Posts Tagged ‘eastern province aquatics’

EASTERN PROVINCE OPEN WATER SWIM CHAMPS IN JEFFREYS BAY

January 26, 2010

The increasingly popular sport of open water swimming will receive another boost when the inaugural Eastern Province Open Water Swim Championship will be held in Jeffreys Bay on Saturday and Sunday (30/31 January).

Jeffreys Bay will host the first ever Eastern Province Open Water Swim Champs on 30 & 31 January. Marina Martinique will be the venue.

This is the first time a championship of this nature will be held in the province and swimmers from the Border region will also be in action, pitting their skills against the likes of EP open water swim queen Jessica Roux and up and coming male swimmer Chris Van der Sande. EP Aquatics , the controlling body for the sport in the Eastern Province will be supplying officials for the event which is hosted by the Kouga Swim Club and managed by Zports.

The 10 K and 5 K swims will be held on Saturday afternoon at Marina Martinique while the 3 K, 1K, 500 M, bank to bank swim and the 5 K beach run all taking place on the Sunday.

According to event organizer, Brenton Williams there are only two events left for swimmers to qualify for the South African National Championships that will be held in Durban during April. “A number of Eastern Province swimmers have already qualified for the National Champs across all the various age groups and there are some swimmers who will be entering this weekend with the purpose of swimming qualifying times, especially in the 3 K event which should ensure some fast swimming”, said Williams. “Hosting the EP Champs is a major step forward in establishing Jeffreys Bay as a world class open water swim venue and will further expose Marina Martinique as the undiscovered gem in open water swim circles”.

The accurate times recorded at Marina Martinique since 2002 when the Kouga Swim Club started hosting open water swims are one of the reasons why Jeffreys Bay is gaining a reputation as being a top class swim destination.  The canals are very safe and protected and are spectator friendly as well, which means that it would be difficult to find a better venue anywhere else in South Africa for the new aquatic sport of open water swimming, added Williams.

The full schedule of events for the EP Open Water Swim Champs can be found here : Eastern Province Open Water Swimming Championships

Entries for all the races will close ½ hour before the start of the race. Online entries are encouraged and can be completed on www.ecswim.co.za

Cold and blustery conditions greeted the committed Axxess DSL Ocean Racing Series competitors in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. The heavy chop did not deter the swimmers with Chris Van Der Sande extending his dominance of the 1 k swim while Jessica Roux remained unbeaten in the 3 K women’s event. Wayne Jones had a great swim to edge out Michael Marais in the men’s 3 K swim.

Wayne Jones won the 3 K Ocean Racing Series swim, just ahead of Michael Marais

EP Open Water Swim Ranking now available

January 19, 2010

The 4th event in the EP Open Water Swim Series was held at Marina Martinique, Jeffreys Bay on Sunday.

The official Eastern Province Aquatics rankings (which have been submitted to Swim South Africa) after 4 events is as follows:

1 K Rankings

 

