West Rand schools ranked in canoeing
High School – Victory House; Primary School – Florida.
Roodepoort schools were ranked in canoeing after the last Gauteng Canoe Union Schools League (GCUSL) race of the year had taken place at Florida Lake on Saturday 16 November.
With over 100 participating paddlers throughout the year, the GCUSL has grown exponentially with races being hosted at various lakes and dams on a monthly basis to offer the young canoeists opportunities for growth and to compete.
The top West Rand high school is Victory House (fifth), with Hoërskool Florida finishing in ninth and Florida Park High School 16th out of 40 high schools represented in the league. The top West Rand primary school was Florida Primary in eighth place, with Charter House in ninth and Laerskool Florida in 15th, with Arthur Matthew finishing 20th out of 39 schools on the log.
The Gauteng winning primary school was St Davids Marist College of Inanda in Sandton who recognise canoeing as a school sport, as does Parktown Girls High School that finished second on the log, losing to Bona High School in Soweto.
According to Jennie Dallas, spokesperson for the GCU, “For both male and female paddlers points are allocated for each finisher on a sliding scale in each age group that accumulate over the year and are credited to the school being represented”.
Club wise, Florida Lake Canoe Club tied for second place with Soweto Canoe Club on the points allocated to the clubs, with Emmarentia Dam’s Dabulamanzi Club winning the club top points prize, with points accumulated from the two schools that recognise canoeing as a school sport, support the activity and encourage their pupils to participate.
Young paddlers from FLCC who received awards:
• Matthew van der Merwe from Charter House: Winner of the U/10 category and one of the top achievers in the U/12 category
• Archie Moncho from Victory House: The top achiever in the older category of U/14 upwards (17) as well as winner of the U/18 category for the year
• Jaydon Hunt from Randpark Ridge Primary: The top achiever in the U/12 category
• Jaco Pieterse from Hoërskool Florida: Second place U/18 achiever
• Moses Ngohae with Archie Sithole: Runners-up in the U/16 age category for the year
