River · Marathon / Free State

Chwayi and Mntonintshi take the senior K3 title

Sibbusiso Chwayi and Benjamin Mntonintshi won the senior K3 at the 2026 Liebenbergsvlei SA K3 Championships on Day 2 in 01:51:54.27, ahead of a 49-boat field across the categories.

Gustav Radloff, Theo Smit and Krzysztof Lapacz took the (40–44) K3 win in 01:56:38.50. The (U23) K3 went to Kwanele Banda, Siyanda Majozi and Esihle Ngcobo in 02:00:51.75. The (U18) K3 was won by Kwanele Zuma, Siyabonga Ndlovu and Saniele Mtholo in 02:03:45.04. The senior women’s K3 went to Gabriela van Rooyen, Lesedi Bobo and Moshe Nghomani in 02:08:54.35.

Full results are posted on kncu.co.za.

Sprint / International

A silver for South Africa in the K1 5000m

Hanna Solomon took silver in the women’s K1 5000m at the Olympic Hopes regatta in Slovakia on 20 September, with a senior canoe sprint selection nod from Canoeing South Africa.

Olympic Hopes is the ICF’s junior-sprint development event, the upstream of the junior world cups. South Africa’s sprint programme is in rebuilding mode after the last Olympic cycle; Solomon’s medal is one of the strongest results the senior women have brought back in the past two seasons.

Ocean · Rowing / Western Cape

21km anti-clockwise from Longbeach to Bakoven

The Cape Coastal Rowing Club has released the proposed route for the 2026 False Bay Classic, which was set on 23 September. The 21km course is anti-clockwise from Longbeach to Bakoven, passing Redhill, Glencairn Bouy, Dido Valley, Roman Rock Lighthouse, Bullnose, Noah’s Ark, Murdock Valley and Bakoven Rock.

Briefing at 08:30, start at 09:00 on Saturday 3 October. The event is open to any oar-driven craft; surfski and rowing shells will run together. More details and entry info from the Cape Coastal Rowing Club.

The regatta fee is R200pp and registration closed on 26 September, with entries confirmed by 29 September and Sunday 4 October as the reserve weather day. Sign-up form.

Safety / All paddlers

The press, the call, the rescue

Pressing the emergency button in the SafeTrx app triggers a call from your phone to the NSRI Operations Centre, transmits your current GPS coordinates, and lights up your track on the NSRI Ops Centre screen alongside every other paddler currently using the app.

The NSRI’s offshore rescue craft (ORC) can also show the same screen on board, so the rescue boat can see both your position and its own and close on you fast. NSRI’s tagline is “Take the search out of search and rescue”.

If you paddle off False Bay, the KZN coast or anywhere with cold water and a long run to shore, SafeTrx is the cheapest insurance you can carry.

Surfski · Ocean / Western Cape

Sea race: top boat 30 seconds clear

Ian Trautmann and Graham Neate won the men’s doubles 20km sea race at the 2026 Still Baai Classic in 1:32:13, 30 seconds clear of Robin Tindall and Alan Neate. Heinrich van Rooyen won the men’s 20km singles in 1:32:49.

Stephanie Von Der Heyde won the women’s 20km in 1:39:34. The men’s doubles 20km top three were Trautmann/Neate, Tindall/Neate and Howard Thomson/Brian Van Der Laan in 1:35:49.

River · Surfski / Western Cape

Trautmann wins the 20km, Von Der Heyde one second back

Ian Trautmann won the Still Baai Classic River 20km in 1:36:54 on 28 September. Stephanie Von Der Heyde finished one second behind in 1:36:55. Howard Thomson and Brian Van Der Laan were third in the men’s doubles in 1:39:49.

The men’s singles top three were Trautmann, Zack Swart in 1:43:15 and Patrick Birkett in 1:47:13. The women’s singles went to Von Der Heyde, Angela Taylor in 1:58:58, Monika Goluch in 2:07:11.

Sprint · International / Slovakia

Daniel’s K1 1000m heat second, Kyle’s K1 1000m final eighth

PaddleSport Gauteng marked two Gauteng juniors at the Olympic Hopes Regatta. Daniel’s best placing came in the K1 1000m, where he took second in Heat 2 in 4:07.218 and went through to Final C, finishing eighth in 4:02.310. He also raced the K1 500m Heat 7 in 1:58.027 and the K1 5000m final in 28:06.055.

Kyle’s strongest result was an eighth-place finish in the K1 1000m final in 4:07.839, after a fourth in his heat in 4:16.023 and fourth in the semi in 4:10.694. He doubled up with Kaden Hogarty in the K2 500m, sixth in their heat in 1:48.972, with a seventh, sixth and sixth run through the K2 1000m heat, semi and final in 3:48.633, 3:40.604 and 3:39.128. In the K1 500m he was third in his heat in 1:55.643, sixth in the semi in 1:51.896 and fifth in the final in 1:50.647.

Olympic Hopes sits just below the junior world cups on the ICF sprint pathway. Both the PaddleSport Gauteng cards close on the same line: every race builds the next one.

Sprint / Gauteng

100m sprints decided the sprint series

The PaddleSport Gauteng Sprint Series closed with Trilogy Dash #3 at ERK Canoe Club in Benoni, coordinated by Esti Olivier. Three races, three chances, one champion: the day ran 100m sprints, with registration from 08:00 and the first start at 09:00.

Both the schools league and the sprint league raced, and organisers made the point that everyone was welcome in either. Testing your speed was the whole brief.

