What an exciting and adventurous weekend!
Annually held Liebenbergsvlei Canoe Marathon starts at Reitz Waterworks (Reitz) and ends at O’Gala Pub & Restaurant (Frankfort) on day two. That’s 70km for the combined days! The race organizers also guaranteed clean, fast flowing water of at least 25 cumecs!
This year the Liebenbergsvlei race has really reached new heights. Dabulamanzi Canoe Club, Standard Bank, and VKB Landbou really did a good job at making this race a success. The sponsors, marshalls, seconds, and volunteers were great at bringing ‘gees’ to the event – thank you! The weather was hot, although the spectators were almost blown away by the wind. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to affect the paddlers too much.
The event was to award the SA K3 National Championship and for the first time, the SA Schools National Championship, even though it is officially a K1 Race. That meant that there were officially three different races happening on the same stretch of water. Exciting does not quite cover the vibe on the water or from the spectators.
SA K3 National Championship
Overall winners, and first K3, had Richard Fly, Andrew Neal, and Stuart Waterworth back home in a total time of 4 hours 4 minutes for both days. The most interesting thing about this combination is that Richard is the only paddler from Gauteng, and the other two were both from Kwazulu-Natal.
The second K3 was Kelly Tarr, Benjamin Tarr, and Joshua Giddings. They were second overall, and the first Under 18s to finish, meaning that they were also the first SA School League team. Their time was 4 hours 7 minutes for both days.
The third K3, but first mixed combination was paddled by Dave Hamilton-Brown, Gerhard Moolman, and Morgan Ziervogel. The Dabulamanzi paddlers finished in a time of 4 hours and 8 minutes for both days.
Andy Leith, Herman Chalupsky, and Colin Simpskins were the first Masters overall to finish. They were also from different provinces. Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal were pairing up very nicely for the race.
READ MORE from page 14 in Issue 5 of 2018 : https://issuu.com/thepaddlemag/docs/tpm_5_2018