       
Event Time Participant S Age Seeding
EC Swim Round 2 00:12:42 Aaron Myburgh M 19 1
EC Swim Round 2 00:12:54 Dominic Greeff M 15 2
EC Swim Round 2 00:12:56 Jason Jones M 16 3
EC Swim Round 1 00:13:03 Michael Marais M 17 4
EC Swim Round 1 00:13:13 Andrew Fischer M 16 5
EC Swim Round 1 00:13:15 Dominic Greeff M 15 6
EC Swim Round 2 00:13:19 Christie Vaughan F 12 7
EC Swim Round 2 00:13:28 Wayne Jones M 14 8
EC Swim Round 4 00:13:58 Dominic Greeff M 15 9
EC Swim Round 2 00:14:00 Daniel Jones M 12 10
EC Swim Round 1 00:14:02 Stephen Fischer M 18 11
EC Swim Round 2 00:14:19 Chane De jager F 10 12
EC Swim Round 1 00:14:26 Jonathan Roux M 15 13
EC Swim Round 2 00:14:29 David McGillivray M 17 14
EC Swim Round 4 00:14:35 Tammy Geyer F 17 15
EC Swim Round 1 00:14:36 James Myburg M 15 16
EC Swim Round 1 00:14:37 Christie Vaughan F 12 17
EC Swim Round 1 00:14:52 Rebecca Newman F 17 18
EC Swim Round 1 00:14:59 Tammy Geyer F 17 19
EC Swim Round 4 00:15:14 Francesca Pedrosa F 16 20
EC Swim Round 2 00:15:42 JC Van Wyk M 43 21
EC Swim Round 1 00:15:47 Lise-mari Goosen F 14 22
EC Swim Round 4 00:15:58 Brad Moolman M 34 23
EC Swim Round 4 00:16:09 Brenton Williams M 43 24
EC Swim Round 4 00:16:21 Richden Jute M 42 25
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:34 Francesca Pedrosa F 16 26
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:36 Caro De Jager F 11 27
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:37 Breyten De beer M 35 28
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:44 Ralph West M 48 29
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:49 Seth De swardt M 10 30
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:49 Pierre Nosurname M 29 31
EC Swim Round 4 00:16:49 Caro De jager F 11 32
EC Swim Round 4 00:16:55 Ralph West M 48 33
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:56 Jessica Charles F 12 34
EC Swim Round 1 00:16:56 Cameron Gordon M 14 35
EC Swim Round 2 00:16:57 Andrew Fischer M 16 36
EC Swim Round 4 00:17:15 Breyten De beer M 35 37
EC Swim Round 4 00:17:31 Lindi Meyer F 30 38
EC Swim Round 1 00:17:47 Shimone Gordon F 11 39
EC Swim Round 2 00:17:53 Billy Browne M 49 40
EC Swim Round 1 00:17:57 Francesca Pedrosa F 16 41
EC Swim Round 2 00:18:01 Arno Oberholster M 38 42
EC Swim Round 2 00:18:09 Ludeke-Andre Niehaus M 9 43
EC Swim Round 1 00:18:17 Mary-anne Stott F 31 44
EC Swim Round 2 00:18:18 Anne De swardt F 41 45
EC Swim Round 1 00:18:27 Alan Searle M 35 46
EC Swim Round 1 00:18:34 Breyten De beer M 35 47
EC Swim Round 1 00:18:42 Seth De swardt M 10 48
EC Swim Round 1 00:19:24 Chris Viljoen M 62 49
EC Swim Round 2 00:19:53 Kendall wright M 12 50
EC Swim Round 2 00:19:54 Anthonie De Beer M 13 51
EC Swim Round 2 00:19:55 Malan Steenkamp M 12 52
EC Swim Round 2 00:19:57 Danie Ellis M 11 53
EC Swim Round 1 00:19:58 Anne De Swart F 41 54
EC Swim Round 2 00:20:04 Kyle Bosch M 12 55
EC Swim Round 1 00:20:04 Elke Walters F 38 56
EC Swim Round 1 00:20:11 Kendal Wright M 12 57
EC Swim Round 1 00:20:13 Carmen Mould F 19 58
EC Swim Round 4 00:20:14 Kobus Joubert M 34 59
EC Swim Round 1 00:20:15 Isabeau Joubert F 37 60
EC Swim Round 2 00:20:55 Adele Deriksen F 9 61
EC Swim Round 4 00:21:00 Danie Ellis M 11 62
EC Swim Round 2 00:21:01 Willem Rautenbach M 13 63
EC Swim Round 2 00:21:02 Pieter Ellis M 8 64
EC Swim Round 4 00:21:02 Pieter Ellis M 8 65
EC Swim Round 2 00:21:09 Sonja Saunders F 39 66
EC Swim Round 2 00:21:27 James Scott M 10 67
EC Swim Round 1 00:21:31 Louis Lombard M 41 68
EC Swim Round 1 00:21:32 Pieter Ellis M 8 69
EC Swim Round 2 00:21:51 Brandon Batty M 13 70
EC Swim Round 2 00:22:03 Nikita Meyer F 11 71
EC Swim Round 1 00:22:34 Danie Ellis M 11 72
EC Swim Round 2 00:22:38 Kim Seyfert F 11 73
EC Swim Round 2 00:22:42 Cecilia Pienaar F 12 74
EC Swim Round 1 00:23:15 Kyle Bosch M 12 75
EC Swim Round 1 00:23:23 James Meyer M 14 76
EC Swim Round 1 00:23:24 Malan Steenkamp M 12 77
EC Swim Round 2 00:23:28 Yvonne Rautenbach F 11 78
EC Swim Round 2 00:24:02 Danie Rautenbach M 47 79
EC Swim Round 2 00:24:02 Cheryl Gibson-Dicks F 44 80
EC Swim Round 2 00:24:05 Danielle Van Os F 12 81
EC Swim Round 1 00:24:10 James Scott M 10 82
EC Swim Round 1 00:24:27 Maria Stott F 54 83
EC Swim Round 1 00:24:41 Reon Van rensburg M 37 84
EC Swim Round 1 00:24:43 Brandon Batty M 13 85
EC Swim Round 2 00:24:45 Stephen Fischer M 18 86
EC Swim Round 1 00:25:29 Kevin Brito M 51 87
EC Swim Round 2 00:25:34 Gitta Seyfert F 40 88
EC Swim Round 1 00:25:46 Sonja Saunders F 39 89
EC Swim Round 2 00:27:13 Hugo Pienaar M 10 90
EC Swim Round 2 00:27:18 Calvin Batty M 12 91
EC Swim Round 2 00:27:53 Gayle Batty F 41 92
EC Swim Round 1 00:28:43 Mickey Falco M 19 93
EC Swim Round 1 00:28:56 Henni Theron M 32 94
EC Swim Round 1 00:30:03 Lando Lombard M 9 95
EC Swim Round 1 00:32:15 Gayle Batty F 41 96
EC Swim Round 1 00:32:23 Alexa Vaugh F 8 97
EC Swim Round 2 00:37:53 Jane Geldenhuys F 82 98

