COPPER’S CORNER

02 April 2020

Dear Paddler,

Day 7 of lockdown and the local flock of Hadidada’s remains blissfully unaware of the of the restrictions that the president has imposed, rendering any vague hope of sleeping in, null and void.

By definition, paddlers are “outdoor” types. Notwithstanding some ingenious ways of getting some exercise done, this confinement must be driving most of us crazy. Toss in 3 hyper active kids, an OCD wife and a small apartment, and you have a melting pot for social disobedience. The fact that we have 3 of our birthdays and a wedding anniversary squeezed into these 3 weeks has added to the discontent.

I cannot begin to imagine how the majority of the citizens of this country are managing, with many, together, in confined spaces without the luxury of technology to keep themselves stimulated.

Looking at the current “numbers”, it is highly unlikely that the 3 week “light at the end of the tunnel” is going to stay where it is. There are going to be some very tough decisions that will need to be taken come the 17th of this month.

What is a certainty is that, even given the best case scenario, we are in for a tough road ahead.

The immediate paddling calendar has been pulled out from underneath us. All local races have been cancelled until the end of the month.

Hugely sad that the Umko was cancelled.

The discipline committees are keeping a close eye on decisions made by the ICF regarding the hosting of World Championships for this year.

With the postponement of the Olympics, it is starting to look like a number of the paddling disciplines may follow suite.

There is no leeway for Norway to postpone the marathon champs for a few weeks, as the weather conditions would not allow it. As it is, our paddlers would need to load their boats into the container almost immediately after the SA champs and trial.

Notwithstanding any decisions by the ICF, the tumbling rand and the precarious economic position that many may find themselves in when this finally blows over, may dictate a change of plans and priorities.

What all of our disciplines are wishing is that we can, at least, have a national championships, even if they have to be moved to later in the year. The surfski championships has already been postponed until further notice. If the World championships in Portugal does go ahead (unlikely), we will need to host a separate trial to select the national team.

Over the past few months we have been begging and whining for our members to go online and to update their details on the Dotcloud system.

All entries to races in the next season need to be done through the system. If your details and your proficiency status are not correctly reflected, the system is going to throw you out when you attempt to enter your next race. Given that this will, in all likelihood, be the night before the race (as is the norm), you will have precious little time to get your house in order, and your club safety officer is not going to appreciate that midnight frantic phone call.
So, in between sending your kids to their rooms or sitting in your K1 in the pool, with a pair of paddles with holes drilled into them, looking like a twit, go onto the website and update your details.

While you are at it, you may as well just register for the next season.

The current dark days have not prevented the Paddle Mag crew of putting together a fantastic edition for the past period. So, click HERE and relive some of what you are currently missing.

Once again, a huge thanks to Terrence and his team for a wonderful and insightful reflection.

That’s all for this week.

Keep an eye on social media for our “Fun fact Friday” snippets. Trying to keep you up to date.

Your SG
Copper
1111

And the joke:

A fifteen year old Amish boy and his father were in a mall for the first time.
They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again.
The boy asked, ’What is this Father?’
The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, ‘Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don’t know what it is.
While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a fat old lady in a wheel chair moved up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened, and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed, and the boy and his father watched the small numbers above the walls light up sequentially…
They continued to watch until it reached the last number, and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order. Finally the walls opened up again and a drop dead gorgeous 24-year-old blond stepped out.
The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son…..
‘Quickly, go get your mother.’