Posts Tagged ‘EP Open Water Swim Series’

OPEN WATER SWIM ON THE RISE IN JEFFREYS BAY

March 16, 2010

Kouga Express EP Open Water Swim Series ends on a high note

Michael Marais and Jessica Roux emerged as the leading swimmers in the Eastern Province Open Water Swim Series that was held at Marina Martinique, Jeffreys Bay during the 09/10 swim season.

Six events, sanctioned by Swim South Africa were held during the summer which catered for the different distances in open water swimming from the 10 K right through to the entry level 1 K.

Marias and Roux will be competing in the 10 K swim at the   South African Senior National Swim Championships in Durban during April after having recorded qualifying times in their first attempt over this distance in January.

Both swimmers improved their times dramatically over the past weekend when the last event of the series was held in Jeffreys Bay. Marais swam a 2 hours 09:19 while Jessica Roux recorded an solid 2 hours 12:29 which should ensure that she will be at the business end of the 10 K women’s race at the South African Championships.

Mike Zoetmulder, the organizer of the Series said he was impressed with the entries for the last 10 K event of the season. “In addition to our top competitive swimmers, we had another six entrants in the 10K, all of them over the age of 40 which shows the sport has appeal to the top master’s swimmers as well as the open age group”, said Zoetmulder.

Brenton Williams, the coach of the Kouga Swim Club won the 10K master’s race from Russel Tucker with Greg Tucker, both from Port Elizabeth taking third spot. SanMarie Woithe won the women’s masters race.

Michael Marais then followed up on his 10K win by taking the honours in the 5K swim the following day, beating the ever improving Jonathan Roux into second position. Tammy Geyer won her first 5K swim of the season, finishing ahead of Mary Anne Stott.

Burgert Van Der Westhuizen had a fine swim in the 3 K event

Open water swim stalwart Rebecca Newman won the 3 K event from Chane De Jager and Francesca Pedrosa while master’s swimmer JC van Wyk had an impressive swim to win the men’s race from Brenton Williams and Richden Jute. Burgert Van der Westhuizen (70 yrs) from Jeffreys Bay swam strongly to complete the 3K swim in less than an hour, beating some younger competitors along the way.

Danielle Van Os won the 500m girl’s race from Kim Seyfert (both from Jeffreys Bay). Andre Saunders did well in his first 500m swim of the season.

Dominic Greeff won the 1K swim while Lauren Munton took the women’s race. Pieter Ellis (9 yrs) was the youngest swimmer to tackle the 1K event and finished in a strongly in 12th position overall.

The Club's newest member Sandile Ndabeni completed the 1 k race after just one open water training session.

The bank to bank swim continues to attract more and more swimmers entering the event. 18 brave young aspiring open water swimmers took to the water in an attempt to complete their swim. Many of these swimmers are in the junior squads of the swim club and will be moving up to the more demanding races in seasons to come.

The Club's younger swimmers entered the bank to bank swim and were exposed to all the elements of open water swimming. Johan Smit and Demi Meyer no quarter asked or given on the way to the finish of their race.

The following club members swam in the event:

10 K

Brenton Williams       1st         30 and over

3 K

JC Van Wyk                               1st         Open Men

Brenton Williams                   2nd       Open Men

Alan Searle                               6th        Open Men

Tanja Lategan                          6th        Open Women

Burgert V/D Westhuizen     10th     Open Men

Danie Rautenbach                  12th     Open Men

1 K

Kendal Wright                           4th    Boys U/14

Pieter Ellis                                   5th    Boys U/14

Kyle Heyman                             3rd    Men 14 -39

Cheryl Gibson                            1st Women Over 40

Danie Ellis                                    8th Boys U/14

Sonja Saunders                          4th Women 14 -39

Lydia Agenbach                        2nd  Women Over 40

Arno Seyfert                               4th Men Over 40

Gitta Seyfert                                4th Women Over 40

Sandile Madabeni                      5th Men 14-39

Alta Herman                                 Women O/50

500 M

Danielle Van Os                          1st Women

Kim Seyfert                                  2nd Women

Nikita Meyer                               4th Women

Andre Saunders                         4th Men

Full results can be found here

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Last 10 K race of the 09/10 Swim Season in Jeffreys Bay

March 12, 2010

The 6th and final race in the Kouga Express EP Open Water Swim Series will take place at Marina Martinique on Saturday and Sunday.  There has been a change of venue and the event will now take place from Phase 2 of the Marina opposite the La Caribe flats which can be accessed through the first gated entrance to Marina  Martinique in Jeffreys Bay.

