While Van Wyk took part in the 60th Ruhr Regatta in Western Germany, Beers competed in the South African Marathon Championships, held in Elgin.
Gabriel van Wyk
With the encouragement and support of generous Knysna sponsors, including Knysna Yacht Club, FIT, Knysna Racing, Rhiannon Chauncey, Magnetic South, JAB Dried Fruit, family and friends from as far afield as Natal and Nelspruit, Van Wyk was able to compete in the Ruhr Regatta in Bochum in the Ruhr valley in Western Germany.
He was chosen to compete as a member of the Junior South African team after a fantastic performance at the South African School Kayak Sprints championships held at the Roodeplaat Dam near Pretoria, at the end of April.
Gabriel and his partner, Jotham van Tonder of Gauteng, competed against junior paddlers from Germany, France, Denmark and the USA, and achieved solid results. After going through a series of heats they came fifth in the A-finals of both the 1 000m and 500m K2 sprints, as well as seventh in the A-final of the 200m K2 sprint. In total they competed in seven races over the three days of the Regatta.
Explains Ronelle van Wyk, Gabriel's mother: "Gabriel had less than a month to organize his trip, get his Schengen visa, study for the Matric exams at Knysna Montesorri School, paddle and gym hard and also fit in a training camp before he left SA on Sunday evening June 3.
He arrived at Düsseldorf International Airport, via a stop-over in Dubai, in the late afternoon of Monday June 4, over 18 hours later. Fortunately Bochum time is the same as South African time and this made it easier to orientate themselves in the Northern Hemisphere during the long Spring days. The sun only properly sets after 10 o'clock at night. It is however also the rainy, stormy season and they experienced cold rain and strong winds, even worse than our mild winters."
The beautiful Kemnader Lake outside Bochum hosted sprinters from 12 different countries, as well as a number of local German clubs. The event is organised under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation (ICF) whose purpose it is to link the various canoeing associations and organise international competitions in paddling and sailing.
The standard of racing at Bochum was a step up from the local South African scene for most of the junior South African sprinters, but they all rose to the occasion and are delighted with their performances. Van Wyk says he is proud to have had the honour to represent South Africa abroad. He experienced tough competition, but is adamant he observed and learnt a lot. He agrees that the destination is not only a place but rather a new way of seeing things, and one returns home with new energy and appreciation for what one has.
Gabriel and his parents wish to express their sincere gratitude towards everyone who helped make their son's journey abroad possible.
The team coach, Craig Mustard said afterwards. "The team was a great pleasure to tour with and apart from the great results, their off the water behaviour was just a good. It's going to be exciting to see how they use this racing experience towards their future goals and how we can build on this towards the Junior Sprint Championships next year."
Michaela Beers
Michaela Beers (15) took part in the South African Marathon Championships, which were held on June 9 and 10 in Elgin in the Western Cape. The u/16 and u/8 girls classes were combined into one race, where Beers achieved an overall sixth position, but placed second in the girls u/16 K1 (singles) category.
The following day, June 10 she took part in the K2 races, this time with partner Candice Murray of Fish Hoek in the Cape. They were third overall in the combined race, but second in the u/18 category.
"We literally bumped into each other when their group came around a corner when I was out training on a river. I'm fortunate that Candice and I have a good connection with the same stroke rate and rythm which helps a lot," explains Beers.
The marathon championships follow the international format, with paddlers having to get out of their boats for a short portage along the bank, carrying their canoes and paddles with them. The races were held in cold misty weather and certainly provided Beers with invaluable experience.
The lone figure of Beers training in the Knysna Lagoon or on the Ruigtevlei River has become a familiar sight in the last few years, two years of which she has been coached by Olympic paddler, Michèle Eray. Without the constant support of a team as other kayakers in larger cities have, Beers has had to learn to be disciplined independently of anyone else.
"Training in Knysna where we often have bad weather and being used to practising in choppy water gave me an advantage over the group from Natal because they are not used to it," explains Beers, who is a Grade 10 pupil at Oakhill School. "Sometimes when you go out on Knysna's lagoon its so cold that your hands are numb. At Elgin the temperature was 4 degrees and so misty you could hardly see."
Back home Beers trains for about two hours every day, which can include a 5 - 10km run, gym, rowing and riding or jumping one of her seven horses. She describes the start of the competition as being pretty quiet with everyone focused on getting their own gear ready. "Its not that anyone is unfriendly, but there is definitely a competitive vibe. This was my first championship and I learned a lot - I now know where I stand in relation to the other competitors and what it takes to make the top two."
This year the top two get to go to Rome.
"Of course I'm aiming for next year and then the best two paddlers get to go compete in Denmark, but my next competition is the Breeriver which takes place in September."
Adds Astrid Beers, "The Knysna Yacht Club, where Kaylie launches, has been so supportive and we just want to thank them for all their encouragement and SMSes asking how she's doing. We really appreciate that."
Candice Murray of Fish Hoek (left) and Knysna’s junior kayaking champion, Michaela Beers, with their bronze medal for the K2 race u/18 at the South African Marathon Championship recently held at Elgin. (Photo: Lucia Murray.)
ARTICLE: ANOESCHKA VON MECK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