 

3 K rankings

 

       
Event Time Participant S Age Seeding
EC Swim Round 2 00:36:21 Chris Van De Sande M 16 1
Marina Martinique 00:36:32 Christopher van de Sande M 16 2
EC Swim Round 2 00:36:48 Byron Lockett M 18 3
EC Swim Round 2 00:36:51 Michael Marais M 17 4
EC Swim Round 2 00:38:51 Jessica Roux F 17 5
EC Swim Round 2 00:39:19 Andrew Fischer M 16 6
Marina Martinique 00:39:19 Gavin van Antwerpen M 17 7
Marina Martinique 00:39:23 Jessica Roux F 17 8
EC Swim Round 2 00:40:22 Rebecca Newman F 17 9
EC Swim Round 2 00:40:23 Wayne Jones M 14 10
Marina Martinique 00:40:44 Lawrence van Lingin M 109 11
Marina Martinique 00:40:57 Michael Marais M 17 12
Marina Martinique 00:41:04 Wayne Jones M 14 13
Marina Martinique 00:41:09 Rebecca Newman F 17 14
Marina Martinique 00:41:19 Christopher Steven M 17 15
EC Swim Round 4 00:41:23 Jessica Roux F 17 16
Marina Martinique 00:42:04 Tinus Allers M 18 17
EC Swim Round 4 00:42:18 Jonathan Roux M 15 18
EC Swim Round 2 00:42:22 Jonathan Roux M 15 19
EC Swim Round 4 00:42:22 Rebecca Newman F 17 20
Marina Martinique 00:42:37 Matthew Van wyk M 13 21
EC Swim Round 2 00:42:53 Aaron Myburgh M 19 22
Marina Martinique 00:42:53 Jamie-Lee Schlemmer F 13 23
EC Swim Round 2 00:42:55 Genna Greevelink F 14 24
EC Swim Round 1 00:42:56 Jonathan Roux M 15 25
EC Swim Round 2 00:42:57 Charmaine Horton F 14 26
EC Swim Round 2 00:43:01 Justin Ashworth M 32 27
EC Swim Round 2 00:43:06 Chrislie-Thandi Niehaus F 13 28
EC Swim Round 4 00:43:37 Chrislie-Thandi Niehaus F 13 29
EC Swim Round 1 00:43:45 Mickey Falco M 19 30
EC Swim Round 1 00:43:54 Stephen Fischer M 18 31
EC Swim Round 2 00:43:57 Tammy Geyer F 17 32
Marina Martinique 00:44:24 Tamarin Geyer F 17 33
Marina Martinique 00:44:32 Christlie-Thandi Niehaus F 13 34
Marina Martinique 00:44:40 Corney Van der ryst M 19 35
EC Swim Round 1 00:44:43 Tammy Geyer F 17 36
EC Swim Round 2 00:45:09 David Glover M 27 37
EC Swim Round 4 00:45:15 Tammy Geyer F 17 38
Marina Martinique 00:45:25 Brendan Lowen M 32 39
Marina Martinique 00:46:35 Brendan Lock M 39 40
Marina Martinique 00:46:37 Dewald Allers M 14 41
Marina Martinique 00:46:43 Pierre Puren M 29 42
Marina Martinique 00:46:49 JC van Wyk M 43 43
EC Swim Round 4 00:46:54 JC Van Wyk M 43 44
EC Swim Round 4 00:46:54 Brenton Williams M 43 45
Marina Martinique 00:46:56 Sanmari Woithe F 40 46
EC Swim Round 2 00:47:29 Brenton Williams M 42 47
Marina Martinique 00:47:39 Allen Nicholson M 45 48
Marina Martinique 00:47:53 Brenton Williams M 43 49
EC Swim Round 2 00:48:16 Francesca Pedrosa F 16 50
EC Swim Round 1 00:48:29 Chrislie-Thandi Niehaus F 13 51
