Canoeing

Saturday 6 March was the first race for 2021 held at VLC Germiston. There was much excitement because many of our new paddlers were racing in their very first race. Congratulations to all our St David’s paddlers who raced in a 5-knot winds on Saturday morning. Each paddler did their school proud.

Our new paddlers all raced in a 100m sprint. There were 200m and 500 m sprint heats for our experienced boys. Joshua Friedericksen, an U10 paddler came second in both his 200m and 500m race. Oliver Biddulph, an U10 paddler came fourth in the 200m and 2nd in the 500m race. In the U12 category, Rupert Schonborn came 2nd in the 500m race and third in the 200m race. Luke Wilson came second in both the U14 200m and 500m race, with Jess Webber close behind in third place.

The annual national sprint regatta took place at Ntshongweni Dam in KZN took place over 24-27 April weekend 2021.The 2021 regatta was the 26th national sprint champs with three days of sprinting at the SA Schools and SA Sprint Championships. The event was well attended by paddlers from across the country. Most of the age groups having to hold heats, semi-finals before competing in finals – there was an abundance of exceptionally close and exciting racing. The events for the Guppy paddlers were 200m, 500m, 1 000m and 2 000m.

All our school’s paddlers powered through to the semifinals to move on to the finals of their respective heats and age groups. The Prep School had 11 boys and the High School had 6 boys in their teams. Each boy earned valuable points for their individual rankings and school team.

Of the 17 College and Prep boys, nine were medallists. In total 36 podium medals. The Prep team were top of the leader board with a total of 428 points with Durban Preparatory in second place with a total of 65 points.

A special shout out to our U10 boys, Joshua Friedericksen, Joshua Powell and Riccardo Puzone who fought through the wind and rain in their very first 1 000m event on Friday. They were terrified to begin with but showed courage and determination to finish their race.

St David’s Marist Inanda can be proud of its Prep and College canoeists who wore their colours with pride and raced with grit and courage, and many personal bests and fine moments. The boys have made lifelong friends and paddling enthusiasts from many provinces. Our boys have come away winners in so many ways – they have learnt the value of teamwork, community spirit and to appreciate the power of physical endurance and healthy competition. I would like to thank Mr Phineas Zulu our coach, Meshack Malete our trusted driver for taking the boats down for the boys. For loading and unloading the boats. Thanks must go to our very enthusiastic and supportive parents who are there for their sons and the team in every race. All in all, a fun filled weekend for the boys and parents.

Victor Ludorum SA Schools 2021 certificates were awarded to Joshua Powell, Joshua Friedericksen and Luke Wilson for top three in their group overall.

SA Marathon Champs held in Cape Town at the Peninsular Canoe Club from Friday 21 May to Sunday 23 May 2021.

Flatwater marathon racing is a highly tactical discipline that takes place in a lap format, with a portage at the end of every lap. Different distances are raced depending on age category and sex of participants. South African Marathon Championship distances for K1 and K2 races: Junior U14: four laps, 17km

Jess Webber U14, Luke Wilson and Matthew Wilson were the only three competitors from the Prep school. Conditions were tough with strong winds, and it was cold. Jess Webber paddled with a SCARC canoeist (Soweto Canoeing and Recreation Club), Owethu Duna. They won a bronze and a silver in their K2 U14 races.

Congratulations and well done to all our boys who took part in the Canoe SA Marathon Champs in the Western Cape.

Our canoeists took up the challenge to join in with the Team Marist Run held from 6 June to 26 June. On Sunday 6 June 15 boys arrived on a very chilly morning at Emmarentia dam to paddle for the Team Marist Challenge. Dr Grant Biddulph and Mr Charles Davis paddled with their sons on the day. Each boy paddled a distance of 4.85km which is four laps around Emmarentia Dam.

Congratulations to Luke Wilson for being awarded Provincial Full Colours from the Gauteng Canoe Union and to Jess Webber and Matthew Wilson who were awarded half colours.

Miss D Johnstone

MIC: Canoeing

Mr S Zulu

Miss D Johnstone