Canoeists prepare for the next big paddle
Paddlers take to the icy waters of Germiston Lake.
Paddlers took to the water in the Victoria Lake Canoe Club’s (VLC) Flat Race, on Germiston Lake, on August 23.
The long, flat, 24km race annually hosted by VLC as a pre-Fish River training race inevitably brings its challenges, usually via the weather, and although spring warmth has arrived in Gauteng, the lake again served up choppy waves, due to an icy wind.
Richard Cele was one of the first finishers from VLC, coming in, in 10th position overall, as the third K1 finisher, in a time of two hours, eight minutes.
Cele is the club’s youth development coach, while fellow club member Malcolm Percival was the next club finisher.
He was third in the veteran age category, and the ninth K1 home, in a time of two hours, 16 minutes.
Neil Jackson, from Bedfordview, partnered with VLC’s Uwe Schmidthaus, who is the club’s safety officer, to finish third in the sub-master age category and 17th in the double, in two hours, seven minutes, with fellow club members right behind them.
Brian Langton with Patrick Starkey, from Germiston, finished seconds later.
The support from the Ekurhuleni’s Department of Sports and Recreation ensured that the finishers were all well looked after, with a good, warm and tasty meal and a sherry, after the cold slog.
Sponsors provided enjoyable giveaways, while paddlers warmed themselves near the fire.
Once again, the top positions were dominated by the development paddlers, who have been supported by Gauteng Canoe Union and Canoe SA with assistance from the National Lottery Board Trust Fund.
The Sowetan Canoe and Recreation team have been fortunate as Adreach, with a network of corporate sponsors, have given the support they needed to develop into the top paddlers of the region.
The winning K2 was, in fact, a partnership of Adreach’s Bradley Fisher and u-23 Siseko Ntondini, who recorded a time of one hour, 56 minutes.
Benoni’s Michael Stewart and Tommy Booth finished three seconds later, in second position.
The main race was followed by a school league event thanks, to support and assistance from Ekurhuleni’s Department of Sport and Recreation, as well as the Victoria Lake Canoe Club and their sponsors, who assisted in hosting the event.
The 50 young paddlers representing various schools around Gauteng, training at various clubs from as far afield as Parys and Pretoria, had a great training opportunity.
The paddlers huddled near the fire after the race and enjoyed the ice-cream provided, despite the wind.