EC Swim Round 2 00:49:03 Richden Jute M 41 52
EC Swim Round 2 00:49:04 Melanie Share F 15 53
EC Swim Round 1 00:50:03 Richden Jute M 41 54
Marina Martinique 00:50:22 Shimone Gordon F 11 55
EC Swim Round 1 00:50:33 Francesca Pedrosa F 16 56
EC Swim Round 1 00:50:34 Melanie Share F 15 57
Marina Martinique 00:50:39 Alfred te Water Naude M 41 58
EC Swim Round 1 00:50:46 Derick Van wyk M 18 59
EC Swim Round 1 00:50:51 Brenton Williams M 42 60
Marina Martinique 00:50:59 Eric Schultz M 33 61
EC Swim Round 4 00:51:05 Francesca Pedrosa F 16 62
EC Swim Round 4 00:51:50 Richden Jute M 42 63
Marina Martinique 00:51:55 Richden Jute M 42 64
Marina Martinique 00:52:19 Emil Hougaard M 45 65
Marina Martinique 00:52:26 Greg Tucker M 47 66
EC Swim Round 1 00:52:32 Gary Kennedy M 39 67
EC Swim Round 4 00:52:39 Alan Searle M 35 68
Marina Martinique 00:52:40 James Logan M 22 69
EC Swim Round 4 00:53:12 Seth De swardt M 10 70
Marina Martinique 00:54:47 Seth De swardt M 10 71
EC Swim Round 4 00:55:05 Ralph West M 48 72
EC Swim Round 2 00:55:15 Francis Searle M 60 73
Marina Martinique 00:55:19 Alan Searle M 35 74
EC Swim Round 4 00:55:21 Francis Searle M 60 75
EC Swim Round 2 00:55:54 Alan Searle M 35 76
EC Swim Round 4 00:56:56 Ludeke-Andre Niehaus M 10 77
Marina Martinique 00:57:37 Annemarie Human F 25 78
Marina Martinique 00:57:43 Theunis Human M 26 79
Marina Martinique 00:59:00 Rencke de Swart M 45 80
Marina Martinique 00:59:44 Keith Fairhurst M 51 81
Marina Martinique 00:59:50 Jan du Plessis M 48 82
Marina Martinique 00:59:58 Willie Steefmann M 44 83
EC Swim Round 1 01:00:01 Angela Finlay F 35 84
Marina Martinique 01:00:09 Jakes  Greyling M 33 85
EC Swim Round 1 01:00:17 Carmen Mould F 19 86
Marina Martinique 01:00:42 Barry Roberts M 36 87
Marina Martinique 01:00:49 Elsa Craig F 64 88
Marina Martinique 01:03:51 Tracey Almirall F 29 89
Marina Martinique 01:03:54 Neil Murray M 33 90
EC Swim Round 2 01:03:57 Kobus Joubert M 34 91
EC Swim Round 2 01:03:58 Gorndon Upton M 47 92
EC Swim Round 1 01:04:02 Jaco Barnard M 17 93
Marina Martinique 01:04:10 Hano Oberrholzer M 35 94
EC Swim Round 1 01:04:49 Tayla Wall F 13 95
EC Swim Round 1 01:05:01 Trevor Wall M 45 96
EC Swim Round 2 01:05:34 Ray Batty M 43 97
EC Swim Round 2 01:06:20 Enrico Els M 31 98
Marina Martinique 01:07:46 Andre van Biljon M 37 99
Marina Martinique 01:10:26 Isabeau Joubert F 37 100
EC Swim Round 1 01:10:46 John Wall M 42 101
EC Swim Round 1 01:12:05 Ray Batty M 43 102
EC Swim Round 1 01:12:46 Marina Barnard F 44 103
Marina Martinique 01:13:18 Damian Giulietti M 28 104

