Lowveld canoeists excel at national championships
The Lowveld's very own Alison Hay and Piers Cruickshanks recently made their mark at the national canoe championships as both walked away with medals.
Local canoeists Alison Hay and Piers Cruickshanks have been in red-hot form on the water recently, earning top results at both the Gauteng championships and the national championships.
The South African Canoe Marathon Championships took place at Roodeplaat Dam in Gauteng from June 14 to 16, offering South African canoeists the opportunity to be selected to represent the country at the upcoming ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships which will take place in Metkovic, Croatia, from September 19 to 22.
There was some exciting racing among the large group of entrants at the SA Championships and the weather was perfect.
Hay competed in the senior ladies division (35+ age group) and finished as the first grandmaster in the over 50s age category, and the sixth female overall, in a time of 01:26:19 in the 20km K1 (single kayak) long course.
Cruickshanks competed in the master men age category for canoeists over 50 and finished in 01:26:35, second in his category.
Cruickshanks also competed in the K2 (double kayak event) in which he partnered with Soweto’s Phineas Zulu to finish second in the subveteran category (the younger age group as his partner falls into this category) in 01:21:00.
The Gauteng Canoe Union had hosted their annual canoe marathon championships earlier in the month on June 1 and 2, also at Roodeplaat Dam, to select the paddlers that would compete in the national champs that would follow.
Hay of the Lowveld Canoe Club had also participated at the Gauteng Championships where she took part in the 20km main race. She finished as the third grandmaster (over 60), as the second female racer, in a time of 02:21:00.
The Lowveld Canoe Club has organised numerous races in the local area for Gautengers to enjoy, and has had many highly competitive paddlers at the club over the years.
A bit more about canoe marathon races:
Marathon races follow the traditional international format with a few different races to accommodate a variety of age groups.
The guppies (U12) participate in shorter races with a short portage section (paddlers take the boat out of the water and run or walk a short distance, then display their efficiency at putting the boat back into the water smoothly and quickly to continue racing), while a short 10km dash race also takes place with portages.
The main race for selection to the national team is the 20km, with a few portages. The ability to get out and back into the water smoothly and efficiently plays an important part in achieving good results in the marathon races.
