The 2023 SA Schools and Senior Sprint Canoeing Championships taking place at Victoria Lake Club in Gauteng will have much significance as paddlers across both the juniors and seniors will be vying for spots on the various South African teams to race internationally this year.
The national sprint regatta from 28-30 April will be a critical hurdle for those paddlers looking to qualify for Paris 2024 as the national team for the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, and the Olympic qualifying event, in Duisburg will be selected.
Along with that, paddlers will be hoping to qualify for the national team that will head to the 2024 Olympic Games Continental Qualification in Nigeria at the end of the year as an alternative means of making it to Paris next year.
“It’s going to be a massive event for paddlers across all age groups and we are excited to see some high quality sprinting,” Canoeing South Africa President Kim Pople said.
“The competition will be big for our seniors but also for our younger paddlers that are hoping to make the Junior and Under 23 World Championship team as well as the Olympic Hopes squad.
“The significance is that Los Angeles 2028 is the big focus from a national perspective and our younger paddlers will be hoping to use this years SA Champs to put their names forward as athletes to watch going forward.
“Canoeing South Africa wish all the paddlers the very best for the event and look forward to seeing how they fair over the weekend.”
This year the ICF Junior and Under 23 Canoe Sprint World Championships are taking place in Italy and the Olympic Hopes Regatta will take place in Poland in September.
The action at VLC will begin on 28 April and run to 30 April.