Sprint championships has Dabs paddlers give their best
The South African Canoeing Sprint Championships took place recently and saw many local paddlers take part.
Dabulamanzi Canoe Club (Dabs) paddlers headed to Germiston Lake where they participated in the South African Canoeing Sprint Championship hosted by Victoria Lake Canoe Club.
The championships, which spanned three days in late March, provided the opportunity for selection of the teams that will represent the country at upcoming international events, including the Olympic team selection.
Read more: Canoe Polo Africa Champs debuts in Joburg
Among the numerous top achievers from Dabs were a number who had participated in international events, and/or were training and preparing to enjoy international competition. Paddlers who were in preparation were: senior woman, Christie Mackenzie; U/23 female, Alexa Godden; senior men, Mike Arthur who partnered with 2008 Olympic participant Shaun Rubenstein and Nicholas Weeks. Paddlers who have participated internationally were Matthew Ballenden, Wayne Jacobs, and a variety of U18 boys including Jordan Klopper, Bruno Cochrane and others.
Read more: Dabs paddlers take the win at at the Vaal River Canoe Marathon
The race also doubled as the SA Schools League. There, juniors who represent a school also earn points for the school league and certificates are provided for the schools on the number of points in the schools’ log they have earned in representing their school, even just for racing in the various events, not necessarily achieving top positions.
The races were for all ages from U8 through to Great Grand Masters, and distances included 200m, 500m, 1 000m and long-distance 5 000m races in K1 (single kayak) as well as K2 (double kayak). These were short, fast and highly technical and provided the opportunity for all paddlers to prepare towards eventual international and Olympic racing.
Numerous younger school age group paddlers enjoyed the opportunity to display their skills and compete in their age groups. U18 Kayla Szalay and Sarah Field; U16 Daniel van Eeden, and there were a large number of young, U8 paddlers upwards who gain experience from these events.
Related article: Paddlers introduce river canoeing to young girls
