Race in wait-and-see mode

With exactly three months to go to the 59th edition of the Berg River Canoe Marathon, the ultra-paddling classic is in a cautious mode as the country comes to grips with the national lockdown to manage the Covid19 pandemic.

All sporting events within the lockdown period have either been postponed or cancelled, and with many other events after April 16 under a cloud of uncertainty, the new team charged with organising and managing the Berg is monitoring the situation daily.

The four-day race, scheduled for July 8-11, has been taken over by BAHM Events, and they have planned a series of changes and innovations to invigorate the marathon, with a view to hosting the 60th-anniversary event in 2021 in style.

“We are heavily guided by the directives from the national and provincial government, and the departments of sport involved in the Western Cape,” said BAHM Event’s Brandon Macleod.

“With three months to go before the scheduled race, noone has any idea of the exact path the Covid-19 outbreak will take in SA and how long the restrictions on public gatherings will be in place, which makes it impossible to take firm decisions on the 2020 Berg yet,” he said.

Rescheduling of sporting events calendars due to the coronavirus clampdown is a complex matter that all national sporting federations are wrestling with.

In the case of the Berg Marathon, the event relies heavily on winter rainfall to bolster the Berg River to comfortable paddling levels.

In recent years, rains have arrived later than before in the Western Cape, with the river only flowing until the beginning of September.

“The nature of the event also requires a significant amount of advanced notice as it demands a lot of training and preparation for an athlete to be able to complete the 240km race safely and comfortably,” Macleod said.

“This is an event with a huge history. The team that has been entrusted with running it is excited to harness that heritage and add new elements that will make it more appealing to the paddlers, their seconders, families and spectators,” he said.

Local weather watchers point out that the Western Cape has a regular seven-year cycle, and with 2013 being the last year of consistently heavy rains, the region may well be in for good rains in 2020, and with it premium paddling conditions.