River · Ultra distance / Gauteng

Twenty five finishers in the first running

Dabulamanzi Canoe Club ran its first Backwater Ultra over the weekend of 21 and 22 August. The 24 hour race started at 5:00 PM on the Friday and finished at 5:00 PM on the Saturday. Paddlers had to cover roughly 6.7km every hour to stay in it. A 12 hour option ran alongside.

Thirteen paddlers completed the full 24 hours for 100 miles. Twelve completed the 12 hour race for 50 miles. Ryno Armdoff was the oldest finisher and Nhlamulo Mahwayi the youngest.

Soweto Canoe and Recreation Club singled out three of its 24 hour finishers, Nhlamulo Mahwayi, Benjamin Mntonintshi and Ryno Armdorf. Nkosi Mzolo paddled 18 hours without having trained for the distance.

Two surnames appear with different spellings between the finishers list and the club post, Armdoff and Armdorf, Mtonintshi and Mntonintshi. Corrections to news@sapaddling.co.za.

River · Marathon / Eastern Cape

Six weeks out, and a two day dress rehearsal first

The 2026 Fish River Canoe Marathon and SA K1 Champs run on 2 and 3 October at Cradock. Entries are open on the PSA portal at paddler.paddlesportsa.com.

Fish River Canoe Club has put the Pre-Fish on 19 and 20 September, two weeks ahead of the race. Day one runs Grassridge to Knutsford over 48km, starting at 11:00 with registration from 09:00, or Saltpans to Knutsford over 20km. Day two runs Knutsford to Town over 36km from 08:00, or Baroda to Town over 27km. The first 50 entries get a cap.

Surfski · Ocean / Brittany, France

Race one goes to Rosie Edwards and Bernardo Pereira

The 2026 Paddle Europe European Ocean Racing Championship opened on the Finistère coast in Brittany with an SS1 race, plus an invited OC1 category that carried no European title.

Rosie Edwards and Bernardo Pereira also took the U23 titles. In the invited OC1 category Louka Brard won the men’s race and Sylvie Marin the women’s. Replay and full results are on Total Paddler.

No South African paddlers finished on a race one podium.

Va’a · International / Singapore

Tahiti finish on 87 medals

The IVF World Sprint Championships closed at Marina Bay in Singapore. Total Paddler reported 2,222 athletes from 29 countries and territories entered. Tahiti topped the table with 45 golds and 87 medals in total.

Columns run gold, silver, bronze, then total. The championships ran from 17 to 31 August, with ten days of sprint finals.

Surfski · River / Western Cape

Sea on the Saturday, river on the Sunday

Still Bay Paddling Club runs the Stilbaai Classic on 26 and 27 September at Hulle By Die See. Saturday is a sea race of about 20km starting at 12:00, with the route set on the day according to conditions. Sunday is a river race over 10km and 20km starting at 07:00.

Entry is R350 per race and R200 for under 18. The sea race enters through PSA. The river race enters through Entry Ninja or PSA. Life jackets are compulsory for both days. The first 100 entries get a branded towel, and there are cash prizes and lucky draws.

Clubs / KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape

A boat auction at Kingfisher and Tuesday time trials at Century City

Kingfisher Canoe Club holds a boat auction on Thursday 1 October, after the time trial. Boats book in between 15:00 and 17:00 on the Wednesday, or 08:00 to 08:45 on the Thursday.

Bidding costs R20, which is not refundable. Selling costs R50 per item to the club, plus 10% of the sale.

Century City Canoe Club runs time trials every Tuesday with a start line at 18:00, over 3km, 6km and 10km.

Administration / National

Who chairs what, and where an entry fee goes

PSA published two reference sheets this fortnight. The first lists its technical committees. Waldo van Der Linde chairs Marathon, Charl Van Wyk chairs Ocean Paddling, Nichole Wilson chairs Sprints on an interim basis, Niel Burger chairs Canoe Polo and Don Wewege chairs Slalom and Kayak Cross.

The second breaks down a race entry. The race organiser takes the largest share. A union fee or levy applies to certain races as each union decides. The Athlete Tour Fund draws up to R20 per paddler per day on multi day events, national champs and ocean events needing open ocean proficiency, and is controlled by the discipline committees. Indemnity insurance is R4.00 or R4.70. Payfast takes 3.45%. System maintenance takes 1.05% where event income is above R100k and 2.55% below it. PSA administration of the online entry system takes 0.5%.

Safety · NSRI / Western Cape

A broken leash off Roman Rock, and a paddler who turned back

A 73 year old surfski paddler fell out of his boat about one nautical mile north of Roman Rock on Tuesday 25 August. His leash had broken, and the ski blew away from him in strong wind.

Another paddler saw it happen, turned back, and used a bungee cord to tow the empty ski to the man in the water. Both activated their NSRI SafeTrx alerts and stayed afloat together. NSRI Simon’s Town was activated at 11:24 and launched the rescue craft Donna Nicholas into two metre swells and a 30 knot south easter. Two rescue swimmers went in, and the casualty came aboard with his ski. He was treated for mild hypothermia and was not injured.

At least five humpback whales breached around the rescue craft while the recovery ran. The paddler who raised the alarm carried on to Fish Hoek Beach. NSRI commended his swift actions.

Two things did the work here: another paddler who turned back, and SafeTrx alerts that gave the crew a position to launch to. The leash is the part that failed. The full NSRI report is at nsri.org.za.

Surfski · Sea kayak / Western Cape

A first running on the Langebaan Lagoon

Westcoast Warriors host the first Paddle the Lagoon on Saturday 10 October, starting and finishing at the Langebaan Yacht Club. Sunday 11 October is the reserve day if conditions on the Saturday are unsafe.

Surfski singles and doubles race a 13km mid course or a 17km long course. A 6.5km short course is open to surfskis and to sea and touring kayaks, single or double. Doubles can be mixed or same gender, and there are no age categories. Positions only are recorded in each category.

Registration runs at the Yacht Club on Friday 9 October from 17:00 to 18:30, and on the Saturday morning from 08:00 to 11:00. Paddlers staying over on the Friday are asked to register that evening. Everyone collects a key ring memento and a goodie bag. The race briefing is at 12:15 and the starts are planned for 13:00, subject to the weather and the sea on the day. Prize giving and a lucky draw follow at about 17:00, and the Yacht Club restaurant runs a race day braai.

A life jacket is compulsory for every paddler. A support boat covers the course, routes may be shortened for safety, and anyone withdrawing should still report to the organisers’ desk. Finishers must come through the official finish posts to be recorded. Parking is on Lagoon Street above Sandbaai, with security on hand, and boats can go down to the Sandbaai beach before the start.

Entries are on Entry Ninja. The organisers also run a WhatsApp group for updates on this race and future ones.

This is not a PaddleSport South Africa sanctioned event, so paddlers do not need to be registered to enter.