Western Cape set for K2 paddling season on the Breede River

Cape Town – The 54th edition of the popular Breede River Canoe Marathon will take place between Robertson and Swellendam on the weekend of September 3-4, and is set to decide the Western Cape K2 River Championship honours for 2022.

After a successful Berg K1 season, the attention shifted to double kayaks this past weekend when the doubles season got under way in earnest with the Nekkies to Eilandia race.

With the Breede valley feeling the brunt of the changing weather patterns in the last five years, the paddlers will be excited to see the regular cold fronts making landfall on the Western Cape and filling the regions rivers and dams.

The marathon falls a few weeks before the ICF World Marathon Championships in Ponte De Lima in Portugal, and will form an ideal competitive training opportunity for many of the junior, Under 23, senior and masters age groups paddlers selected for the national teams.

Breede Marathon fans are already speculating whether Andy Birkett, fresh from his gold medal at the World Games in Birmingham Alabama will use the Breede to sharpen up his combination with Nicky Notten, with whom he won last year's Breede title before going on to add the Fish Marathon scalp.

“The race has established a reputation as a breeding ground for the next generation of paddling stars, and many skilled paddlers use the two day marathon as a chance to race with emerging young paddlers and pass on as many skills as possible over the 72km of varied paddling,“ race organisers said in a statement on Wednesday.

In addition to a number of unique weirs, the race offers long pools well suited to classic marathon racing skills before it winds through blue gum tree-lined channels typical of the Western Cape rivers.

The 2022 Breede River Canoe Marathon takes place on September 3 and 4. For more information, visit: http://breedemarathon.co.za/

Cape Times