Shongweni Dam ready for sprint champs

AS the country’s best flatwater sprint canoeists converge on the newly-established sprint course at Shongweni Dam, the course passed its first serious test during the KZN Sprint Championships recently.

As the venue is set to play host to the national, South African Schools and the African Sprint Championships all within the next four weeks, it was vital that the course made the grade.

“I really thought that it was one of the best courses I have raced on in South Africa,” said the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, Bridgitte Hartley. “The course is definitely up there with international standards as it has just as many buoys as you would see on an international sprint course.

With the Shongweni Dam facility on her doorstep, Hartley will have a great venue to train at in the future, however with a busy schedule leading into an important season in Europe, she will be unable to use it.

“It would be really great to train on the course, it is that good. It is very different to the course that we used at Roodeplaat last year which, will be a bit more favourable for the racing that is coming up this weekend. I won’t be able to get on to the course this week unfortunately but I am not too worried at this stage because it is so early in the season. A lot of the girls in Europe would only have been on the water for a month so far this year,” Hartley mentioned.

The African Sprint Championships take place at Shongweni Dam from 1 to 3 April. For more information, go to canoesa.org.za.