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Hi ,
In the entire history of the Dusi, there have been very few years where the paddlers and organisers have actually been hoping for no more rain.
Both the Msunduzi and Umngeni rivers are full, with further rain predicted over the 3 days of the race.
The competent river paddlers will be rubbing their hands in excitement.
The PMB to Durban classic will be a "new" race this year, for a number of reasons. Firstly, the start has been moved from Camps Drift to Bishopstowe due to safety concerns around water quality and flow.
Secondly, much of day 3 is almost unrecognisable since the recent flooding. Many of the rapids have entirely different characteristics from years gone by.
With the significant amount of water that is already going over the top of Inanda, any dramatic increase, due to additional rain, could force the organisers to make some uncomfortable decisions.
Hopefully it will not come to that.
A drop off of the current level will provide a massively exciting level for most.
Only time will tell.
This time tomorrow, paddlers would have had an inkling of what is in store for them.
All things being equal, I am going to go out on a limb and predict that the podium of the men's race will consist of 3 of the following, Andy Birkett, Msawenkosi Mtolo, David Evans, Matt Fenn, and Thulani Mbanjwa, with Andy being the odds on favourite to achieve his 10th consecutive victory.
My money in the women's race would be on Christie MacKenzie, Bridgitte Hartley and Jordan Peek.
Whatever happens, it is going to be very exciting, from the perspectives of both the paddlers, and the river.
Staying with Andy Birkett and his achievements, we have one more to add to his significant haul over the past few years.
The CSA constitution allows for the president of the federation to nominate an individual (or team, or club, etc) for the "Presidents Award".
The award has only ever been handed out on 2 previous occasions (2018 and 2021).
This year, the president (Kim Pople) has nominated Andy Birkett for the president's award in recognition of achieving double gold in both the World Games and the World Marathon Championships. The CSA board have endorsed the nomination.
A notification from the Southern tip of the country is that entries for the Freedom Paddle (27th of April) are now open. Those wishing to enjoy a self-powered jaunt around the iconic Robben Island can take advantage of the early bird entry fee.
Onto some housekeeping.
Race organisers have pointed out to us that many of our registered members have omitted to include all of their information in the profile on the CSA registration system.
Information that many of the race organisers require, such as T-shirt sizes, next of kin, medical aid, etc. is missing.
Please may I implore all of our members to go online and ensure that all of your details are updated. That medium T-shirt that may have fitted you 8 years ago might have the potential to resemble something out of an adult movie today.
If you have privacy issues and do not wish to include some of the information, just put "not applicable" or "leave me alone", or anything that will let us know that you don't wish to divulge the info.
Our waveski paddlers have had a busy and exciting season.
As we did a few months ago, I have included their newsletter below.
Until next week
For those doing the Dusi, be safe.
Your SG
Copper
1111
And the joke:
Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune.
One evening at an investment meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, "but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $200 million."
Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother.
Women are so much better at financial planning than men. |
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Hi Darryl
HAPPY NEW YEAR fellow Waveski Surfers, enthusiasts, family and friends,
Since our last letter at the end of September, so much has happened to say the least! I am so excited to tell you all about what has transpired and what is in store for the next coming two years. I am very fortunate to have such great support from a vibrant Executive Committee, backed up by a stronghold of seasoned waveski surfing icons making up the subcommittee. Together we want to embrace the sport, grow it and share the love amongst so many more.
Executive Committee
Francois Steyn – Chairman
Johann Momberg – Vice Chairman
Nakita Rossouw – National Secretary
Duran Martin – National Contest Director
Darryl Moodie – National Treasurer
Sub Committee
Bruce Viaene – Media Liaison
Trystan Viaene – PR, Director of WWST 2024
Ken – Training and Development
So, what have we been up to in the last 4 months?
- Western Province Waveski Surfing hosted the Western Province Open at Jongensfontein, one of our favourite breaks. Jongens delivered and the vibe was amazing. Everyone stayed over in the town and enjoyed the surf pre and post the contest. We had an array of fantastic get togethers and many an hour was enjoyed around the fire, obviously with a glass of wine or beer in hand.
