Gauteng crowned Canoe Champs
Traditional rivals Gauteng and KZN were given more than a run for their money by the teams from the Western Cape.
The South African Canoe Polo Championships were held at Emmarentia Dam in Johannesburg over the weekend earlier this month. Teams from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape entered a mixture of men’s and mixed teams in the U/21 and senior categories.
“Traditional rivals Gauteng and KZN were given more than a run for their money by the teams from the Western Cape,” said Gauteng Canoe Union spokesperson Jennie Dallas.
The Saturday was a day of pool games, which continued into the first part of Sunday.
“Play was competitive and entertaining for the spectators, as the teams settled in to compete with each other and feel out the opposition,” said Jennie.
In the latter part of Sunday morning though, the competition entered the semi-final and then finals stage of the tournament.
In the U/21 category, the Gauteng Scouts, playing for the first time in a competition of this nature, enjoyed games of a high standard against their rival teams. The true competition in this category was between Gauteng U21 and the Aurecon Western Cape U21 teams.
“The U/21 final was a hotly contested game that had parents and spectators cheering loudly. After 20 minutes, there was still no score, so the game went to Golden Goal. The Western Cape team just pipped the Gauteng team to the post,” said Jennie.
In the Senior division, KwaZulu-Natal’s mixed team played Western Cape and beat them in the play-off for 3rd and 4th place.
The final had a local flavour as two Gauteng teams faced off, Gauteng Men and Gauteng Barbarians with Dugan Alfonso from Discovery competing for the Barbarians.
The battle between the two local sides had the score see-sawing back-and-forth, ending in a draw.
The game went to Golden Goal and the Gauteng Barbarians paddled away with the gold.
