FOMO FOR POLO

Atlegang Dube

Wapad continues to explore thrilling and exotic sports in a perceived simple town. This release brings you everything you need to know about the North-West University’s (NWU) canoe club, which consists of canoe-polo, managed adjacently to kayak. These two programmes are made available by the university, through the canoe club situated at the Potchefstroom dam.

The grapevines murmur that the Potch dam is freely accessible for joggers and strollers who have no bags and supplies. You can enter the dam, and find a canoe club representative to talk to, by taking the last exit at the circle and continuing straight. Alternatively, you can contact them via their Instagram @nwucanoeclub. Practice times differ weekly, depending on players’ schedules. Wapad attended a practice session on Saturday at 15:00.

According to Dian Pienaar, an organising member of the canoe club and second year business management student, formal entrance is managed by an entry card system, and entry cards are held by members of the club and season ticket holders of the dam itself. Registration for a year costs R300, and an additional R50 covers one’s club membership card should they have never owned one or in the event of replacing a lost one. The dam’s season tickets cost R550, though a single ticket allows you to tag along five visitors at once at no cost. You can also register as much as three vehicles for entry into the dam vicinity.

All fees for the club and for the dam are paid for separately; the club’s registration is organised in cash in building F4, room 110, and the dam’s season ticket is purchased at the dam on Calderbank Avenue. The canoe club unfortunately—but safely—does not allow people who have not yet acquired the skill of swimming to join the club, regardless of their access to the dam via season ticket.

Whenever speaking of the unconventional canoe polo, Dian answers the questions of, “Is it safe? Will I die? Will I drown?” with a well collected: “No, you won’t die. If you can swim, you will be just fine while playing canoe polo. However,” he warned, “injuries might be attained, really just as in any other sport, but being part of the NWU canoe club, you are in VERY safe hands and in a completely safe environment. We play at Potch dam, at a designated part of the dam given to the NWU. It’s not deep, you can stand in the water everywhere on the ‘court’.”

One of the safety statements from the canoe club reads: “PFD/Lifejackets are absolutely non-negotiable. You DO NOT get into a kayak on the dam without wearing one. This is a LEGAL REQUIREMENT from the SA Maritime Authority and they do not make acceptance for how well one thinks they can swim. Nobody can swim if their legs are entangled in a fishing line or in water grass or if they have a cramp.”

Everyone gets safely strapped on the bank before entering the water with the boats. All beginners are taught how to hoist themselves back upright in the case of a tip over, as well as the alert procedure of banging the base of the boat while in a capsized position, to allow other players to assist. The key is to keep calm. There is also an emergency tab one can pull (called “popping”), allowing you to slip right out the boat to float solely by life jacket.  

Kayak takes the format of a race spanning over a number of kilometres. The events pertain to the kinds of boats. K1 is for singles, K2 is for doubles, and K3 carries three people. Kayak is rather straight forward (literally racing in a straight line), but it gets more complex when considering a different ball game in canoe polo.

Dian further briefly described the way the sport is played: “Canoe polo works almost exactly as netball, only in canoes. Two teams are formed, approximately 5-7 in a team against each other. The polo game starts with the two teams facing each other from each side of the court, while the ball is thrown in the middle of both teams. As soon as the ball hits the water the game starts! The teams then rush to get the ball before their opponents, when they have the ball, it’s (again) just like netball, teammates pass the ball around until they have a clean shot to throw the ball inside the goals.”

Wapad received exclusive access into the dam premise to cover a Saturday afternoon session of canoe polo fun under the Potch sun. A few of the club members’ visitors were first-timers and were approached for statements verifying Dian Pienaar’s safety claims and for descriptions of their overall experience. Diedrik Kwooitz shared the following about his first experience: “It was a very wonderful experience. It was a bit stressful because I did not know what to expect, but I was excited to try something new and it ended up being a lot of fun!”

Diedrik also expressed a bit of discomfort as he felt that his legs were too long and rather squished, what-with all the boats having the same standard size. “But, other than that, and the occasional tipping over)it was very nice!” he concluded. 

For beginners, tipping over is part and parcel while you’re still trying to “find your paddles”.

Another of the adventurous guest first-timers was Eruc Claassen. Claassen, who had his fair share of tip overs, showed resilience and expressed how easy it is to try again when you’re having fun. He also sent a “shout out” to Wapad in appreciation for his input, encouraging all who want to give the sport a try to do so without hesitation—as his experience was not as bad as what his initial skeptical thoughts were.

So, what do you say? Are you game? Give @nwucanoecub a follow.