Founder of the Soweto Canoe and Recreation Club looks back at his journey
Growing up as a farm boy in Stellenbosch, Ryno Armdoff never imagined he'd rise to the heights of canoeing he's managed. Now, he looks back at the journey that's seen him compete all over the world and found the Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club.
As a little boy growing up on a Stellenbosch farm, Ryno Armdoff just loved that he could get into a boat and paddle for hours. Little this young boy knew, that, as an adult, he would have a hand in impacting the lives of young Soweto based canoeists.
When he was a child, Armdoff and his friends regularly played at the local dam, which wasn’t too far from Maties Canoe Club. One day, after borrowing their boats, the children had an adventure on them as they paddled across the river. This, and the many subsequent days, was how his love for the sport started.
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When the club’s canoeist discovered the kids were using the boats while they weren’t there, they decided to teach them how to paddle properly. Over the years, they would get trained at the club, and when Armdoff was 13 years old, the canoeists told the kids that the best paddler among them would get a bursary to go to Paul Roos Gimnasium, a high school for boys. Not only did Armdoff have to be good on the water, he also had to be great in the classroom, in order to qualify for the bursary. “I was fortunate enough to get this bursary.”
Though he went to a school with a strong rugby culture, he never played the sport – something he regrets slightly. That being true, what he doesn’t regret is giving canoeing his all, as it eventually helped him achieve his dreams, seeing places he never imagined possible.
Following his matriculation, and with his parents having little money to help him get to university, Armdoff used his canoe competition earnings to get him to Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. “I had about R1 000, and my bus ticket was R600. This was more money than my parents made while working on the farm. So, they really could not afford to help me.”
He took a leap of faith, and, with a bag full of paddling gear, he set out to fulfill his dream. While there, he shuffled around, living with various canoeists. Eventually, he got the assistance he needed, found an apartment, and was able to dedicate his time to training for the Dusi, which he did really well in. During this time, he also managed to make the South African junior team, travelling to places like Hungary and Croatia. “Straight from the farm, never been in a plane, my parents having never left Stellenbosch, and there I was, going overseas.”
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At 21 years old, he travelled to the city of gold where he found his base at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club (Dabs), there teaching canoeing. When he got to Dabs, he felt as if he stood out like a sore thumb – being one of the only faces of colour. “I said to my friend, who at the time was the general secretary of the Gauteng Canoe Union: ‘We need to find more people of colour to put in this sport’,” he said.
So, the Sophiatown resident got to work contacting local schools, but that didn’t quite take. So, they headed to Soweto, and there, The Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club (SCARC) was born. Through their efforts, they found children interested in the sport and took them off the streets and onto the water, making sure to teach them how to swim before putting them in a boat. The club has since produced great athletes. “The movie, Beyond the River, was born from this club, with Siseko Ntondini who, this year, did really well at the Dusi, finishing ninth.”
Through the years some of their juniors made it to the Youth Olympics, most recently travelling to Australia on merit. A point Armdorff makes sure to point out, proving that these dedicated young paddlers aren’t just filling a quota, but are being included because of the hard work they put in.
As Armdorff sees it, the sport is being left in good hands, with young sportsmen and women who will become leaders on and off the water.
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