Spectators will be able to get close to the action at Marina Martinique this weekend. The races will now be held in the canal facing the La Caribe flats. Photo: Carl Newman

The 10 K race will take place on Saturday afternoon and starts at 3 PM. The change of venue means that the races will now be very spectator friendly and will give one the opportunity to watch the likes of EP open water swim queen Jessica Roux swim her last 10 K in preparation for the South African National Champs that take place in Durban in April. Axxess DSL Ocean Racing Series leader in the 50 – 60 age group in the 3 K race, Russel Tucker will be joined by other series leaders like Sanmarie Woithe and Ralph West in swimming their first 10 K event. They will be joining local swimming veterans Alfred te Water Naude and Brenton Williams who will also be tackling the daunting 10 K swim.

Sunday will see the 5 K and 3 K swimmers take to the water at 09H00.  The route for these swims will ensure that the entire race can be watched from the side of the canal which is one of the reasons why Marina Martinique is such a great venue for open water swim events. Spectators will also be looked after at the event with some great lucky draw prizes up for grabs.

10H30will see the popular 500m swim take place with EP Champs winner Kyle Van Heerden a confirmed entry to try defend his title. 10H45 will see the bank to bank swimmers take to the water.  This race is open for 10 & U swimmers only. The final event is the 1K sprint event which takes place at 11H00. Entries can be completed online at www.ecswim.co.za

Although this is the last swim of the season in Jeffreys Bay, there are plans underway to hold a winter swim series at Marina Martinique.  According to Brenton Williams the coach of the Kouga Swim Club, the plans are to stage 3 swims over the winter months in Jeffreys Bay and to hold another 3 races in Port Elizabeth. “Many of the open water swimmers compete in wetsuits already so the cold water is not a deterrent”, said Williams. “The Kouga Swim Club will be training throughout the winter at Marina Martinique in their Xcel wetsuits so we will be ready for the races”, added Williams. “This is an exciting development as open water swimming will now become an all year round sport and not just a summer based one”.

The Eastern Cape is quickly gaining the reputation for being the open water swim capital of South Africa and already hosts more Swim South Africa sanctioned events than any other province in the country. This reputation will be further enhanced when the inaugural 7.5 K Nelson Mandela Bay Bell Buoy Challenge takes place over the Easter Weekend in Port Elizabeth.

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Chad Ho wins Redhouse River Mile

March 4, 2010

Kouga swimmers have enjoyed a busy two weeks of galas and open water swimming with C league galas taking place in Port Elizabeth and the Redhouse River Mile which took place on Sunday.

Up and coming Jeffreys Bay swimmer Kyle De Villiers proved that he can successfully compete in open water as well as pool swimming when he followed up his victory in the 500m at the EP Open Water swim champs with a string of solid results in the C league galas.

Kyle De Villiers keeping his head still on his way to winning the backstroke at a gala in Port Elizabeth

At the first C League, Kyle was unstoppable, winning the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle races and coming second in the breastroke in his age group. At the second C league gala held on this past Saturday, Kyle yet again achieved three first places.  He trains with the Kouga Swim Club in Jeffreys Bay and together with his dad, Ivan and younger brother Aiden has a love for water.  “I want to be a Springbok swimmer one day and know I have to work hard at training to achieve my goal”, said Kyle. “I love swimming and want to win the 500m at the next Kouga Express EP Open Water Swim Series”.

There were good results from a number of the Kouga swimmers at the first C league gala with Pieter Ellis, Andre Saunders, Danie Ellis, Kim Seyfert, Clarion Prudon, Wiandre De Jager, Janel Daffue and Marco Venter all winning races. Brother and sister combination Wilmien and Lodewyk Van Biljon continue to improve as do Johan and Andre Smit. The full results of the second gala were not available at time of going to print.

Chad Ho the Springbok Open Water swimmer from Durban successfully defended his title at the 2010 Spar Redhouse River Mile on Sunday, beating off Frank Greeff and Byron Lockett. Ho finished the race in just over 13 minutes said that he went out and built a lead and make sure that he kept it throughout the race. Dominique Dryding from Cape Town won the women’s race from Micaela Barnes. Brenton Williams, the coach of the Kouga Swim Club won the men’s 41 – 50 age group while veteran Jeffreys Bay swimmer Mally Richards had a good swim and completed his 57th Redhouse River Mile. Shaun King (12 yrs) from St Francis Bay had an impressive race against the older competitors and was the top finisher from Kouga, coming 17th overall out of 378 men who completed the Mile. Caro De Jager (11 years old) from Jeffreys Bay was the top women finisher from Kouga coming 23rd overall out of 353 women finishers. Full results for the C league galas and the Redhouse River Mile can be found at here.

