stomach. All these sources provide large amount of glucose which in turn are converted to Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) used for energy transfer.

One side effect of endurance activity is what is notoriously called ‘hitting the wall’. This

50% Anaerobic 50% Aerobic

hon

Marat

2 hours plus

2% Anaerobic 98% Aerobic

condition is the feeling of fatigue and lack of energy which is reached once all glycogen stores are used up and the body has to look to alternative fuel sourcing.

At this point, the body turns to fat stores which require a large amount of oxygen to oxidise and may result in high body temperatures and increased heart rate during activity.

The body generally has sufficient glycogen stores to keep us going for 60-90 minutes of ongoing activity. The duration will depend on each individual’s intensity and fitness levels. If the event is likely to take longer than this, then nutrition strategies become vital.

BASIC NUTRITION STRATEGY TO HELP MAXIMISE YOUR ENERGY LEVELS ON THE RACE DAY.

The morning of the event:

Timing of your last meal is variable on each person.

Certain individuals best tolerate their last meal 2-4 hours prior to the race, so as to avoid stomach upset. Others choose to have a small snack 1-2 hours prior so as to

top up their fuel before the race. The choice and portion of meal or snack is really something that needs to be individualised.

The unspoken rules are that they be: • Familiar foods (please don’t try a new cereal or bar on the race day).

• A good source of carbohydrate (to fuel your stores) • Low in fibre content (especially if you are prone to prerace nerves or upset stomach) • Easy to digest (not too high in protein or fat as these take longer to digest) Example: fruit smoothie or a small bowl of low fibre cereal with fruit and low fat milk

During the event:

The amount needed for each individual is not the same and will likely need some practice and possibly the help of a Dietitian. Ensure lost fluids are replaced; the amount necessary is based on the individuals sweat rate. For events greater than 90 minutes it is advised to consider 30-60g of carbohydrate intake per hour in order to ensure sufficient glucose replacement. The rules to food choices are the same as those of pre-event choices.

Example: choose 1-2 of the following every hour (1

cereal bar, 1 sports gel, 375ml sports drink, 6 salti-cracks, 30g nougat)

After the event/recovery:

In the 60 - 90 minutes after your event the body is most effective at replenishing glycogen in the muscle and working on muscle repair. The goal in this period is to replace any fluid, electrolytes, and energy that were used in your event. This is to ensure good recovery. Try to have 1g carbohydrate per kilogram body weight and about 20g of protein in the first 30-60 minutes post activity, then follow up with your next meal in about 2 hours.

Example: 500ml of chocolate milk + 1 medium banana (66g carbohydrates & 18g protein) Most athletes focus on the race day itself, but the glycogen stores can be built up prior to the day. The best way to maximise and spare glycogen stores is to make sure that your daily diet includes a variety of wholegrains, fruit and vegetables.

It’s important to remember, that each athlete is unique and may require tailoring to this strategy to best meet individual performance needs.

KATE STANDLEY RD (SA)

Kate Standley is a registered dietitian with over a decade’s practical experience, qualifing at the University of Stellenbosch She then headed to the United Kingdom where she worked in a variety of dietetic roles. In 2010, Kate decided to further her studies at the Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh in Scotland covering nutrition in critical care.

Kate moved back to South Africa after 10 years out of hospital therapy and into private practice. She worked in a leading private practising firm based in Johannesburg with her role covering a large range of health care issues as well as various media related roles. In 2015 Kate moved to Cape Town to get married and joined the House of Nutrition.

Kate strongly believes in practicing what she preaches and is passionate about building a rapport and working alongside her clients to achieve their goals. Healthy food is an obvious focus, but she is insists it can still be tasty, healthy and without restrictions. With a love for the outdoors, Kate enjoys exercise and is a keen runner. Working with a wide range of nutrition related conditions, she has a special interest in sports nutrition, weight loss/management, heart disease, cholesterol or lipid issues, insulin resistance and diabetes, food sensitivities such as gluten free diets, healthy eating in pregnancy and healthy eating education.

