Nine Yards (5 Feb '12)

A long one!!! Given that the State of the Nation address is imminent, I thought that I would extend this month’s Nine Yards a tad!!

RACES/RACING- The Dambusters has come and gone. Thanks to Hulme Scholes for co-ordinating the event and contributing with some imaginative advertorials. Further, thanks to Bill who kept the process on track at all times. It was encouraging seeing the many marshals and helpers who pitched in to make the event safe and who contributed to “marking” the route on the portage, thank-you to you all. At least there were no dog bites or bashed Grannies this year! To the sponsors Standard Bank, anonymous (read Skollie) and 100 plus thanks for your generous support without you we could not have offered the generous cash prizes that we did. With 137 paddles (82, mainly, K2 boats) the race was deemed a success. Unfortunately the event was marred by an incident and the club will need to hold a disciplinary review to establish the facts. Some constructive criticism was received with a suggestion that we add a second portaging circuit and then finish with two fast paddling laps making 18 km’s of paddling and 7 km’s portaging. This may make the race a real test of one’s Dusi preparedness? This suggestion is easy to take note of from the side-lines but we will consider it for next year’s event.

Talking of races, time for some editorial, the race calendar in my opinion is hopelessly overcrowded and it seems to me that the structure has been lost with the emphasis being on quantity as opposed to quality! I seem to recall a time gone by where the calendar supported a build up to the key events on the calendar in respect of river races this would be Dusi, Berg, Fish and then sprints and marathons whereas now we seem to have many competing events most of which are simply poorly attended. With the calendar planning meeting coming up next weekend, you are welcome to e-mail me on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your views.

Good luck to all the Dusi participants as you spend the next 12 or so days fine-tuning for the event. I trust you all achieve your personal goals and hold the Dabulamanzi Flag high.

PROGRESS- In recent weeks we have had or made significant progress in a number of key area’s namely:

1. The clubs lease has been renewed by the Johannesburg Property Company for another 10 years and the monthly rental has been set at a reasonable rate taking account of the fact that the club fulfils its mandate as per our previous lease agreement and also taking account of the fact that it should be set at a minimal amount.

2. We have made significant progress in respect of our City Power invoicing or shall I say lack thereof. We have been trying to engage with City Power over a number of years and it was only when John Barrow offered to take on the responsibility for sorting out this problem that we have gradually made progress. We are cautiously hoping that by the time the AGM comes around at the end of March 2012 that we have had our first invoice. Without this problem being resolved, the clubs finances remain uncertain and any long term projects requiring funding need to be placed on hold.

3. In respect of the Candoc canoe polo floating boundary, we have now had waivers in respect of a water use licence from Department Water Affairs and a waiver in respect of an EIA from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD). We are now required to submit our proposal to the Environmental Section of the Johannesburg City Parks for their consideration. While we do not expect a negative response from them, I would ask that the canoe polo section adhere to my request to dismantle the Candoc after the Thursday and Sunday practice sessions. Jane Goldshagg has offered to ensure that this happens, thank-you Jane. Once we have the permission from City Parks, they may require that we meet with the ERA, whose principle complaint was that we did not follow procedure when erecting the Candoc system 13 months ago, to ensure that they are happy with the proposal. By and large we have had overwhelming support from the public and park users for our efforts to promote the sport of canoe polo. With some of the respondents making statements like “….I am not a canoeist but when we see the pure physical joy of the protagonists on the water during their training spells then you have to admire the spirit and healthy aura created by these Johannesburg residents reveling in ‘”what the city has to offer”” albeit a small dam which could seriously do with an upgrade” or try this one ”The Jetty looks great, neat and I find it adds a new style and dimension to the club.” The latter from a resident and dog walker!

I have been racking my brains to think of the member of Dabs who displays the healthy aura while pursuing this manly sport (I have to admit that the manly part was my embellishment).

I trust that we will have resolved this issue once and for all in time for the SA Canoe Polo Championships on 17th and 18th March 2012.

ADMIN-

Meals- In respect of the meals, many of you have asked after Monica and Annie who are some much part of our club life. We are in the process of engaging with them to find out why they have not attended time trial this year and as soon as the process is over, we will give you feedback. Not wanting to pre-empt any solution, I would ask that you take note that for now no meals will be available on Thursday nights until further notice. We will discuss this at our committee meeting next week and finalise and action plan. Hopefully they see fit to return to the club failing which we will need to make alternative arrangements or terminate the service. Please let me have your comment in respect of the format you prefer for the meals or otherwise on Thursday nights.

Discs- In respect of your disc’s, for those of you who still have problems please give them to Bill or Natasja and once the disc has been re-programmed, Natasja will leave your disc in an envelope with your name in the tray outside the office for collection.

AGM- The AGM is normally held on the last Thursday of March each year making the date the 29th March 2012 at 19h00. Kindly ensure that we have more members present than last year as given the growth in membership, we may find that we cannot make a quorum making any decisions taken at the meeting invalid.

I thank you!