By all accounts, this was another really successful Dabs event that everyone enjoyed, largely because it was so super spectator friendly; with the start at the grass bank, the new portage and the finish in front of the club being right there for all to see. First up was the Open B’s; the non-competitive guys, which was won by young Kyle Armdorf, who had some portage problems. He lost his paddle at the first take out and had to get into the water to retrieve it, which allowed Hardi to catch up for the next lap, then at the second portage his rudder got stuck in the air at the beach put-in so he couldn’t steer, but Hardi was behind him and earned the ‘Sportsman of the Evening’ award for helping out, then the youngster sprinted off to take the win. The Guppy race was the most exciting one ever, with the parents and our enthusiastic commentator (Brad Boulle) creating an incredible vibe as the sun was setting over our dam. First home was once again Ruoxi, followed by Asher then Phamna while Cassandra Feige won the Guppy Girls. Well done to all who competed – it’s great to see new stars in the making and lots of healthy fun happening.
First lady home was Helen Jansen van Vuuren who put in a really good performance, followed by Sarah and then Gabi, who was best on the portages. In the main event of the evening, Ryno had the start of his life and secured the front bunch diamond which he enjoyed until the portage, by which time he had burnt all his matches and that was the end of him. Clint and Luke showed us what they are made of, while Siseko did really well to keep in touch and take third place.
Afterwards there was lots of fun and some Raffle draws; Tony Lightfoot got 2 bottles of wine, Clint won the Turn and Tender voucher, Sarah field won surf ski clinic in Cape Town, and Neil barrow won the Canoe Concepts paddle. Thanks to all who entered this. The new marathon portage is clearly a real game changer that will not only help our paddlers improve but will also add a lot of excitement for supporters at the club. So, thank you to all our sponsors including AdReach, EuroSteel, King Air, HB construction, Canoe Concepts, Chris Visser, Plas Trading, Moolies’ light, High Performance Paddling and Dabulamanzi; without whom we wouldn’t have had the facility or the event. Well done to all the organisers, paddlers and organizers – and to Alex P our photographer.
This weekend we have a double header with the K1 Marathon race at FLCC on Saturday and then the K1 Bonus Race at Dabs on Sunday morning. If you don’t want to do the Dabs race, please respect the organisers and competitors and paddle before or after, but not during the event. Then in June we have GCU Marathon Champs, followed by the SA Champs at Roodeplaat, so lots to look forward to, with lots of our Dabs and SCARC members showing how hard they are working to try represent our nation. Go guys go.
Finally, a note from the Marathon organizers to all Guppy paddlers and Guppy parents: SA Champs offer 3 days of racing for Guppies! Each day with a different format:
⦁ Day 1: Guppy K1 (With portages, Non SA Champs race)
⦁ Day 2: Guppy K1 (No portages – SA Champs race)
⦁ Day 3: U8-U12 K2 (With portages. Can mix age groups. Non a SA Champs race)
There will be a prize giving for each day. We hope this helps with planning for 14-16 June. Please let Rob Crichton or our Club Administrator Caren know if there are any questions.
Go Dabs!