LOCAL canoeists will kick off the new year with serious training in the six weeks left before the world’s toughest endurance canoeing event, the Dusi which takes place in mid-February.
The 2013 Canoeing year closed with a Dusi training race on Sunday December 8, the final race of the Belloord series of races, hosted by Florida Lake Canoe Club, which took place on the Klip River from Daleside to Meyerton on Sunday December 8, 2013.
The series of races has ensured regular races on the river with good attendance attracted by giveaways on entry, spot prizes as well as cash for winners of age categories, overall winners and lucky draws for all participants.
The series included a couple of compulsory races, which enabled qualifiers to be in the final draw where six boats were won together with canoeing equipment, life jackets, paddles, water drinking systems and spraydecks, making it the most viable value for money training opportunity for canoeists throughout the year.
Mid-January will see a seriously tough two day Dusi Seeding Race take place on the Jukskei River from the Heron Bridge School/Lanseria airport area, towards Hartebeespoort Dam, where the Eurosteel sponsorship has attracted some of the top paddlers of South Africa’s Dusi event, including previous winners.
Members of the community youth from Johannesburg Canoe Club based at Wemmer Pan have shown their increasing abilities, strength and success during the past year in the school league, interprovincial sprints and marathons as well as on river races. Alex Masina from Forest Town partnered with Peter Chissano from Turffontein High School to finish the 35km race with three Dusi portages, in 48th place out of 76 boats that finished, as the first u.16 and youngest crew on the river race.
