Hi ,

The place to have been last weekend was Victoria Lake, in Germiston.

It is not an overly popular holiday destination, but has the attraction of a vibrant canoe club that hosted the National sprint championships and the SA Schools sprint champs.

Over 230 competitors set the lanes alight over the 3 days of frenetic racing.

With potential Olympic selection on the cards over the next few months, there was much to race for.

There was some outstanding racing, with emphasis being placed on the Olympic distances.

Stand out performances came from Esti Olivier, winning the K1 500m, and then teaming up with Helen Jansen van Vuuren to win the K2 500m.

Callam Davis winning the strenuous K1 100m, and Nick Weeks and Chrisjan Coetzee claiming gold in the 500m K2.

There were also outstanding performances by Luke Salmon and Georgia Singe in the junior division.

It was encouraging to see that the ballies, Shaun Rubenstein and Mike Arthur were back in the mix.

Shaun, Mike, Nick and Chrisjan are contemplating a K4 entry into the World Championships in Duisburg, Germany later in the year.

A full set of sprint results will be released shortly.

The event was used to select teams for the junior and U23 World Championships (Auronzo di Cadore, Italy - 5 to 9 July), as well as the Olympic Hopes Regatta.

The teams selected are as follows:
Junior & U23:
U18:
Amy Duffett
Caitlyn Evans
Kerry Elliott
Daniel van Zyl-Smit
Jordan Klopper
Theo Dreyer
U23:
Alexa Godden
Helen Jansen van Vuuren
Callam Davis
Kwandokuhle Mzolo
Sandile Mtolo

Olympic Hopes:
u15
Emma Privett
Jared Shrimpton
Ryley Smith
Nkanyezi Hlongwane
u16
Kayla Szalay
Bruno Cochrane
Cody Stallard
Tyde Malherbe
u17
Tomé dos Santos
Sikhanyisele Dekeda
Senzo Ngcobo
Wandile Dube
Thandeka Ndlovu
Luyanda Mkhunya
Jordan Klopper
Theo Dreyer
Daniel van Zyl-Smit

A call has gone out for managers for the Junior and U23 sprint teams, as well as the Olympic Hopes team. If you deem your skill set to be appropriate, contact your local union and get a nomination put in. Bad news is that it is mostly self-funded.

For those who are not comfortable between the lanes, where there is no place to hide, the marathon and surfski seasons are rushing up at a hectic pace.
A number of surfski series are currently under way in numerous centres, with the ever popular Durban winter series kicking off this Sunday, hosted by Marine.

Some provincial marathon championships are only 4 weeks away, with the SA Marathon Championships in St. Francis taking place on the 15 - 17 of June.
The SA Champs will be used to select the team to represent the country at the World Marathon Champs in Denmark in September.

The weekend in St. Francis will also allow the surfski paddlers to have an opportunity to make a national team. The team will be selected from the results of a race which will be held on Sunday the 18th, also at St. Francis. The race will be open to anyone who wishes to enter, irrespective of whether they are wishing to be considered for selection or not. It may well give many of the out of town marathon paddlers an extra weekend bonus. The race will be held even if the conditions are reasonably extreme, so paddlers are going to have to judge their own standard and make a responsible call on the day. Hopefully, the weather gods give us the sublime conditions that we are hoping for.

Some additional great news is that KZN (Durban) has decided to approach the ICF, through CSA, with a proposal to put in a bid to host the 2025 World Ocean Racing Championships.

If it is awarded to us, it will be the first time that SA will host a surfski world championships.

Imagine that. No travelling, no hotels, no hired ski's, just roll out of bed and get on the water.
We will keep you posted.

The "innovations committee" held its first meeting towards the end of last month. Some fantastic contributions by committed individuals. The second meeting is scheduled for the 17th of this month. If you would like to participate, please let me know, and I will send you the link.

That’s all for this week
Your SG
Copper
1111

And now for the joke.
Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards. One day, they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me... I know we've been friends for a long time but I just can't think of your name. I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is."
Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her.  Finally she said, "How soon do you need to Know?"