Following last weeks’ Time Trial, Our Conquering Heroes from the Marathon Champs were proudly acknowledged and then rudely subjected to down-downs, in true SA style through a Vuvuzela; and although there was some retaliation and push back, there was lots of good humour.
Well done guys!
Then we had the Standard Bank Clean Water Challenge on the Liebenbergsvlei, where it was great to see the Lovemore brothers contesting; Hamish having had a pretty good year so far, winning the B final of the Olympic K1 1000m event and then taking Silver in the Short Course Marathon Champs, while Tom hasn’t done badly either in winning the Umko and the Berg. They clearly both wanted this title too, but it was the younger Olympic & Marathon man Hamish who edged out Tom to win by less than a second, closely followed by (the much older) Wayne Jacobs; all 3 paddling Salt Kayaks. The ladies race was won by Emma Hatfield, with Amy Hulett and Sarah Field making up the podium. All are U23, and notably while there were U18’s and U16’s in ladies K1’s, there were no ladies over 23 in K1’s – come on ladies! The first Mixed Double was driven by Emma’s younger sister Ruth and crewed by their dad Paul, making for another fine family affair, while in the Doubles Ryno and Steve Smith dropped their mates to take Gold. Beyond the podium people, there were over 100 winners who had a fine time on the Clean Water Challenge, including one of our newest members who completed his first ever river race – well done Leon, you can be very proud; soon we will have you paddling through the rapids like the top guys!
Some people couldn’t stay for Prize Giving and in case you missed it too, here’s what our Chairman had to say:
“Good afternoon everyone and well done on a great weekend of racing.
I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and express my deepest gratitude to someone who truly stepped up when no one else could or did. When we found ourselves needing a leader to organize the Standard Bank Clean Water Challenge, Karen Field came forward with incredible dedication and determination. She not only took on the responsibility but arranged a Canoe River Race that has been nothing short of spectacular, flawlessly planned and beautifully executed, except for the wind, Karen, please do better with the wind – ☺.
Karen, your vision, hard work, and attention to detail made this event a huge success. You brought us all together, and on behalf of the Canoe Fraternity and Dabulamanzi, I cannot thank you enough for that. It’s easy to have an event, but to follow through and deliver such an amazing experience, well, that takes someone special—and you did it with grace and skill.
I’d also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Karen’s husband, Courtney, for his unwavering support. Behind every great effort is a team, and I know Courtney’s encouragement and help played a big role in making this happen. Thank you, Courtney, for being there every step of the way. For tying on boats, shuttling people around and making sure Karen had the support she needed throughout the event. We appreciate you so much!
Last but not least to my Kick Stand, Caren, her Kick Stand, Pierre and our very special Steve. On behalf of everyone here, thank you all for your hard work, generosity, and dedication. This event wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
Yep; well done Karen and Team. Thank you to the title sponsor Standard Bank and thanks to Brad from Poly Print for the goodie bags and shirts, Matt and Renschi from Fresh Earth food store for the goodies in the goodie bag and Bruce from Vertus Consulting for cash for prizes and development entries. Thanks to the Dabblers, Flempup and Garden (who cut family holidays to play) and Schalk and Brendan, thanks to Lolli and the SCARC Marshalls Wongama, Benji, Kwanda, Aphelele and Bambo and lastly thanks to all who came from near and far to support our race. We hope to see you at the Vaal too!
Good news for our sport is that is that HPP Coach Adro has started a new canoeing project, the St. Teresa’s Girls School Canoeing Program, and hopefully they will follow on from the likes of Kayla Szalay and Caitlyn Evans in making their school proud.
In Polo news, well done to the Vaalies; Niel, Kyle & Kyle, Ruhan and Chris on making the National Team who are off to Deqing, China, from October 10th to 21st where they will meet Denmark, Switzerland, and Hong Kong and China in their pool. Niel said “We’ve done a lot of hard prep and are looking forward to coming back with valuable experience to share with our players. We have high expectations and are committed to making our country proud!” And that “Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie!” Good luck guys!
What’s up next?
- Next up the Surfski peeps are racing the World Champs in Portugal. Singles are on Friday at 3pm and doubles are on Saturday, also at 3pm – good luck the Saffas!
- On Sunday we have the Dabbs PPP; Paddle, Padel & Pork sponsored by Lynca Meats – thanks guys. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/VXQKHShk3tvTWYGX8
- If you are in the market to buy or sell a boat – the boat auction also takes place this Sunday at 10h00.
- Then on Saturday 12th it’s the Dabs Dash – the 100m shootouts across all ages. Racing starts at 09h00, please enter here:
In two weeks’ time it’s the Lowveld Croc – Piers and the guys tripped the river last weekend and cleared some trees for us and the Pete Marlin is just a month away. Entries are still open, and it would be great to see more of Vaalies there. Last year we had just one lady and the average age of the guys was over 60. No exaggeration. This means the TVL Navy will soon be extinct if we don’t change this picture. It’s 10 years since the tragic passing of Mark Feather; if conditions are hectic many will move to Plan P (Pooza instead of Paddle), and if calm, then it’s an easy 20k’s of fun in the sun at the seaside, followed by a gin or two. Come on the U60’s – get your entries in.
Last but not least, congratulations to the German Basti on his recent engagement. Happy days Mr. Berlux!
Till next time – Go Dabs