KZN paddlers’ new challenge

TWO teams made up of Martin Dreyer’s Change a Life Academy paddlers and alumni are preparing to take on the tough, 240km Berg River Canoe Marathon next month.

The teams are: Thulani Mbanjwa and Msawenkosi Mtolo, and Khumbulani Nzimande and Siyanda Gwamanda.

The four-day journey from Paarl to the West Coast fishing town of Velddrif will be a first for three of the four squad members, with only Mbanjwa having raced the Western Cape classic before.

The event will pose significantly different challenges when compared with the traditional KwaZulu-Natal races on which the Change a Life paddlers thrive, but with a solid block of training behind them which includes the KZN Marathon Championships, they are looking forward to the challenge.

Dreyer said doing the Berg motivated teams to paddle through the middle of the year, and it gave them a great base going into the following Dusi season.

“The KwaZulu-Natal river scene is quiet through the winter. So to go and paddle the Berg gives the guys a great opportunity to see a different part of South Africa,” Dreyer said.

Nzimande and Gwamande will form the Capensis Change a Life team and will be the top-ranked team to come from the Change a Life Academy.

“Khumbulani had an incredible Dusi and finished fourth overall and has been the standout paddler in the squad.

‘‘So he got to select his own paddling partner, which was Siyanda Gwanmanda, and Mbanjwa, being the next-highest-ranked Change a Life paddler, was also allowed to pick his partner, and he chose to paddle with Thulani.

‘‘Teamwork is going to be crucial at the Berg, but enjoyment is also a vital factor, so I wanted the team pairings to be of similar ability, and, importantly, also that they are friends.

‘‘Khumbulani and Siyanda train together, so they make an obvious combination,” Dreyer said.

Visit www.berg.org.za.