We enjoyed our first competition incorporating the priority system, which will henceforth be used at our Opens. It was well received and grasped by all after an extensive training session hosted by Jacque Smit. It was not rocket science after all. Thank you Duran Martin for designing the system and shipping it down to us, a simple and practical solution. Live Heats was also successfully incorporated into this competition.
We saw some fierce competition amongst a fantastic line up and in the end it was Mike Wessels who fell victim to Bruce Viaene and Etienne Ferreira to Malan Calitz in the Semis. Malan showed everyone why he is known as the comeback kid and executed some great tight maneuvers in the final to clinch the title from Bruce. He also lifted the amazing new floating trophy masterfully made by uncle John Wessels.
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Thanks to the WP Committee - Rory, Mike, Nakita, Schalk, Jacque and Ken - for such a great event. Notably we also need to thank our sponsors: Mackski, West Peak Meats, Doubletree By Hilton, Sunset Surf, Cilliers Paddles, Cape Canopy Tours, Good Riddance Coffee, Oak Valley wines, Paul Wallace wines & Moortop Cottages.
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- Darryl Moodie has successfully been working on a number of areas of refinement which will be elaborated on below. They include a new SAWSA constitution, Provincial structures, selection criteria for World Champs and also the awarding criteria for National/Protea colours as approved by SASCOC.
- Duran has completed our priority system and is also working on our national seeding system and a plan to combine a scoring system to eventually crown our national circuit winner at the end of the year. See below for more detail.
- 5 surfers represented South Africa at the World Champs in Ventura, California. See Bruce’s report below.
- Doug Hendrikz and Martin Ferreira represented South Africa at the World Para Surfing Champs in Pismo Beach, California in December. You did us proud, well done to both of you,
- Trystan Viaene was appointed SAWSA’s bid director for hosting the World Waveski Surfing Titles in SA in 2024. Needless to say, she did an amazing job and brought it home to SA by successfully presenting our bid at the WWSA AGM in California. South Africa won the bid by means of canvassing more votes in favour over and above Australia. See Trystan’s fantastic winning proposal on our website to find out more about WWST 2024.
- Our Vice President Johann and I are working on aligning provinces to feed structure from SAWSA as a flow through from WWSA. Johann and his teammates in Eastern Province have made huge strides in resurrecting EP to its former glory and the number of their participants are steadily growing. We would like to see that to happen in Buffalo City / East London.
- Nakita is working on retrieving contacts, obviously with individual permission to build our database to share our information to all that are interested in the sport, whether they are social surfers, supporters or competitive surfers. Nakita would also like to tighten up our calendar for the year. See her feedback below.
- Ken will be liaising with the training Camps in KZN with Gary Duminy, Buffalo City with Bruce Viaene, Johann and Eugene in PE and Morne, Darren, Sean and Pierre at Big Bay and Muizenberg to get dates to all for training camps for the year. See Ken’s message below.
- Our new Website is up and running and content and photos are added to it to build it. We would like to list equipment suppliers on the site and also who to contact if you need anything related to the sport. Enthusiasts would also be able to sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date with what is happening. Our events schedule will also be loaded on the site. www.sawaveski.co.za
- SAWSA has called for a new KZN AGM of all KZN SAWSA members for Sunday 29th January 2023 at 10am to be held at Pirates Surf Lifesaving Club, and the date for the WP and EP AGM is 25th January so we can align all fees for the year as from the 1st of March 2023 for the year to come. Fees will be payable to SAWSA and will automatically give you affiliation to your aligned club or province and SAWSA. You would be able to cast your vote at both levels. R700 per year will be split between SAWSA and the Province you reside in. Fees are not pro-rata for the year.
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National Treasurer and CSA Representative - Darryl Moodie
Happy New Year to all readers. May 2023 be a fantastic year for all of you and may you all be blessed with an abundance of great waves.