River · Marathon / KwaZulu-Natal

Two rivers, one adventure, 7 and 8 November

The Lions River Descent has been elevated to SA K1 Champs and runs 7 and 8 November 2026. Day 1 starts at 10:00 from Caversham Mill to Hebron Haven, roughly 30km, K1 only, with live music, craft beer and a spit braai at the finish. Day 2 starts at 09:00 from Hebron Haven to Midmar Canoe Club, roughly 14km, followed by a 5km Guppy race and prize giving.

Entry is R900 with a shuttle available, and there is R50 000 in prize money plus a Kayak Craft K1 lucky draw. Everyone who enters Day 1 or the Guppy race gets a pair of the camo funky pants the organisers have been posting about.

Midmar Canoe Club hosts the Sunday, and PaddleSport South Africa is the sanctioning body behind the title upgrade.

Canoe polo / Gauteng

R150 entry, first whistle at 08:00

Victoria Lake Club is hosting a canoe polo competition on 24 October, starting at 08:00. Entry is R150 per player and entries go through the PaddleSport South Africa portal.

Canoe polo runs on flat water with five-a-side teams, numbered helmets and a goal at each end, and it is one of the few paddling disciplines where a club side can be built from scratch in a season. Victoria Lake is at Germiston Lake, which makes it an easy day trip for the Gauteng clubs.

History / South Africa

Tap any page to open it full-size.

The Tugela, the Duzi, and a club older than the race

A reader sent through pages from the sport’s own record, and they are worth reading slowly. The first canoe club in South Africa was the Vaal-Kanolub, founded in March 1889 under Finn Anderson. The first rest on South African water came in October 1930, 20 miles along the Vaal to the Riviera Hotel at Vereeniging. In December that same year the Natal Canoe Club was founded under Ernie Pearce, whose name also sits on the first Vaal K2 marathon win in 1955, with R. Templeton.

On 22 December 1951 the first Pietermaritzburg to Durban marathon was run, 110 miles, begun by Ian Player, who won it in a 70-pound wooden canoe and took six days to row. Player was the only entrant to finish in Durban. The South African Canoe Federation was founded in 1956 under G.E. Marriot of the Kingfisher Canoe Club, and the Western Province Canoe Union in March 1962 under W.F. van Riet sr.

Then the Berg: the first 237km Berg River marathon started in July 1962. Of 35 starters, Nollie Meiring was the first person to win it.

The touring teams carried names that still turn up in clubhouses: Hennie Greeff, Mario Pedretti, Glyn Horton, Sunley Uys, Stephan Hugo, Robbie Stewart, Timm Biggs, Clive Curson, and Mej. M. Verkerk and Mej. M. Böhm, who travelled on the 1977 sprint tour.

Surfski / KwaZulu-Natal

Twenty-seven years, and the sponsor took the title

The Dolphin Coast Challenge was started by Anton and Butch Murray in 2000, and this year Anton and Wendy staged the 27th edition. Lee Furby, who has backed the race for 12 years, took the title this year with his partner Hank.

The organisers’ own summary of why it endures is worth repeating: it offers everything from surf to marathon paddling and, in most cases, good downwind fun. The report closes with thanks to Anton and Wendy, and a see-you-next-year from the paddlers who came.

Partner feature / SA Paddling

Reach 3,000+ South African paddlers, on the platform they already read

The SA Paddling Report reaches surfski and canoe paddlers, race organisers, club administrators, and paddling families across the country every two weeks, delivered straight to their phones on WhatsApp and on the web.

A partner feature sits here in the flow, written and laid out like the stories around it: an image, a few honest sentences about what you do, and a link to your site. It reads as part of the report, not an interruption.

Featuring costs R1000 an edition, with a lower rate for booking several. To take a slot, message Robin Tindall on WhatsApp or email info@sapaddling.co.za.

Club / Western Cape

Fish Hoek Beach Sports Club marks its 50th year with a party for the paddling and sailing communities on Saturday 24 October, from 17:30 until late.

Live music, dinner and a walk through fifty years of the club are on the programme. Tickets are R120 for members and R180 for non-members, and include dinner. Members past and present are welcome, along with the wider paddling and sailing communities.

Book through Quicket.

River marathon / Mpumalanga

The TRAC Lowveld Croc Canoe Marathon runs on Sunday 11 October from Crocodile Valley in Schoemanskloof, with the finish and prize giving at Deon’s Farm.

Race briefing is at 08:30 and the start at 09:00, and the organisers have a guaranteed high-water release. Spot prizes come from Set Kayaks and there are more from Funky Pants.

Entries open soon.

Club / Eastern Cape

Border Canoe Club in East London starts a Friday evening series on 6 November, racing from Orient Beach at 17:30.

All paddlers are welcome, and everyone who enters the full series gets a club garment.

The series is sponsored by Fenn Kayaks and Halcyon.

Coaching / Western Cape

Six clinics, one weekend each

Two seasons of trial and error, or one structured weekend. Richard Kohler and Robin Tindall take you to Langebaan and teach you to read the water, pick a line and commit to it at speed.

You will paddle more downwind in two days than most paddlers manage in a season, with coaching between runs and on-water safety support. It is the fastest route from surviving a run to enjoying one.

The 16–18 October clinic is down to its last spot. After that: 6–8 November, 11–13 December, 22–24 January, 19–21 February and 19–21 March. Numbers are strictly limited to 10 participants per clinic.

R5,490 covers two nights’ accommodation, breakfasts and dinners, on-water safety, transport in Langebaan and a goodie bag. Apply for a place.

River marathon / Gauteng

The Vaal River Canoe Marathon is set for 21 and 22 November and carries the PSG K2 River Champs. The poster is a save-the-date: full race details and entries follow.

The river is fed by the Vaal Dam release, so this one runs on water.