June 9, 2006
By Emmanuel Mulaudzi
IT'S just before 3.30pm and a group of youngsters is standing on the banks of the Orlando Dam dressed in tight tops and shorts, despite the fact that it's mid-winter.
Next they tip several canoes into the water and clamber in. Canoeing coach Ryno Armdorf calls out to check that the canoe coverings are tight to ensure water doesn't get in.
The under 18 squad of the Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club put in a hard afternoon of training
Members of the Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club, these youngsters serious about their sport.
They paddle from a starting point towards the north side of the dam and back. In the background are the famous Orlando power station towers and the new Soweto shopping mall that is in the process of being built.
Every lap turns into a race and the blood starts to circulate. They keep it up for an hour and a half.
The club is still in its infancy, having started just two years ago with 15 members. Today 35 canoeists are registered, mostly under 19, with some under 16. The paddlers train in relays because there are not enough canoes to go round.
The club uses the facilities at the Soweto Recreational Club, with the support of the City's Region 10 department of sports and recreation.
The youngsters join as beginners and under Armdorf's supervision learn the basics of paddling and controlling the canoe. Before they can get into a canoe, however, they have to be able to swim in case the canoe overturns.
Armdorf insists that each youngster takes swimming lessons at the Soweto Recreational Centre, next to the dam. "Canoeing is a sport where you have to be on your own," says Armdorf.
The club was launched with the aim of introducing Soweto residents to water sports and activities. "We wanted to take the sport to the people," says Jacques Theron, co-chairman of the Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club and three times winner of the Berg River Canoe Marathon.
One of the biggest challenges facing the club is the lack of canoes and kit, but
Theron is determined that this will not stop the club members taking part in the South African championships and in national competitions held in Durban and Cradock.
In May 2005, the club's under 18 team won the Gauteng Marathon Championship held on the Roodeplaat Dam in Pretoria.
Two of the members, Muzi Mathebula and Mongetho Manana, have also been selected for the Gauteng canoeing squad.
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