Open water swimmers will be gearing up for the 6th and final event of the Kouga Express EP Open Water Swim Series which will take place at Marina Martinique next Sunday. Indications are that there will be more entries in the 10 KM swim as swimmers will be testing their fitness levels in preparation for the inaugural 8 KM Bell buoy reef swim in Port Elizabeth which will form part of the Splash Festival. Swimmers can also enter the Axxess DSL Ocean racing Series this Sunday and choose between a 1 KM and a 3 KM swim.

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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

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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.

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Kouga Swimmers rock at Open Water Swim at Marina Martinique

November 23, 2009

The second leg of the Kouga Express EP Open Water Swim Series took place at Marina Martinique on Sunday.

20 swimmers from the Club took part in the various swims which shows the progress the Club is making in introducing it’s swimmers to the new and exciting sport of open water swimming.

Perfect conditions awaited swimmers who took part in the EP Open Water Swim Series at Marina Martinique. The next swim is on 23 December

It was our older swimmers who had some excellent races on Sunday with Jane Geldenhuys, the new addition to the Masters squad taking the O/50 division in the 1 K swim.  Jane is still going strong at 82 and is determined to spend more time training in preparation for the Marina Martinique Mile on 23 December.

(Above: Jane Geldenhuys receives her medal for winning the 50 & Over division in the 1 K swim at Marina Martinique)

Our coach, Brenton entered the 3 K and after being the first master swimmer home, decided to continue and finish the gruelling 5 K swim.  He also swam a SA national qualifying time in the 3 K swim.

Most of our swimmers entered the 1 K swim and well done to Malan Steenkamp who had a very good swim.  Nikita Meyer, Danielle Van Os, Yvonne Rautenbach and Kim Seyfert all completed their first ever 1 K swims.  Well done!!

The full list of swimmers who participated is:

1 K

Breyton De Beer         8th open category

Kendall Wright            4th U 13

Malan Steenkamp        6th U 13

Danie Ellis                  7th U 13

Willem Rautenbach      9th U 13

Pieter Ellis                   10th U 13

Sonja Saunders           8th Open

James Scott                 11th U 13

Nikita Mayer                 6th U 13

Kim Seyfert                 7th U 13

Yvonne Rautenbach     9th U 13

Danie Rautenbach       4th Masters

Cheryl Gibson- Dicks   2nd Masters

Danielle Van Os           10th U 13

Gitta Seyfert               3rd Masters

Jane Geldenhuys          1st Over 50

3 K

Brenton Williams        1st Over 40

Francis Searle              1st Over 50

Alan Searle                   13th Open

Kobus Joubert            14th Open

5 K

Brenton Williams        1st Over 40

Coach Brenton receives his medal for winning the 5 K swim in the over 40 division of the EP Open Water Swim Series

Full results can be found here

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ENTRIES NOW OPEN FOR SWIM RACE AT MARINA MARTINIQUE

November 18, 2009

The second race in the Kouga Express EP Open Water Swim Series (EP OWSS) will take place at Marina Martinique in Jeffreys Bay on Sunday.  Swimmers have a choice between a 1 K, 3 K, 5 K or an Olympic distance 10 K swim.

The start of the 1 K swim at Marina Martinique. Kouga Swim Club holds regular training sessions in the canals. Photo: Carl Newman

For the first time a 5 K beach run will be introduced that will also take place at the Marina Martinique car park situated on the beach near the Walskipper Restaurant.

The times of the swims are:

10 K          – 9 am

5 & 3 K      – 10 am

5 K beach run     – 11 am

1 K            – 12 am

Registration close half an hour before the start of each event.  Online registrations can be done by visiting the website www.ecswim.co.za

The Kouga Swim Club is holding open water training sessions at Marina Martinique for all skill levels.  The youngest swimmers are 8 years old and there is a masters training squad that trains regularly as well.

Friday afternoons are for all age groups and visiting swimmers are welcome.  However, it is advised that swimmers must be able to swim about 1 K unaided to attend the training sessions.

The masters’ squad swims between 1 K and 3 K a session and caters for iron men and triatheletes as well as swimmers and surfers.

Further information can be found by visiting clicking  here

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250 swimmers in Ocean Racing Series at Hobie Beach, Port Elizabeth

November 15, 2009

Cold conditions greeted open water swimmers at Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth on Sunday for the 2 K and 1 K swims at the Axxess DSL Ocean Racing Series.

