Bigger and better paddle race expected

AFTER a successful introduction last year, the second edition of the Natal Canoe Club (NCC) Development Race sponsored by The Department of Sport and Recreation KZN will be held on Sunday, 20 October. This will be the first Dusi seeding event of the year, and it takes place between Camps Drift and Bishopstowe in Pietermaritzburg.

The race is a seeding event for Dusi 2014 for both a ‘front-row’ seeding for the top contenders, as well as for normal seeding for batches for the main field. The Department of Sport and Recreation KZN is the title sponsor, and have provided the funding to hold an exciting and significant event. Prize money of over R32 000 is available, and a TV production will be created to provide extra exposure opportunities for paddlers and the sport in general.

MEC for Sport and Recreation KZN, Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Saphetha, has been supportive of canoeing in KZN, training at NCC on many occasions, and even showed her skills in an exhibition canoe race on the Midmar Dam earlier this year.

The MEC was most enthusiastic about the NCC Development Race. “We are looking forward to this exciting event which exposes young people, particularly from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, to paddling.

“Through the partnership that we have established with the NCC, I have no doubt that this initiative will grow from strength to strength and bring multitudes of young people to this exciting sport.”

This year the race for K2s (two people in a canoe) and will provide early signals of who may be teaming up for the Dusi Canoe Marathon in February 2014. There is always plenty of speculation about who is paddling with who, with many of the combinations being closely kept secrets until the very last minute.

For more information on the NCC Development Race visit www.natalcc.co.za