Martin Dreyer’s dedication and hard work to the growth of canoeing amongst black paddlers in South Africa, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal’s Valley of a Thousand Hills, via his Computershare Change a Life Academy was internationally recognized on Saturday when he received the 'Foundation Award' at the World Paddle Awards for 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.
The past weekend’s FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon was a huge success for Pietermaritzburg's Natal Canoe Club (NCC). Not only did NCC’s Andy Birkett stand on top of the men’s podium and Abby Adie win the women’s race, but the NCC Development Team produced its best results yet.
After dominating the first two days of the 2016 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon, Abby Solms and Anna Kožíšková duly wrapped up their maiden victory in the race as the focus of the final day’s racing shifted to the battle for second place on the final day on Saturday.
A flawless three days of racing from Andy Birkett and Lance Kime resulted in a combined eighth FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon crown for the pair as Birkett registered his sixth and Kime his second title at Blue Lagoon in Durban on Saturday.
As the 2016 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon draws ever closer, ladies favourites Abby Solms and Anna Kožíšková's are looking forward to reuniting again ahead of the 18-20 February spectacle after having spent much of the recent months training individually, halfway across the globe from each other.
Kayaking is a fantastic sport, a great excuse to get outside, push yourself and to travel to new places, so hopefully this list below will inspire you. If you think we’ve missed any worthy races off the list - which we did - then comment below and let us know.
The 2016 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon is set to draw a massive field for one of the world’s largest, most revered, and toughest multi-day marathons. For Abby Solms (nee Adie), next year’s race presents a fantastic opportunity to win the one major river racing crown in South Africa that has eluded her.
Greg Louw has written his name into the Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon record books by becoming the first Eastern Cape paddler in seventeen years to win the event that doubled as the 2015 South African K2 Championships after he and Andy Birkett maintained their overnight lead while Abby Solms and Anna Kožíšková successfully defended their women’s title in style on Saturday.
The second and final stage of the two-day Green Kalahari Canoe Marathon offered paddlers variety with weirs, rapids, portages, an irrigation canal and the spectacular Neus Gorge.
Fast flow, flat water and a few rapids marked the first day of the two-day Green Kalahari Canoe Marathon (GKCM). Four paddlers in a tight pack charged towards the finish with Czech marathon star Jakob Adam taking the Day 1 win.