Non-Stop Dusi repositioned

THE traditional hosts of the annual Non-Stop Dusi canoeing ultra-marathon have decided to revert to the event’s original, informal structure for this year’s race.

The race was slated to be held on Friday March 3, but responding to a variety of issues relevant to the race, Natal Canoe Club has decided to change the race format to revert to the 20-year-old race’s original format.

The Non-Stop Dusi involves racing the course of the three-day FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon in one day.

When it was founded in the 1980s, it was an informal event, arranged by like-minded paddlers telephonically when it was clear that the rivers would be fullest. In recent years, the event was formalised and raced on a set date, materially altering its character as it often relied solely on water available from Henley Dam.

With the region in the grips of the drought, and with limits on the water that can be expected from Henley Dam, the Natal Canoe Club has agreed to let the event revert to its original adhoc status, and to allow keen paddlers to co-ordinate among themselves on social media and via the race website when it seems that rains will leave the uMngeni and uMsundusi rivers full enough to make the race viable.

“The Non-Stop has not been cancelled,” said the club’s general manager, Brett Austen Smith, “we are just allowing it to return to its old informal structure, with no entry fees and no prize money for now. Unless there is a substantial change, the race will take place as slated on March 3. This will be clarified via social media and the press.”