Hi ,

Not all news is good news, and today will be no exception.

So, let's get the bad news over with first, as there is a heap of positive stuff thereafter.

 The Fish River Marathon has been cancelled for this year.

I received a call from the Fish organisers this morning.

There has been a severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the area, and the farmers have requested that the race be cancelled, in an attempt to reduce the flow of traffic through the farmlands. The race organisers have conceded.

This is a major blow to our river racing season, that has already been compromised due to the poor water quality in many of the rivers around the country.

The race organisers have informed me that there will be no possibility of a reversal of the decision.

For many of us, the Fish is far more than just a race, it is an annual pilgrimage. We will look back at the end of the year and feel unfulfilled.

We will also need to find another venue for the SA K1 river championships.

While trying to digest the sad news about the Fish, bear in mind that the entries for the Breede are now open. You may wish to do a last minute refocus.

The last newsletter came out just before the SA Surfski championships. My Nostradamus like qualities were found wanting. Neither Hank, nor Kira won their respective categories.

Durban did, however, show off quite a bit.

Sublime weather conditions, with a crystal clean, warm ocean, and a perfect downwind, with small surf at the end.

The race organisers made the intelligent call to hold the SS2 race on the Saturday, on a shortened "out and back" course, from DUC. 

The 15km event was held in very flat conditions, which lent itself to some exciting bunch riding. I doubt that, in history of the event, there has ever been a five-boat end sprint. Hank McGregor and Josh Fenn proved to be the most nifty on their feet and survived the dash up the beach, to pip the second Fenn offspring, Matt, paddling with Uli Hart, by the narrowest of margins.

Kira Bester and Melanie van Niekerk did not have to suffer the angst of a beach dash, when they won the women's category comfortably. Jenna Nisbet and Bridgitte Hartley squeezing in for the silver, just one second ahead of the Slummies crew of Nix Birkett and Jade Wilson.

The crew of Georgia Singe and Holly Smith easily won the junior women's class, with Jared Shrimpton and Ryley Smith winning the U18 boys.

The SS1, which was the main event, was held on the Sunday, in a moderate SW wind, and some classic downwind conditions.

Uli Hart, Mark Keeling, and Dawid Mocke, made it an all Cape Town affair, in that order, with my pre-race favourite Hank, not coming to terms with the local conditions as much as he would like to have.

Michelle Burn was the only really bright star on the KZN horizon. She managed to hold off Kira Bester to secure the gold medal, with Georgia Singe claiming the 3rd place overall, plus a very easy win in the junior category. Ryley Smith and Heath Clarke grabbing the top two steps in the junior boys race.

Surprise of the day was downwind junkie Sharon Armstrong, who has never been seen taking a stroke in anger, but managed to finish well ahead of many of the more established paddlers (of both sex).

The race was used as a selection event for the world championships. The selectors were not challenged, as the results spoke for themselves. 

The following have been chosen to represent SA at the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships, to be held on the island of Madeira in October:

The greatest sport spectacle on earth kicks off in Paris this evening.

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will be held at 7.30.

For the first time in the history of the event, the opening ceremony will not take place in the Olympic stadium. Instead, it will be held on the water, and on the banks of the river Seine.

The sheer magnitude of what is going to transpire needs to be appreciated. Do yourselves a favour, download the Paris Olympics app. It is mind boggling what is about to go down. The app also gives all of the schedules, for all of the sports.

Our team has arrived and has settled into the Olympic village.

What a night they are in for.

The stringent qualifying criteria saw only two paddlers qualifying for the Junior and U23 World Sprint Championships which were held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, last week.

By all accounts, the organisation of the event was a fiasco, and the racing conditions were extreme, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees.

Alexa Godden and Jordan Klopper raced like Trojans, and both managed to progress to the next round.

If their improvement trajectory continues, they should also be getting themselves ready for an Olympic opening ceremony in four years' time.

Until next time ...

Your SG
Copper

And this week's tired joke ...

A six-year-old goes to the hospital with her mother to visit her Grandma.  When they get to the hospital, she runs ahead of her mother and bursts into her Grandma's room.  "Grandma, Grandma," she says excitedly, "as soon as my mother comes into the room, make a noise like a frog!"

"What?" said her Grandma.

"Make a noise like a frog because my mom said that as soon as you croak, we're all going to Disney World.