Since the publication of our inaugural newsletter in September last year, I am happy to report back on the status of the following developments:-
- The new SAWSA Constitution – this has been completed and is awaiting final ratification by the sitting SAWSA Exco, which should hopefully be completed by the end of January 2023 so it can be disseminated to all existing and potential members during February 2023 – viz prior to the commencement of the new SAWSA Financial Year as from 1 March 2023;
- Future Provincial structures – essentially this new SAWSA Constitution will not only govern the rules and procedures that must be followed by all paid-up members of SAWSA and the future Provincial Associations recognized by SAWSA, but it will hopefully serve to foster and maintain a positive, fun-filled and interactive spirit amongst the South Africa Waveski surfing community, in a manner researched and expressed by the majority of SAWSA members consulted since the start of this constitutional renewal process;
- Selection criteria for future South African Waveski Teams representing South Africa at the World Waveski Surfing Titles (WWST)– much work has been done with Canoeing South Africa (CSA) to ensure that the SAWSA Exco and SAWSA members conform to the rules and regulations of CSA in the selection of future SA Waveski Teams that will represent South Africa at future WWST events – especially for next year’s exciting WWST event that has been successfully secured at our own Nahoon Reef. This is essential as without adherence to these rules and regulations the awarding of full National (Protea) Colours cannot be guaranteed by CSA who deals with SASCOC on our behalf in the securing of full Protea Colours. In this respect I am sincerely grateful to the guidance received from Ant Stott and the patient assistance received from the sitting Secretary General of CSA – Mr Colin Simkins. Without their assistance this process would have been much more laborious;
- National (Protea) Colours for SA Team members that attended the recent WWST in Ventura, California – was successfully submitted to SASCOC via the CSA Secretary General, as noted above, and approval for the following SA Waveski members in accordance to the Canoe SA Age Categories:-
- Kai and Trent Williams for their outstanding performance in the “Junior” (Under 21) Division;
- Francois Steyn for his great performance in the “Senior” Division;
- Trystan Vieane for her exemplary handling of the SA Team; and
- Both Bruce Viaene & Ken Clements were acknowledged for their performances in the Senior & Management capacities, but as they had already received Protea Colours previously, SASCOC stated there was no need to “re-award” these.
- Restructuring of the SAWSA Financial setup in preparation of a concerted sponsorship and membership drive for 2023 – SAWSA has been formally registered with Standard Bank as a recognized “Association” and the SAWSA Exco is presently in liaison with Standard Bank to set up a properly structured SAWSA Association Bank Account with limited monthly fees (R17 per month to begin with but reducing to Zero once certain conditions have been met). This has required the approval, by Standard Bank, of at least 3 SAWSA Exco members that will serve as signatories for all payments and dealings with this Standard Bank account. This process will be formally completed in the next few weeks, following which all existing SAWSA funds – currently held in the WP Bank Account – will be transferred to this new SAWSA Bank Account. As stated previously, this new structure will adequately serve to receive both new member and sponsorship commitments and will successfully safeguard the prudent expenditure of members/sponsors funds – especially with respect to the build up to next year’s WWST in South Africa.
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Once again may I wish you all the best for 2023 and may I humbly implore you all to see yourselves as ambassadors for our fine sport. In this respect I urge you all to encourage as many old members, contacts and potential new waveskiers/sponsors to get behind SAWSA and continue to grow the interest in waveskiing in South Africa. Thank you one and all.
