On January 20, local paddlers had the opportunity to compete in the Sprint Championships, hosted by the Gauteng Canoe Union, to determine the best team from all age groups to compete in the upcoming South African Sprint Championships.
The chosen paddlers will represent their province from March 22 to 24 at Germiston Lake in the Championships, which will be hosted by the Victoria Lake Canoe Club.
Jennie Dallas, from the Florida Lake Canoe Club, explained three members of the club did exceptionally well in the race.
Moshe Ngomane, who is also a coach for beginners, was the second senior age category finisher with a time of 00:27:01 in the 5 000m K1 race with one portage. He also competed in the 500m and 200m races where he finished in the fourth and fifth place.
Chané Steyn, a U14 learner from Florida Primary School, was the third female to finish the 1 000m sprint. She was also the fourth female finisher in her age category in the 5 000 sprint with a time of 00:03:16. She also finished sixth in the 200m race with a time of 00:01:11.
Michael Goredema, a learner at Hoërskool Roodepoort, finished in seventh place in the 5 000m race for the U16 category with a time of 00:34:07. He also finished in seventh place for the 1 000m sprint in his age category with a total time of 00:05:49. In both the 500m and 200m he finished in sixth place.
“Certified coaches from the club also assisted with escorting the new U8 to U10 paddlers to their start lines in time for their races and helped them line up in the correct sprint lane per the number on the back of the boat. Macdonald Nkosi and Gcina Nkabinde helped get them back in their boats if they managed to fall out from time to time, while Moses Ngomane also assisted in between his races,” added Jennie.
She concluded, “Sprints is an important discipline in the canoeing or paddling sport as it is an Olympic discipline and some SA youth have been selected over the years to participate in the Olympic Hopes international regattas, to prepare them for possible future participation at the Olympics. The sprint discipline consists of short fast races in lanes including the 200m, 500m, and 1 000m. There is a long-distance sprint competition as well which includes a 2km for U12s and a 5km for other paddling age groups.”