 

5 K rankings

 

       
Event Time Participant S Age Seeding
EC Swim Round 2 01:01:24 Chris Van De Sande M 16 1
EC Swim Round 2 01:01:48 Byron Lockett M 18 2
EC Swim Round 2 01:01:50 Michael Marais M 17 3
EC Swim Round 1 01:03:16 Michael Marais M 17 4
EC Swim Round 2 01:05:58 Jessica Roux F 17 5
EC Swim Round 1 01:07:10 Jessica Roux F 16 6
EC Swim Round 2 01:08:49 Rebecca Newman F 17 7
EC Swim Round 4 01:10:26 Jessica Roux F 17 8
EC Swim Round 1 01:11:36 Rebecca Newman F 17 9
EC Swim Round 4 01:12:04 Rebecca Newman F 17 10
EC Swim Round 2 01:12:12 Mickey Falco M 19 11
EC Swim Round 2 01:12:17 Jonathan Roux M 15 12
EC Swim Round 2 01:16:13 Stephen Fischer M 18 13
EC Swim Round 2 01:21:20 Brenton Williams M 42 14
EC Swim Round 4 01:22:06 Brenton Williams M 43 15
EC Swim Round 2 01:25:31 Andre Kleynhans M 47 16

J’Bay is a world class venue for open water swimming

December 2, 2009

Supertubes has made Jeffreys Bay world famous due to the perfect waves that peel down the point year after year.  Many people made J’Bay their home and sacrificed careers and even their country of birth for the thrill of riding the freight train swells that caused surfers from around the world to decide that Supertubes is one of the 10 best waves in the world.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games saw the birth of a new water sport, namely open water swimming.  A 10 K marathon swim was included in the ‘08 Olympics and the numbers of people who have been attracted to the sport saw a dramatic rise.

In the past the traditional mile events like the Redhouse River Mile, Marina Martinique Mile and the Midmar Mile were considered to be long distance open water swim events and swimmers flocked to these swims in big numbers.  Midmar remains the biggest open water swim in the world and attracts around 17 000 each year.

Kouga Swim Club has been hosting open water swims at Marina Martinique since 2002. The 2005 Mile was sponsored by Continental Tyre

Then there were the extreme swims, the king of which is Robben Island to Cape Town. The first Robben Island swim was recorded in 1899 when Henry Hooper swam from the island to the old Cape Town harbour.

The Eastern Cape has a long association with open water swimming when Springbok lifesaver Mark Edge did the Robben Island swim and other extreme swims in Europe in the late 1970’s.  Edge was renowned for swimming alone between Kings and Humewood beaches in Port Elizabeth as part of his training programme.

In the early 1990’s the Marina Martinique was built in Jeffreys Bay and the original vision was to see water sports flourish in the canals.  Triathlons and Mile swims were held in the early days.  Louis Stephenson who was the general manager of Marina Martinique at the time was an avid triathlete and he began open water swim training in the canals in 1993 together with John Hastings and Brenton Williams, who later founded the Kouga Swim Club. Geoff Grylls the legendary Springbok swimmer was another early pioneer of open water swimming in the canals of Marina Martinique.

In 2002 Yvonne Lentinello who was one of the first estate agents to sell property on Marina Martinique and Brenton Williams got together to reintroduce the Marina Mile as both saw the potential in holding such an event on a regular basis in Jeffreys Bay.

