About fezela
Fezela Canoe Club was founded in 1962 when a
group of
keen river paddlers decided to form a club whose focus and underlying
mission was that of a family oriented club with a reputation for river
paddling. In short, they wanted to form a club with a strong
social spirit. Please check out our picture
gallery for photo's from our various social events and some of the
many races our club members participate in.
iFezela is the isiZulu name for the water
scorpion,
which at that time were found in abundance in the rivers of
KwaZulu-Natal.
Our Club's social spirit has remained strong
since the club's inception,
with Fezela Canoe Club still being one of the most social of the KZN
canoe clubs. The emphasis on socialising in canoeing still being
the strongest
attraction of becomming a Fezela member. If you're interested in
joining Fezela, please look in our Admin
section, above, for membership
forms which can be downloaded. Here you will also find KNCU membership forms and CSA Affiliation documentation.
Soon after the club was founded, a young man
joined the
club who was to become our most celebrated paddlers. Roly
Alborough
joined Fezela Canoe Club in March 1962. He subsequently completed
43
consecutive Dusi Canoe Marathons, a significant achievement. The
highest number of consecutive Dusi finishes is currently 46, a
significant record held by "The Pope", Graham Pope-Ellis when he sadly
passed away in June 2010..
Fezela Canoe Club members, Viv and Sheila
Whitfield, started the first Dusi Dice that was held in Alexandra Park,
long before the construction of Camp's Drift, where a Dice is held
every Thursday evening at 17H30.
Our club meetings were originally held at
committee member’s
homes. Eventually, in an initiative led by Vice-Chairman Andre
Hattingh, an effort was made to find a permanent home for Fezela.
Andre was also one of the primary
driving forces in the initial stages of securing land for use by
canoeists at Camp's Drift, before Natal Canoe Club made it their own.
Fezela Canoe Club soon found accomodation within walking
distance (with a boat!) of Camp's Drift. The club bought a house
at 65
Prince Alfred Street, which allowed for access under the West Street
Bridge to the popular Pietermaritzburg canoeing training facility of
Camp's Drift. Fezela Canoe Club
successfully operated from this clubhouse for 15 years, before making
the decision to move onto Camp's Drift itself in order to attract more
junior
members, as it had become inconvenient and dangerous for children and
other club members to move
between the club-house and the Drift.
Amongst our members have been, and still are,
some of
the great names in SA Canoeing. Included in these are Dusi Winners, SA
Champions, South African representatives at International level, as
well as other significant achievers.
Fezela holds three very successful races
every
year. These include the Jock
Claasens river
race from
Albert’s Falls weir to the Wartburg Road, and the Midmar Marathon on Midmar Dam, which
are
two of the premier events in KwaZulu-Natal.
Fezela Canoe Club has always had close links
with the Robert Lembethe Canoe Club, which has it's home at Nagel
Dam. We have assisted in securing sponsorship for boats and
equipment for
this club. Robert Lembethe Canoe Club has grown substantially in
recent years, and
has produced a number of South African paddlers who have qualified on
merit. Unfortunately the Nagel Dam area is still neglected and
largely underdeveloped. People living in
the area battle to send their children to school due to lack of funds,
and many children leave school to seek work before getting their
Matric certificates. Fezela has identified this social problem
and has arranged for some of the paddlers to
move to Pietermaritzburg where they have managed to secure jobs through
Fezela membership contacts. Fezela Canoe Club budgets a
substantial
amount of its funds to development, and was instrumental in starting
canoeing in both Maritzburg College and Merchiston Schools, and has
close ties with Epworth School.
For a number of years, we have had a running club affiliated to KwaZulu-Natal Athletics Association, which enables our club members to register with Fezela Running Club and run without the additional hassle of having to join yet another club. Fezela Canoe Club has recently affiliated with the Natal Rowing Association, which has enabled interested members to row as well. This has also enabled Fezela to share a home, in the Rowing Clubhouse, with the rowing clubs at Camp's Drift.