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River Paddling

Marathon racing is the most popular discipline in South African canoeing, and a vibrant calendar of events takes advantage of the many excellent paddling rivers and flat-water courses across the country.

The domestic river season starts with the Berg River Marathon, a 4 day odyssey in the Cape winter from Paarl to Velddrif, followed by the Breede Marathon, Lowveld Croc, Fish, and Vaal marathons.

In the summer season the major races switch to KwaZulu-Natal for the DrakChallenge, 50 Miler and peaking at the Dusi Canoe Marathon, which remains the biggest race on the calendar. The Umkomaas marathon is arguably the roughest water raced in K1s and K2s anywhere in the world, and the river season winds down with Nonstop Dusi and Tugela Marathons.

Read more about River Proficiency and River Safety before getting your river legs on. 

River Marathon news

Dabs News | Surfski, Sprints and Rapid Stuff

Summer’s here, and there’s been lots to smile about, from the results at international ocean and sprint races to real river racing and more... Last week it was the 2026 Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in Spain. Quite why the ICF tried to be more inclusive and...

Dabs News | Here, There and Everywhere

From Emmarentia to Still Baai to Durban to Slovakia to Ireland to Germany, in the past few weeks our paddlers have been playing all over the place… Kyle Armdorf (U15/16) and Daniel van Eeden (U17/18) went to Bratislava, Slovakia for the Olympic Hopes Regatta....

Dabs News | Liebenbergsvlei 2026

What a weekend! Fast flowing, cold, clean water conditions, followed by fantastic fun at the Skip Skop with fast flowing rugby to boot, and then another day of river racing under the summer sun… Rivers, like life, are all about highs and lows, ebbs and flows. Just a...

Dabs News | Our Inaugural Backwater Ultra

You’ve all seen lots of pics, and here are some of the war stories from those that stirred the teacup this weekend… All dams are different, and Emmarentia is actually very small, which has its pros and cons. Sadly we can’t host a straight 1 kilometre sprint, but we...

Dabs News – From the Sella to the Tugela to the Struer

“Keep calm and carry on” was the message sent to the scribe – which doubles up as sound advice when approaching a rapid on a raging river; and even on the Sella or the Tugela, so here’s some more news; with a special tribute of thanks to Pierre & Louis Strydom for the...

Dabs News | To Club or not to Club?

This isn’t the normal news, but rather a question or two: Are we really who we say we are, what do we want, and where are we going… To be good takes effort, while to be the best, the finest there is; takes real commitment and dedication at another level altogether....

Dabs News | The 9 Miler, the Dabs Awards Evening and the PE2EL Book Launch

Dabs News – The 9 Miler, the Dabs Awards Evening and the PE2EL Book Launch This one’s about marathon paddling, fine club fun and stories from what must be the most scary ski race in the world. Tough. The Centurion Canoe Club and Reitveli Dam served up fine (almost...

Dabs News | Berg 2026

Yet another title for the GOAT. Almost 50 and now with 15 Berg wins, after first winning it when he was 22 back in 2000. Although the Pope won 15 Dusi’s in 19 years and Andy Birkett is on 16 Dusi wins in 17 years, what makes Hanks 15 Berg wins so remarkable is that he...

Dabs News | Reports on Allsorts

Apologies – it’s a long one – with lots of reports on all kinds of different sports and other stuff, because much has happened in the last month…. For the first time in many years Dabulamanzi wasn’t well represented at the SA Marathon Champs, which were held at...

Dabs News | Gauteng Marathon Champs

While Joburg’s winter got real, the final showdown of the PSG Gauteng Marathon Champs took place out at White River, where the weather was way warmer. Those who went got to enjoy the beautiful scenery and amazing dam with all its fish eagles, giant kingfishers and...