Despite a sea water temperature of only 15 degrees, a handful of hard core swimmers opted to swim the traditional way – with just a Speedo costume, goggle and a cap.

The start

The start on the swim at Hobie Beach, Port Elizabeth

A light offshore wind and a downpour of rain made for good swimming conditions, despite the chilly water and Frank Greeff made the most of the conditions to record a good victory in the 2 K swim. 113 swimmers completed the event.

Rebecca Newman was the first woman home beating master swimmer Sanmari Woithe into second place.

Kouga Swim Club coach, Brenton Williams was the top swimmer from Jeffreys Bay in the 2 K swim, coming 28th overall in a time of 33 minutes, edging out Pierre Puren, also from Jeffreys Bay. Kobus Joubert swam well to finish in 40 minutes.

138 swimmers took to the water for the 1 K swim which was won by Chris Van Der Sande.  Carmel Billson won the women’s division.  Peter Nicholson, Billabongs marketing manager swam strongly to finish in 19th position.  Paul Nicholson, his dad, also had a good swim, coming 3rd in the 0/50 age group.

The next open water swim in the Eastern Province, is the EP Open Water Swim Series at Marina Martinique on Sunday.

Swimmers have a choice between a 1 K, 3 K, 5 K or a 10 K swim in the pristine canals of Marina Martinique.

The Kouga Swim Club is the host Club for the event and will hold an open water training session on Friday afternoon at 15.20 PM.  Contact Brenton at kougaswim@vodamail.co.za for more information.

 Results:

Axxess DSL ORS Race 4 2km

Axxess DSL ORS Race 4 1km

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Kouga Swim Sensations

November 12, 2009

The first C League gala of the season took place in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.  A strong Jeffreys Bay Primary team as well as swimmers from Victory Christian School traveled through to compete.

The Ellis brothers won all the events that they competed in. Pieter who competed in the 8 & U division was simply too strong for his opposition and proved that he is capable of competing in both pool and open water swim competitions.  Pieter recently came third in U13 division of the 1 K swim at the EP Open Water Swim Series at Marina Martinique.

Older brother Danie also won all four of his races and showed that he has the talent to do well in swimming.  Both brothers train with the Kouga Swim Club in Jeffreys Bay.

Pieter breastroke

Pieter Ellis wins the breaststoke race at the C league gala

Other swimmers from the Kouga who had achieved good results in their respective age groups were:

Butterfly: 1st place – Pieter Ellis, Andre Saunders, Jamie Scott, Danie Ellis and Almero Van Rooyen.

Backstroke: 1st place – Nikita Meyer, Pieter Ellis, Danie Ellis, Keith Doble

Breastroke: 1st place – Pieter Ellis, Nikita Meyer, Danie Ellis

Freestyle: 1st place – Pieter Ellis, Yvonne Rautenbach, Danie Ellis

Full results can be found by clicking here

Junior Ellis

Danie Ellis tired but happy after winning another race at the C league gala

The Kouga Swim Club is hard at training for the next Kouga Express EP Open Water Swim Series event that will take place at Marina Martinique on 22 November.  Swimmers will have a choice between a 10 K, 5 K, 3 K and 1 K swim.

The 10 K swim is an Olympic Games event and the aim of the Series is to develop swimmers in the Eastern Cape and provide them with opportunities to make open water swimming their primary sport.

Marina 1

The pristine canals of Marina Martinique - home of the Kouga Swim Club and the Marina Mile swim event. The Mile now forms part of an expanded EP Open Water Swim Series.

Brenton Williams, coach of the Kouga Swim Club said that interest is growing in the sport and he was expecting more than 60 entrants for the swim on the 22 November.

“The open water training sessions held by the Swim Club at Marina Martinique are being well attended and we have a lot of younger swimmers who are participating and who want to compete in the 1 K swim, said Williams. “We also cater for the master’s swimmers who train the mornings before work and Iron Men competitors are welcome to join the training sessions”.

Entries for the event are open and can be done online at www.ecswim.co.za

Sunday morning will see race 7 in the Axxess DSL Ocean Racing Series take place at Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth.  The sea swims are perfect training for the Marina Martinique races and any swimmer planning to compete the 3 K is encouraged to swim the 2 K at the Ocean Racing Series.

The Kouga Swim Club offers swim coaching; learn to swim and stroke correction classes. Training sessions are held in the Marina Martinique canals on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6.15 am for master’s 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

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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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