Grand Master winners at champs
Annual Gauteng Canoe Union K2 (Doubles) River Championship race.
THE annual Gauteng Canoe Union K2 (Doubles) River Championship race took place on the weekend November 1 and 2, from the Vaal Dam wall near Deneysville, 32km on Day one to finish in Three Rivers, a long shallow slog with a number of tired paddlers arriving at the finish.
Day two started below the Barrage, and with a water release both days were more pleasant than normal paddling on the Vaal River, and some 30km later, paddlers straggled into the finish at the Smiling Thru’ Holiday Resort upriver from Parys.
With 8km of enjoyable and challenging rapids at the start of the race and plenty of flat water afterwards, making up good resistance training, paddlers build up their stamina and endurance as they prepared for the major river race of the year, the 120 km Dusi, in February.
Allbertonians Tony Phelps and Andre van der Merwe, who are members of the Johannesburg Canoe Club based at Wemmer Pan, were the Grant Master Winners (over 60 years of age), in a time of 6:28 over the two days.
