Florida honours junior paddlers at prize-giving
The Florida paddlers' results were exceptional
The junior paddlers from the Florida Lake Canoe Club (FLCC) did exceptionally well and were honoured for their achievements at the year-end prize- giving.Jennie Dallas, the Public Relations Officer for the Gauteng Canoe Union, said, “The paddlers are awarded points for each race they complete in the Gauteng Union School League. The points accumulate to the year-end prize-giving, where the individual paddlers are recognised and awarded with medals and trophies. The accumulated points are also credited to the schools the paddlers attend, as well as to the club where they train.”
She added that the league races are held once a month at various dams in Gauteng, starting with sprint events that aim to prepare the juniors for the South African Inter-provincial Inter-school Kayak Competition. “After this competition, they move on to the marathon distances, which take place until the prize-giving in November,” said Jennie.
This year’s prize-giving took place after the final race of the year at Homestead Dam in Benoni, and the small group of young paddlers from FLCC did exceptionally well.
The club finished fifth on the club log and Jennie said, “This was due to the low number of competitors, as well as the number of relatively new paddlers who only recently joined the racing group, but those who had raced throughout the year finished with excellent results.
“The paddlers who were recognised for their achievements, were: Jaemi Wellish (168 points – first on the U/18 Female paddler log), Sisanda Mthabela from Hoërskool Roodepoort (127 points – third on the U/14 Female paddler log), Kamilah Hank from Curro Aurora (241 points – fourth on the U/14 Female paddler log), Ameerah Hank from Curro Aurora (241 points – second on the U/14 Female paddler log) and David Brown from Gustav Preller Primasry Schoool (150 points – second on the U/14 boys paddler log).
Jennie added that Matthew and Keegan Marais only participated in the final race of the year, earning nine and six points respectively, which will be added to FLCC’s log for next year. “They are looking forward to a full year of competitive racing in 2019 and are excited and motivated after their challenging introduction,” she said.
Chané Steyn and Atle Maphanga will be ready to start their racing careers in the U/8 girls category next year, and Jennie said, “We have high expectations of these two girls because both their fathers are coaches. Ivan Smit and Jaco Malherbe have also just joined the training group at FLCC, and, although they are still busy mastering the basics of the sport, they are hopeful that they will be ready to race next year.”
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