Local paddlers train for upcoming Gauteng Provincial Championships
A team will be chosen to represent the province at the South African Interprovincial flat water marathon event later in the year.
The Gauteng Canoe Union has scheduled a series of flat water marathon races for local Gauteng canoe clubs to organise and host to provide paddlers with the opportunity to train for the upcoming Gauteng Provincial Championships.
A team will be chosen to represent the province at the South African interprovincial flat water marathon event later in the year.
The first race in the series was hosted by Florida Lake Canoe Club on April 15, and the second race was organised by the Johannesburg Canoe Club based at Wemmer Pan on April 22.
Other races are scheduled at Centurion Canoe Club on May 6, at Victoria Lake Canoe Club at Germiston lake on May 13, and at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club in Emmarentia Dam on May 20.
The final championships team selection event will take place at the East Rand Kayak Club’s Homestead Dam in Benoni and Victoria Lake Canoe Club at Germiston Lake.
Gauteng Canoe Union and media spokesperson Jennie Dallas said the races are for all ages and guppy paddlers from U8 through to 12 years participate.
Young paddlers in U14 to seniors also participate in a short portage where the paddlers jump out the water and run a short distance carrying their canoe to prove their efficiency at exit and re-entering the water smoothly.
“Canoeing is a sport that builds and strengthens the body and core muscles, enabling over 80-year-old paddlers to continue participating into a ripe old age. Younger stronger paddlers can compete enthusiastically with much power through the 10km or 20km race distances with the portages requiring sleek performance.
“The young paddlers are looking forward to participating in the SA Sprint Championships at the end of April at the Victoria Lake Canoe Club, Germiston Lake. Sprints, the Olympic discipline, is a completely different kind of race to the marathon long distances. Sprints are 100m, 500m, 1000m and the longest race in sprints is 5 000m, These are all short and fast,” said Dallas.
Dallas said the youth from the Wemmer Pan area in the South finished in some top podium positions on the long tough 20km race with Thabo Selele and Bert Matruje finishing as first U23, in a time of 1:43:18.
Akhona Makhoba and Asenathi Guma finished in 1:40 as the first U16 finishers and Ayomide Aregbesola finished in a single K1 in a time of one 1:53 as first U18.