Orca Friday Night Marathon Series Peninsula Canoe Club

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Border Summer Series

secretary@bordercanoeclub. co.za

Gamtoos, Jeffrey’s Bay, 10 & 20km Fish River, Craddock, 84km

info@stfrancispaddlingclub.co.za DeWetP2@dwa.gov.za secretary@bordercanoeclub. co.za

SAT 4 SUN 5

Pete Marlin Race Cape Point Qualifier

FRI 10

Border Summer Series

secretary@bordercanoeclub. co.za

FRI 17

Border Summer Series

secretary@bordercanoeclub. co.za

FRI 24

Border Summer Series

secretary@bordercanoeclub. co.za

DECEMBER FRI 1

Border Summer Series

secretary@bordercanoeclub. co.za

SUN 24 THU 28

Carey Olsen Shark Point Surfski Sporty Anderson Surfski Race

East London, 22km

charl.vanwyk@bcx.co.za

St Francis Beach, 18km

info@stfrancispaddlingclub.co.za

St Francis Beach, 18km

info@stfrancispaddlingclub.co.za

GAUTENG DATE OCTOBER SUN 1 SUN 14 SAT 21 - SUN 22 SAT 28 NOVEMBER SAT 4 SUN 5 SAT 11 - SUN 12 SUN 19

RACE

DETAILS

CONTACT

GCU School League GCU School League Lowveld Croc DABS 4 Hour Enduro

DABS DABS

Tracey Watkins 082 564 0163 Tracey Watkins 082 564 0163

Dabulamanzi Canoe Club

Jason Brown 076 112 0402

VLC Maluti Schools League JCC Vaal Marathon GCU K2 Champs - K3 Champs 94.7

Liebenbergs Vlei Final race and prizegiving

Tracey Watkins 082 564 0163

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/

DATE DECEMBER SAT 10

RACE FLCC Dusi Klip

DETAILS

CONTACT

Heidelberg Bridge to Caravan Park

Vaughn Steven 082 373 0159

JANUARY SAT 13 - SUN 14 Eurosteel Highveld Croc SAT 20 School League Sprints SAT 27 - SUN 28 JCC 2 Day Klip

Jukskei River JCC Klip River

Jason Brown 076 112 0402 Tracey Watkins 082 564 0163 Martin vd Bergh 072 302 9799

FEBRUARY SAT 3 SUN 4 TUE 6 SAT 11 SUN 25

LCC Eland Memorial Dabs Dambusters VLC Nite Race Schools League K2 Marathon

Elands River Dabulamanzi CC Victoria Lake, Germinston ERK JCC

Craig Lewis 073 665 6881 Jason Brown 076 112 0402 Wayne Saunders 082 414 8627 Tracey Watkins 082 564 0163 Pete Roussouw 082 895 8129

FEBRUARY SAT 24 SUN 25

K1 Marathon K2 Marathon

JCC Jcc

Pete Roussouw 082 895 8129 Pete Roussouw 082 895 8129

KWA-ZULU NATAL DATE

RACE

OCTOBER SAT 14

Capitol Caterer’s / Popes Canoe Schools 10 Lap Enduro SAT 14 - SUN 15 Da Real Downwind Series Race 4 SAT 21 - SUN 22 Da Real Downwind Series Race 5 SAT 21 - SUN 22 Dam to Dam 2 Man Relay

SAT 21 - SUN 22 Da Real Downwind Series Race 6 SUN 29 Umpetha Challenge NOVEMBER SAT 11 SUN 12

SAT 18 DECEMBER FRI 1 - MON 4

Popes Walk Alan Gardiner Memorial, including Guppy / Beginner race Ithala Challenge

SUN 3

Commemorative Dusi Canvas Journey Hi-Q Challenge - Guppy Race

THU 7

NCC Nite Race

DETAILS

CONTACT

Camps Drift

Rob Marriott

Pirates - Umdloti, 22km

Angus Ferguson 083 309 9249

Pirates - Umdloti, 22km

Angus Ferguson 083 309 9249

Day 1, K2, Albert Falls to Cumberland Day 2, K1, Cumberland to Nagle Dam Richards Bay - Pirates, 162km

Angus Warren

Camps Drift to Bishopstowe Hall

Mary Millward 033 342 1528

Ibis to Dip

Neels Meyer 083 231 0919

Bivane Dam to Ithala Game Reserve

Marius van Eeden 082 893 2357

angus@batechubb.co.za

Artwell Mhlophe 073 234 0343 Angus Ferguson 083 309 9249

Alex Park PMB to Blue Lagoon, Anton Venter 033 347 1766 120km Bon Accord Park, Albert Falls 072 344 0244 Dam Caamps Drift, 15km Mary Millward 033 342 1528

