Four of the Kouga Swim Club’s open water swimmers took part in the Ocean Racing Series in Port Elizabeth recently. They all did really well with three 3rd places and a first time ever ocean swim for Sally Waterworth who recently started training with the Club.
For more on this story click on www.jbaynews.com
The Swim Club recently held a mini gala at the Training Edge Gym that was well supported by the Club’s winter swimmers.
Due to the Swim Club training indoors over the winter, the format of the gala was sprints, with a number of the Club’s Penguin and Dolphin Squads participating in their first ever gala.
Bleyton Smit was nervous but had a great gala.
Swim coach, Brenton Williams said that it was the perfect environment to introduce some of the swimmers who are only 5 years old to the competitive side of swimming.
“We worked on one length (12.5m) races for the little ones at training and they all swam so well. Joma Kriek, who has recently been promoted to the Penguin Squad had a great gala, as did Jonathan Bester and David Vos”.
Coach Brenton explains who will swim in what races.
Bleyton Smit from the Dolphins showed he has potential to become a great breaststroke swimmer while Christy Bester also swam well.
The bigger swimmers showed that hard work in the pool pays off with Andre Saunders knocking off 7 seconds off his previous best 25m butterfly time. ‘Andre has really come a long way in his swimming and is determined to improve his times”, said Brenton.
Jonathan Bester cannot resist having a peek at the opponents.
Michelle Strydom has also trained hard this winter and has developed a nice stroke which has seen her starting to swim faster, according to her coach. Andre Olivier also impressed as did Becky Baard in her first club gala.
Danie and Pieter Ellis hardly ever miss a training session and this showed in their results. Junior won 5 out of 7 races while younger brother Pieter who was competing against the older swimmers, scooped 2 x second places and 2 x third places in his races.
Mark Petrellis and Bailey Robertson swam a time trial after the gala and both recorded some fast times.
The Swim Club is waiting for the water in the canals at Marina Martinique to warm up before they start their summer open water swim training. The first event of the EP Open Water Swim Series takes place at the Marina in front of the LaCaribe flats on 3 October.
Entries have opened for the 2010 Steers Marina Mile swim which will take place at Marina Martinique on 22 & 23 December. For the first time in the history of the Mile, a dedicated website has been set up to handle online entries and to provide information about the event.
Steers Jeffreys Bay has come on board as the title sponsor for the event and the first 100 entrants will all receive 2010 Steers Marina Mile swim caps and T-shirts.
The Marina Mile has been in existence since the early 1990′s but was resurrected in 2002 by Yvonne Lentinello and coach Brenton Williams, both of whom enjoy a long association with Marina Martinique.
From humble beginnings, the Mile has been expanded into a two day open water sports festival. The opening day will see one of the most extreme swims ever take place. A marathon 25 K swim through the canals will see the participants swim for most of the day in an attempt just to complete the swim. Added to this extreme swim will be a 10 K event, which is also a first for the Marina Mile.
The 23 December will kick off with a 5K and a 3K swim before the main events, the Women’s and Men’s Mile hit the water. Jessica Roux, the defending Women’s Champ has just been selected to the South African National Open Water Team that is competing in Morocco and will be on form to defend her title.
Entries have opened and can be done online at Marina Mile
Christi, Jonothan and Ewan Bester have something thing in common……..they all love water!! From Ewan who cries when he has to get out of the pool after his lesson to Christi who has just been promoted to the Dolphin Squad at Brenton’s Swim School, swim days are the best days of the week for the Besters.
Ewan Bester doing what he loves the most.....getting into the pool @ Training Edge Gym with Brenton's Swim School
Check out the full story at jbaynews.com
There are limited places available at the Swim School for those who need to learn to swim in a secure and uplifting environment. Ph 083 5496795 or email kougaswim@vodamail.co.za
Yesterday, the Swim Club decided to go to Main Beach and do some bodysurfing as it was a nice day with a big swell running. The Club hosts an open water swim series during the summer months at Marina Martinique, including the ever popular Marina Mile
Check www.jeffreysbaynews.com for the full story. More pictures can be found on Face Book
After the most successful open water swim season ever in the Eastern Province, motivation levels have dropped due to there being nothing to train for.
The Kouga Swim Club will be holding a training swim at the Marina startin at 10 AM on 12 June. Please be in the car park at the Walskipper resturant by 09H45 as we need to start promptly at 10 Am to avoid people getting too cold.
Full details can be found here
Marina Martinique will be the venue for the winter training swim on 12 June
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
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.
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.
Jessica Roux remained unbeaten in open water swimming in the Eastern Cape over the weekend when she won the women’s 10 K swim and the 3 K swim at the inaugural Eastern Province Open Water Swim Champs held at Marina Martinique.
Jessica Roux on her way to victory in the gruelling 10 K swim at the EP Open Water Swim Champs
Michael Marais won the men’s 10 K event with both Roux and Marais recording South African national 10 K qualifying times. After the race Roux said the swim was tough but she was happy with her time and was looking forward to the South African National Championships that will be held in Durban in April. ‘The swim was also great preparation for the Bell Buoy swim that will take place in Port Elizabeth during the Splash Festival. There was a strong east wind blowing that caused chop but apart from that it was a great swim”, said Roux
Rebecca Newman swam her first ever 10 K swim, finishing ahead of veteran Jeffreys Bay swimmers Brenton Williams and Alfred te Water Naude, who came first and second respectively in their first marathon swims.
Chris Van Der Sande and Tammy Geyer won the 5 K swim respectively with Sanmari Woithe and Andre Kleynhans winning the masters categories.
Van Der Sande also won the 3 K swim while Jessica Roux continued to dominate the women’s 3 K event. JC van Wyk from Jeffreys Bay won the master’s category.
Dominic Greeff won the 1 K swim from Jamie-Lee Sclemmer in a tight tussle that was decided on the finish line. Jeffreys Bay swimmer Danie Ellis (11) won the under 14 division in the event from younger brother Pieter. Richden Jute and Denise Bosman were the first master’s swimmers home in their respective categories.
Tristan Zoetmulder recovers after completing the tiring bank to bank swim
Mike Zoetmulder from Zports who managed the event said he was very satisfied with the turn out for the EP Champs. “This is the first time we had had entries for the 10K, which indicates the growing commitment of marathon swimmers in the Eastern Cape. In total we had 16 entrants in the 5 K and 10 K swims, with 15 swimmers managing to finish their races”.
The full list of results can be found here
On the international front, South Africa’s leading open water swimmer Chad Ho continues to threaten the status quo when he was narrowly beaten into second place in the FINA 10 K Marathon Swimming World Cup held in Brazil. The finish was so close that officials had to rely on a photo finish to decide that Russian Evgeny Drattsev had just managed to touch ahead of Ho at the end.
(Evgeny Drattsev won the FINA 10 K World Cup in Brazil. Chad Ho of South Africa finished 2nd)
Open water swimmers in the Eastern Province have a week’s break before swimming resumes at Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth when the Axxess DSL Ocean Racing Series takes to the water. Competitors have a choice between a 1 K and a 3 K swim.
