The Rodrigues brothers have conquered the canoe polo scene in South Africa.
Bred in the heart of Weltevreden Park, Kevin and David Rodrigues, a sales agent at Remax Masters and a student at University of Johannesburg respectively, have been paddling through canoe polo games since their early teens.
David started his water sports career early with kayaking and then moved onto the thrilling sport of canoe polo. In order not to let his little brother show him up, Kevin also displayed an interest after seeing his brother compete for two years.
Now both are members of the Gauteng A side and the South African senior U21 men’s team for canoe polo.
What is canoe polo you may ask? The brothers both joked at how some people expected them to be playing polo, with horses, in a dam. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The game consists of two 10-minute halves, with five players in each team. The objective is to score as many goals as possible in the suspended goal posts at the end of the triangle water pitch.
“We both practised at the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club in Emmarentia, but due to the dam upgrades we have moved to the Benoni canoe club in the meantime,” said Kevin.
Both brothers are obviously adrenaline junkies as this was their first answer when asked why they like the sport.
“Aside from the physicality of the sport, it is an escape from work and studying,” said Kevin.
“Canoe polo is a team sport and the spirit of family is important, it also helps to have your brother in the team,” retorted David.
Recently the Rodrigues brothers competed at the 2016 South African Canoe Polo Championships held at the Shongweni Dam in KwaZulu-Natal. They both agreed that it was a tough game and that the Gauteng A team dominated for most of the championship. The Gauteng A men’s division were runners-up to KZN.
The brothers represented their country in the U21 side for the first time in 2014 at the Canoe Polo World Championship in France. The South African team ranked 19th out of 24 countries.
Their father Nick Rodrigues said, “As an avid sportsman myself, my proudest moment was seeing both my boys with the U21 squad go to the World Champs.”
“My wife, Jane, and I are incredibly proud to have boys who have turned out to be great sportsmen. We hope to see them become mentors to younger players.”
Although, it was by no means an easy journey to make the teams. “We have had to make a lot of sacrifices including missing work and classes, but it’s all worth it because it’s the game we love,” said David.
“Thanks to Andy Pott, who was their coach and mentor, the boys have worked hard for their spots in great canoe polo teams,” added Nick.
The teams have funded their trips to compete nationally and internationally through their canoe clubs, sponsors and donations.
The brothers joked about the camaraderie shared during practices, games and tournaments. “We have so much fun, initiation for World Champs was especially interesting.” David explained how his brother opted to have his head shaved while he was dyed blue by team mates and paraded around as a smurf.
“It is an amazing sport that we encourage everyone to join or even try, from women to men; it is a great way to stay fit and to join a family.”
Details: Dabulamanzi Canoe Club, info@dabulamanzi.co.za