DATE SUN 10 SAT 16

RACE

SUN 17

No 8 to Josephines Bridge Winkle - Toti - Winkle Lords and Legends Ski Race KZN MD Champs

SAT 30

Fast Drak

DETAILS Umkomaas, 15km Winklespruit LSC, 15km

Ernie Alder 072 437 7397 Mark Pontes 083 281 2007

Scottsons Bridge to 2nd Coleford Bridge, 25km Underberg, 65km

richard@underbergforge.co.za

JANUARY SAT 6 SAT 6 SUN 7 TUE 9

KFC Mooi River Race Mooi River, 18km Race 1 : FNB Surfski Challenge Karkloof Canter Howick, 15km Crusaders Nite Race KCC Clubhouse, Blue Lagoon, 16km SAT 13 Race 2 : Funky Pants Surfski Challenge SUN 14 Hi-Q Challenge - Guppy Race Bon Accord Park, Albert Falls,15km SAT 20 Race 3 : Daikin Surfski Challenge SAT 20 - SUN 21 N3TC Drak Challenge Castleburn Bridge to Hopewell Farm, 65km SAT 27 Race 4 : Thule Surfski Challenge SAT 27 Dash n Crash K1 and K2 Camps Drift SUn 28 Campbells to Dusi Bridge Campbells Checkpoint FEBRUARY SAT 3

Nagle Dam, 200m

SUN 25

Capitol Caterers / Popes Canoe School Sprints Race 5 : Euro Steel Surfski Challenge Inanda Dam to Durban Race 6 : Borland Surfski Challenge Presented by Marriott Capitol Caterers / Popes Canoe Schools Bushmans Race FNB Dusi Open Day Race 7 : Lettie Paddle Surfski Challenge FNB Dusi Expo and Registration FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon Race 8 :FNB Surfski Challenge Capitol Caterers / Popes Canoe School K1 River Champs Nyala Pans to St Elmos

MARCH FRI 2

Non-Stop Dusi

SAT 3 SUN 4 SAT 10

SAT 10

SUN 11 WED 14 WED 14 THU 15 - SAT 17 SAT 24 SAT 24

CONTACT

Malcolm Pitt 074 185 1579 Kelvin Mumford 072 086 2549 barry@marineseries.co.za Chris Slater 082 498 5559 Rod Bowes 082 789 6422 barry@marineseries.co.za Colin Davie 072 344 0244 barry@marineseries.co.za Richard Jardine

richard@underbergforge.co.za

barry@marineseries.co.za Les Willows 082 809 7923 Chris Gillitt 083 634 4436 rijcmarriott@gmail.com barry@marineseries.co.za

Inanda Dam, 35km

Terry Drummond 083326 2333 barry@marineseries.co.za

Wagendrift to Lambert Park, Estcourt

rijcmarriott@gmail.com

Mary Millward 033 342 1528 barry@marineseries.co.za NCC

Mary Millward 033 342 1528

Campsdrift to Blue Lagoon 16km

Mary Millward 033 342 1528 barry@marineseries.co.za rijcmarriott@gmail.com

Nyala Pans, Umkomaas, 25km

Lana Allen 082 743 5838

Campsdrift to Blue Lagoon

Mary Millward 033 342 1528

DATE SAT 3 SAT 10

RACE

DETAILS

SAT 17 - SUN 18

Race 9 : Hi Q Surfski Challenge Capitol Caterers / Popes 12km Canoe Schools Mooi River Race Race 10 : Varsity College Surfski Challenge and Varsity College SA Schools Champ Hella-Hella to Josephines 32km Bridge Umkomaas Marathon