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Worlds 2022, California, USA - Bruce Viaene
After four challenging years, the World Waveski Surfing Titles were finally set to take place in Ventura, California from November 7th to 14th. Despite the small waves, icy winds, and long travel, the South African team brought their enthusiasm and passion to the Pacific shores of California. From the first day, it was clear that the "Saffas" had arrived, with passionate support for each team member. Francois Steyn, Ken Clements, Bruce Viaene, Kai, and Trent Williams surfed hard and strategically to advance through the rounds of their respective Age and Open divisions. On the final day, only Kai and Trent made it to the age division final, with Kai bringing home a gold medal as World Champion, and Trent earning a close second place behind his older brother. Amongst the tasty burritos and spicy tacos, the team brought back valuable knowledge that only a contest of this caliber could provide. The GEES was unreal and we enjoyed cheer leading from our best supporters Kevin and Tracy Williams along with Jene’ Steyn who waived our flag high during the contest. Our support back home was unreal and we were followed through day and night on live heats and streaming. Thank you so much to all our Waveskiing folk and family back home.
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The team's success was not limited to the water; Team Manager, Trystan Viaene, with the help of SAWSA President, Francois Steyn, presented a bid to host the 2024 World Titles in South Africa. Up against a formidable Australian team, Trystan successfully presented an excellent bid and received enough votes to bring this exceptional event to South Africa in 2024.
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All of this success is due to a growing and passionate group of members who are excited to see waveski surfing grow not only in South Africa, but worldwide. As the team focuses on the 2024 World Championships, all SAWSA members are encouraged to keep their eye on the prize and work towards representing their country in this historical event.
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Development - Ken Clements
At our last SA Waveski Champs in 2022, each rider made a commitment to bring in one new rider in 2023. In this way each Province would double their riders from 2022. We would like to increase across all Divisions, especially in Girls & Ladies, and in boys under 12 & under 16. At Trials we would like to see more participation so we can select strong teams for each Province as well as for the SA Team in 2024. We would like to see Clinics run weekly or monthly in each Province. Please appoint a rider in each Province to coordinate this.
- We need media personnel on Provincial committees so we can get as much publicity in those categories to help grow numbers.
- Big Bay Waveski & Muizenberg Waveski will host the first WC - interclub Contest, Both committees are in discussion to set this up during Early 2023. (Tracey Sassen to assist this drive at Muizenberg)
- Newspapers/ Radio/ Use of Social media for publicity in each Province
- Schools - target schools for presentations
- World Champs 2024 - start recruiting riders to join in 2023 so we have a bigger SA Squad in for 2024 in the lacking age divisions.
- We would like to see Each Province aim to have preferably 4 x riders in each division for SA Champs 2023.
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National Contest Director - Duran Martin
We are excited to announce the introduction of the SA Cup, starting this year. This will be a competitive circuit encompassing all the national events for the year (SA Champs and Provincial Opens). Competitors are awarded points for their positions in each event, with SA Champs awarding double points. The season over which points are calculated is tied to the annual calendar, starting January and ending on the last event of the year, where the SA Cup will be awarded to the highest scoring rider. This leaderboard is implemented via Live Heats and is accessible for viewing throughout the year to keep track of riders points and their positions. The structure for point allocations for positions in events is identical to what is being used by the World Waveski Surfing Association. We will also be taking advantage of this system to keep track of individual riders' performance and better inform the seedings for national events. A separate leaderboard is in place to track events over a rolling period of the last two years from which the seedings are calculated. Good luck to all riders this year competing for the SA Cup!
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National Secretary - Nakita Rossouw
Dates for this year ahead:
WP AGM - 25th January
Border AGM - 27th January
EP AGM - 27th January
KZN SGM - 29th January
New SAWSA financial year - 1st March
Competitions 2023:
3-4 June - Reef Open (WWSA sanctioned event, governed by SAWSA)
between 26 June-2 July - SA Champs in KZN
12-13 August - EP Open, Port Alfred
21-22 September - WP Open, WESKUS
Competitions 2024:
28 June-5 July World Champs - Nahoon Reef
There may be a reduced schedule this year & hosting 2 Opens in the final part of the year, stay tuned!
Our goal for the coming year is to share the love for the sport and develop new and younger riders to enter the sport and feel the stoke. Share the positive vibe in the water and grow the sport we love.
Share your views with us at info.sawsa@gmail.com
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See you in the surf,
Francois & SAWSA Committee
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