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Another very lengthy hiatus between newsletters.
Just so much going on, so a quick recap ...
The SA Marathon Championships already seem like a distant memory.
The Western Cape Canoe Union, and the Peninsula Canoe Club in particular, really stepped up to the plate and hosted a fantastic event.
The weather was always going to be a potential challenge, but it was one entirely outside the organisers’ control. Expecting three consecutive days of sublime weather at the Vlei, in the middle of winter, was perhaps a little optimistic.
Pitch black, a howling, icy wind and a 7.30am start were not exactly conditions that the soft coastal KZN paddlers were accustomed to.
The results have been well circulated. Stand out performances include the following:
• Keegan Vogt’s dominance in the U18 boys K1
• Hamish Lovemore winning the men’s short course
• Uli Hart getting one back the next day in a sublime solo breakaway in the men’s K1 long course.
• Zach Preyser mixing it with the top dogs and pulling off a podium in the men’s K1 long course.
• Kira Bester emulating the solo breakaway in the women’s K1 long course.
• Jade Wilson managing podium places in all 3 of her events
• Keegan jumping in with Hamish as a last minute combination (as Andy Birkett was sidelined due to illness) and winning the senior K2.
• Alayah Krogscheepers winning the U16 and U18 K1 medals, and then teaming up with Hanna Solomon to win both the U16 and U18 K2 medals.
There were plenty of outstanding performances across the full age spectrum, from the youngest guppy paddlers to the oldest members of the Zimmer-frame brigade.
All in all, a fantastic celebration of marathon paddling.
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) held its very last congress in Oklahoma at the end of July. Our international federation, like us, has also undergone a name change. From now on it will be referred to as “Paddle Worldwide”. Kim and I attended the two-day event virtually. Aside from the name change, there were no major changes of any significance. The proposed restructuring of the federation, aimed at creating a more streamlined organisation, failed to secure the required majority vote. As they say in the classics, “Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas”.
The congress was held a day after the ICF Slalom and Kayak Cross Championships, which was also held in Oklahoma. Waris Mills and Mattew Van Heerden represented SA in what is undoubtedly the most exciting of all the disciplines to watch. Both are seeking qualifying points for LA 28.
Hank McGregor claimed his 15th Berg River title, having stretched his lead to around 13 minutes over Jeremy Maher, with a similar gap separating Maher from third-placed Msawenkosi Mtolo. Neriyah Dill took the women’s title, finishing ahead of Christy Shrimpton.
Our leading story is the participation of our small team at the World Senior Sprint championships, which is being held in Poznan, Poland from today.
Esti Olivier, Bridgitte Hartley and Hamish Lovemore are flying our flag at this important Olympic qualifying event. All three were in action today with Lovemore and Hartley competing in their 1 000m heats, while Olivier's opening-day action was in the 500m heats. All three eased into the semi-finals on a successful Day 1. Esti's 200m heats take place on Thursday while both the men's and women's 5 000m events are straight finals on Sunday for Lovemore and Hartley respectively.
EVENTS:
Esti Olivier: K1 200m; K1 500m.
Bridgitte Hartley: K1 1 000m; K1 5 000m.
Hamish Lovemore: K1 1 000m; K1 5 000m.
The event is being live streamed on the Paddle Worldwide Youtube channel. There is also an event app available called “Paddle Poland”, which provides daily schedules and results.
On the local scene, the SA K2 River Championships have been moved from the Breede River to the Liebenbergsvlei due to extremely low river conditions on the Breede. The organisers of the Breede were forced to make the difficult decision to cancel the race for this year. An absolute tragedy on the back of the severe flood damage on the same river just a few months ago. The Liebenbergsvlei Clean Water Challenge had already been granted the SA K3 status earlier this year. The event is to be held on the 12–13 of September. Paddlers will be given the opportunity to race for SA K2 medals on the Saturday and then for SA K3 medals on the Sunday. Those not seeking national medals have the option of paddling the same boat on both days and just being part of the race. The Liebenbergsvlei is an exciting river with guaranteed full and clean water.
The race, which has previously held the status of being the largest race in the country, the Fish River Marathon, has opened entries.
This year’s event will also see the crowning of the SA K1 river champions. In recent years, the race has been negatively affected by an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the area. It would be great to see the event return to its former glory. There is nothing like the superb Karoo hospitality and a clean, exciting river. The two day classic will take place on the 2-3 October.
Back on the international scene, South Africa has three teams that will be travelling to Duisburg, Germany for the Paddle Worldwide Canoe Polo World Championships. We have a senior men’s team, as well as an U21 men’s and women’s team. The competition kicks off on the 15th of next month. |