APRIL SAT 7 - SUN 8

Tugela Marathon

SAT 10

SUN 11

CONTACT rijcmarriott@gmail.com

barry@marineseries.co.za

Ernie Alder 072 437 7397 Ernie Alder 072 437 7397

Middelsdrift to another big 5, 75km

Rod Bowes 082 789 6422

WESTERN CAPE DATE

RACE

DETAILS

CONTACT

OCTOBER SUN 15

FHBSC 3 Beaches Ski Race

Fish Hoek Hobie Club, 6km or 14km

Terrence Ward 079 137 6963

SUN 22

Cape Point Challenge Qualifier 1

Fish Hoek Life Saving Club, Peter Cole 083 675 0616 35km

SUN 29

Mark’s Beach Bar Ski Race

Langebaan

Rob Meintjies

SUN 5

Cape Point Challenge Qualifiyer 2

35km

Peter Cole 083 675 0616

SUN 12 SUN 19 SUN 26

Oceana Surfski Milnerton to Melkbos Two Harbours

Oceana Power Boat Club, 15km Robin Tindall Milnerton LS, 20km Richard Kohler Fish Hoek Hobie Club, 16km Terrence Ward 079 137 6963

Daniel Conradie Memorial Ski Race

Strand LS

SUN 3

Cape Point Challenge Qualifiyer 3

Fish Hoek Life Saving Club, Peter Cole 083 675 0616 35km

SUN 10

Peter Creese LHC

Fish Hoek Life Saving Club, 10 km

Pete Cole 083 675 0616

SAT 16

Fenn Cape Point Challenge

Scarborough / Witsand to Fishhoek Beach, 50km, 5.30am

Peter Cole 083 675 0616

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER SAT 2

Herbert

INTERNATIONAL DATE

RACE

DETAILS

SEPTEMBER 27 OCTOBER 1 SEPTEMBER 30 OCTOBER 1 OCTOBER 27 - 29 NOVEMBER 4 - 5

ICF Slalom World Championships

www.canoeicf.com

Dutch Coast Race

info@surfski-holland.nl

Breizh Ocean Race Pete Marlin East London

kayak-brest.com

NOVEMBER 18 - 19

Hong Kong Dragon Run

thedragonrun.com.hk/the-race. html

NOVEMBER 25 - 26 DECEMBER 9

Perth Doctor

oceanpaddler.com/events/ the-doctor

Palm to Pines

Sydney Coast oceanpaddler.com/events/palm-2pines/event-information

bordercanoeclub.co.za/pete-marlin

VIEW FROM THE BACK OF THE BOAT Well call me strange or odd, I don’t really mind but did anyone else notice about the lack of female paddling coverage at the World Marathon events? Please don’t get me wrong I was screaming and shouting for Hank and Jasper and Andy and Jean from the beginning of lap 5 but did anyone else notice that there was another race that day: The Women’s K2 – in case you have forgotten.

Here we were represented by some of our favourite athletes Hayley Nixon and Michelle Burn in one boat and Jenna Ward and Nicky Russell in the other boat. They are awesome athletes paddling just as hard as everyone else. Please shout if I am wrong but I have not seen a word about their race. Why? The coverage of the women’s races in the Masters Cup was simply non existent again why?

Let me tell you a true story that I have not stopped telling because I think that if we do not get our act together we are in trouble. I was at the FNB Durban Downwind and

mistakenly I thought that there would be some sort of check in the night before so I headed down to Marines Lifesaving club. When I discovered that there was nothing going on I still had an hour and a half to kill before joining friends for supper so hearing loud music coming from uShaka Marine World I headed over to see what was going on.

It was the start of one of these manic obstacle course races ; you know the ones where people have to crawl in the beach sand for nearly 700m jump from board to board – clamber along a cargo net – climb a rope and touch the top of the bridge – climb a ladder on to the bridge – do 40m of squats, star jumps, rolling medicine balls in the sand, sorry I have forgotten, - haul themselves over poles 6 feet in the air and all of that in the first 1.5km of a 9km race! But here is the interesting thing, there were over 500 participants and more than half were women.

These women are tough, they are willing and they are competitive. But where are they in paddling? I have

been to two races this year where the women paddlers were not even acknowledged – there were only prizes for men – Really!

Folks we are in trouble if we allow this type of thing to go on. At the time of going to print the WCCU is having a meeting to discuss next year’s fees. They are already the most expensive union in the country.

Why as a female paddler would you want to be part of a sport / union that doesn’t even acknowledge you?

I am sorry to use this page to make a point but it is one thing to have this antiquated way of working out the prize money, but when you leave out the women all together surely we are simply missing the boat altogether.

Come on if I can make a plea, that is that we stand together and simply say, enough – we have got to get our act together and start acknowledging the incredible female athletes we have out there and what they are doing for our sport.

IMAGES Michael MacLachlan, Cape Photographic Studio