Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:38
Organisers to consider capping the number of entries
A new record entry has been received for this weekend’s Global Trader Drak Challenge canoe marathon, triggering the race organisers to confront the delicate issue of capping the numbers of participants in this popular two day race on the Umzimkulu River.
By midday on Tuesday the race office accepted its 875th entry, passing the record set in 2007, with several hundred last minute entries still expected to be submitted as word passes around the canoeing community that the river level promises to be excellent for the race.
While the race organisers are delighted by the steady growth in numbers over the last few years, they are also acutely mindful of protecting the quality of the race experience for every single paddler, and are debating the implementation in future years of a 1000 paddler cap on the race.
The upper reaches of the Umzimkulu River where it starts at Castleburn bridge close to the Drakensberg Gardens hotel is very narrow, forcing the race officials to start to first stage in very small batches.
With the race getting under way at 9am to allow time for paddlers to drive from long distances, that means that the back batches get under way around midday, racing the 26km first stage in the heat of the day, and stretching the safety concerns of the sweeps who have to police the course until every single paddler is accounted for.
“We know that paddlers come from far and wide because the race has a particular appeal,” said race organiser Richard Jardine. “The river is clean, the scenery in stunning, and the race is staged in a very relaxed informal vibe, with the minimum of fuss and bother.”
“If we start handling over 1000 entries, it will become a bigger logistic burden in terms of batches, safety, marshalling, the amount of traffic on the roads, parking, and the camping at the school,” he added.
“If that is going to have an adverse effect on the average paddlers experience, then we may well look at capping the race at 1000, and ensuring that not a single participant or their seconds and family has a bad experience because the race has become too big,” said Jardine.
When the normal entries closed last week, there was a solitary K3 entry, which sparked plenty of debate about whether or not a K3 craft was capable of surviving the narrow upper reaches of the river.
However the news of the K3 entry resulted in another K3 being entered by the race sponsors in Johannes burg, with a hefty R5000 wager in a Voltbet account for the winning K3 should ten K3 boats be entered for the race.
Late entries are still be accepted at the race office, either by fax or online via www.drak.co.za
The Global Trader Drak Challenge takes place in Underberg on 22 and 23 January 2011.
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