Hi ,

You might need a cup of coffee for this one ... either that, or just skim read until the joke.

There is a lot going on, and a lot that has just gone on.

Over 200 of the country's finest marathon paddlers converged on Roodeplaat Dam, outside Pretoria, last weekend, for the SA Marathon Championships.

Most of the paddlers from the coastal provinces view any location north of the Vaal River with more than a hint of scepticism. Once one goes further north than Johannesburg, it is considered uncivilized.

Freezing temperatures, high altitude, no oxygen, an abundance of "Vaalies", what was the marathon committee thinking???

Boy, were they in for a surprise. Roodeplaat turned on its charm for a full three days.

The organising team had left no stone unturned and the weather, and paddling conditions, we just short of sublime.

When a partisan Durbanite is overheard saying that he could not understand why the venue had not been used more often for marathon champs, you know you have hit the button.

Not only did the host province and the weather produce the goods, the racing, across all categories, was nail-biting stuff.

Many would have had the privilege of watching the live streaming of the event, together with the champion team of amateur commentators, but nothing could replace being there in person.

Not only were SA Championships medals up for grabs, the event also counted as the selection event for the team to go to the WorldMmarathon Championships, to be held in Metkovic, Croatia, in September.

Some of the contestants were in a class of their own, finishing well clear of the rest of their respective age groups, but the majority of the races went down to the wire, with the result being decided by an end sprint.

On the first day of racing, Georgia Singe obliterated the rest of the U18 K1 girls field, winning by over 6 minutes.

The U18 boys K1 saw KZN's Keegan Vogt holding off Ryley Smith.

Hamish Lovemore had a clean sweep of a weekend, winning the short course K1, the long course K1, and the long course K2 together with Andy Birkett.

Andy came a close 2nd in the K1, and opted not to race the short course.

Uli Hart and Hank McGregor had two exciting end sprints, with the old dog edging ahead in the short course, only to have the roles reversed in the long course. They then climbed into a K2 on the last day and pulled off an amazing 2nd place. An amazing effort, considering that Uli is almost exactly half of Hanks age.

The women's K1 race turned into a four-boat affair until very close to the finish where Saskia Hockly and Christie MacKenzie managed to break clear from Nix Birket and Jenna Nisbet, crossing the line holding hands and being given a dead tie. They then went on to win the K2 race the next day after shaking off the crews of Jade Wilson/Nix Birkett and Bridgitte Hartley/Jenna Nisbet.

The selectors have completed their task, and the team has been ratified by the CSA board. It will be posted on the CSA social media within the next couple of days.

Full results

Last year, the marathon team that went to Denmark did not take the CSA container. The number of masters who attended the event was adversely affected by this, as very few of our coffin dodgers can afford to factor in a hired Nelo sprint boat.

This year, due to some exorbitant quotes we received (amongst other things), we had already taken the decision that the container would, once again, stay at home.

Some of our Vaalie mates, however, had other ideas, and some dedicated work has resulted in some far more attractive estimates being obtained. The container is once again on the table, so to speak.

The "per unit" affordability of taking the container is very contingent on volume. If we can reach the critical volume of 50 boats, we will consider taking the container.

The enthusiastic team that has driven this project have called for commitment, in the form of a deposit, that will need to be made before next week.

So, once again, if you are a fence-sitter, get off. Bang your bucks in and join the crew in Croatia.

The next SA Championship event will be the SA Surfski Championships, which will be held in Durban on the 13-14 July.

As with the marathon championships, this event will also be used to select the SA team to represent the country at the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships, which will be held on the island of Madeira in early October.

The organisers will be using the event as a test event for the world championships in 2025, which will be taking place over the same course in Durban.

Sandwiched between the marathon champs and the surfski champs, is the most iconic ultra distance river race in the country. The Berg River marathon.

The "Berg" joins a small handful of races in the country that are "bucket list". Races that are required in your resume' before your peers take you seriously.

The race starts in Paarl on the 3rd of next month, and finishes in Velddrif, on the West coast, four days (and a lot of pain) later.

There is still time to squeeze in a last minute entry.

Whilst on the subject of bucket list, iconic, races and the like, the PE to East London surfski race has to be on the very top of the heap.

Having completed a PE-EL translates into your peers taking you very, very seriously.

So seriously, in fact, that you go down in folk lore and people sing songs about you.

Not only that, but they write books about you.

And this is exactly what is happening.

A team of PE-EL medal holders have tired of telling all those who wish to hear (and quite a large number that do not) about their exploits, and have decided to put a book together, of stories and photographs of this epic race.

So far, they have had replies from around 200 paddlers, out of the 750 who have finished the race at least once.

They are reaching out to the 550 for a contribution.

So, if you are one of these legends, please make an effort. 

(click to view / download full PDF)

Two of our junior slalom paddlers will be leaving this weekend for Liptovsky, in Northern Slovakia, on an exciting opportunity of a lifetime.

Matthew van Heerden and Hannah Trower, both from KZN, will be attending a training camp from the 24th of this month, culminating in their participation in the ICF Junior and U23 World Championships which finishes on the 8th of next month.

They will be taking part in the K1 slalom and Kayak X events.

The new slalom committee are making an effort to revive the discipline, and hopefully this will be part of the kick start.

Either way, our juniors are going to be exposed to a different level of competition, and will gain a heap of exciting experience.

The last World Championships we held in this country was the 2017 ICF marathon championships.

We have been awarded the 2025 ICF World Ocean Racing Championships.

However, one of our adopted disciplines, Waveski, has jumped the gun, and will be hosting the 2024 World Titles, starting this very month.

Nahoon Reef, in Slummies, will be the scene of an international frenzy, starting on the 29th, and finishing on the 7th of next month.

All of the world's best will be showcasing their talents at this iconic surf spot.

Head on down there and take advantage of the opportunity to see the best of the best, and to support our local riders.

A local Durban event, to round things off.

One of the largest surfski races in the province will take place this Sunday.

The ever popular "Bay Union, King of the Bay" ski race gives participants the rare opportunity to paddle out of the mouth of Durban harbour.

Conditions are lining up, with a nice NE predicted to push the competitors home.

Until next time ...

Your SG
Copper

And the joke ...

A pharmacist walked into his shop to find a man leaning against the wall. He asked his assistant: "What's wrong with him?"

"He came in for cough syrup, but I couldn't find any so I gave him an entire box of laxatives."

"You idiot," said the chemist, "You can't treat a cough with laxatives."

"Of course you can," the assistant replied, "Look at him – he dare not cough now!"