By 2007 Swim South Africa had put together a swim series that incorporated a 3K, 5K and 10 K swims to give our swimmers the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games. Marina Martinique quickly became the venue of choice for the Eastern Cape leg of the series.

Danielle Van Os cant wait to touch the finish buoy after completing her first ever 1 K swim. Danielle is one of the new generation of open water swimmers being trained by the Kouga Swim Club

Realizing that Marina Martinique is one of the best open water swim venues in the world, the Kouga Swim Club together with EP Aquatics and Zports teamed up to present the EP Open Water Swim Series in the Martinique.  The series comprises of 6 events during the summer months and includes the Marina Mile that will be held on 23 December.

Accurate times are needed for open water swim events, which is one of the main reasons why Marina Martinique is regarded as a world class venue.  There are no currents or tides that affect swimmers and the wind is rarely a factor.  The canals are safe as there are no dangerous predators and should a swimmer cramp it is easy to reach the side walls.

Ryan Lightfoot, the new lifeguard in training from the Kouga Swim Club keeps a beady eye on the swimming

Just as Supertubes put Jeffreys Bay on the map for being a world famous surf destination, it is only a matter of time before the town is also known world wide as one of the best open water swim destinations and will attract many local and international visitors to our shores.

Kouga Swim Club hosts open water swim in Jeffreys Bay

November 8, 2009

Despite a cold wind and overcast conditions, over 60 hard core swimmers took to the canals of Marina Martinique on Sunday to participate in the inaugural Kouga Express Eastern Province Open Water Swim Series (OWSS).

the start

The start of the 3 K swim at Marina Martinique. Photo carl Newman

Competitors had a choice between a 5 km, 3 km or a 1 km swim and three swimmers chose to compete in the grueling 5 km swim.  Michael Marais eventually took top honours in the 5 km, swimming a SA national qualifying time of 1:03:16

Jessica Roux took the 5 km women’s race in 1:07:10 which is also a SA national qualifying time.  Rebecca Newman had a good swim in her first ever 5 km swim and recorded a credible 1:11:26.

The 3 km swim was well supported with swimmers battling it out through the Marina Martinique canals.  Local residents cheered from their houses as the competitors did a circular route in the canals. Jonathan Roux (15 yrs) won the swim in 42 minutes.  Tammy Geyer (17yrs) was the first woman home in 44:43.

Richard Jute won the Masters race with our swim coach Brenton Williams coming second.  Both Jute and Williams swam SA national qualifying times.  Marina Barnard, also from Jeffreys Bay was the first woman master swimmer to finish.

The 1 km swim saw 16 local swimmers take to the water and the youngsters dominated the boys U/13 division with Seth de Swart (10yrs) winning from Kendal Wright (12yrs) and Pieter Ellis (8yrs) coming third.  Competing against the older boys, Ellis showed his has the potential to become a good open water swimmer in time to come.

The youngest girl swimmer to take part in the 1 km event was 8 yr old Alexa Vaughn from Port Elizabeth, who managed to complete the course.  “I didn’t think it would be so far when I entered but I just did some breastroke and freestyle and then sprinted the last 200m to the end of the race”, said Vaughn.  “I will be back in Jeffreys Bay next month to finish my next 1 km”, she added.

Brenton Williams, coach of the Kouga Swim Club was very happy with the turn out for the first swim of the series that will see six swims take place at Marina Martinique during the next six months.  “Open water swimming is one of the fastest growing extreme sports in the world and interest is growing after the inclusion of the 10 km marathon swim in the Olympic Games”.

“Open water swimmers must be ready to compete in all weather and water conditions which adds to the challenge of swimming long distances.  The EP OWSS is designed to nurture swimmers along until they are ready to compete in the 10 km event, which is only open to swimmers of 16 years and older”, said Williams.

Brenton at start with Alexa

Brenton at thew start with 8 yr old Alexa Vaughn who was starting her first ever 1 K swim. Photo: Carl Newman

The Kouga Swim Club holds training sessions in the Marina Martinique canals on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7 am for adult swimmers and Friday afternoons at 15.20 for all age groups.  Non members are welcome to attend and details can be obtained by emailing kougaswim@vodamail.co.za

For full results of the event and on line entries go to www.ecswim.co.za


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