NIPPERS CARNIVAL PLETTENBERGBAY NOVEMBER 2005.

NIPPERS CARNIVAL ---- PLETTENBERGBAY 26 & 27TH NOVEMBER 2005.

The Nippers carnival is a provincial tournament with the clubs competing in a variety of events. “Nippers” is a junior version of lifesaving. Although no actual lifesaving is taught, the youngsters are instructed in beach activities and are able to grow in confidence in the surf.

Barbara, Ally & I had been looking forward to this Carnival for over a year as Ally had joined Nippers while she was still seven years old and was therefor unable to be an official competitor in the carnivals in our first year. Ally had had to undergo a competency test called the “Level Test”. I was away that weekend and was not able to watch her but I heard that she had passed with flying colours. Something that really impressed me this weekend was the fact that Ally had received an invitation to attend the annual Finestone Birthday Party from Emma. And although Ally was very keen to attend this important social function, she upheld her commitment to the Nippers weekend.

After that Ally was able to compete in a local Carnival at Kings Beach. That particular carnival was not entirely satisfactory as the surf had been particularly big as a result of the East Winds that Port Elizabeth had experienced. And by the time the events were underway the West Wind was blowing so hard that the conditions had become unpleasant. A number of the events were either scrapped or cut short.

As we left for Plett on the Saturday morning there was a fairly stiff West wind and as we approached the Tsitsikamma area the rain began to fall and we were apprehensive of the conditions for first day. We had Jacqui with us as she was visiting from the UK. Jacqui was pregnant and feeling the effects of morning sickness. We half hoped that the fresh air might make her feel a little better.

As soon as we arrived in Plett we unpacked and got ourselves ready for an afternoon on the beach. Ena (My mother) was able to come down with us. Ena does not see too well but Ally was thrilled that her Granny would be there to watch her compete. We got down to the beach at about 11.30am and registered Ally as a competitor. Anthony Cocks called a “Team Managers” meeting where he announced the order of events. The first event for the U10s was to be the Taplin, which is a team event of Run, Swim, Body Board and Malibu (a long body board). We had 12 children in our U10 team, 6 Boys (Matthew, Matthew, Christian, Connor, Luke and Philip) and 6 girls (Ally, Tanielle, Kim, Tayla, Natalie and Katlin). Varren had the unenviable task of making up the teams for the U10’s. Firstly he had to decide who was in which team and then had to readjust for each event as the youngsters’ availability for the particular event changed and also which of the Nippers had been able to come to Plett.

During the afternoon each one of these brave children took part in a variety of events including beach sprints, beach relay, Flags, Swim, Body Board and Malibu. The waves were by no means small and the children took quite a dumping on many occasions. Fortunately we had a number of parents and others who were safety officers and who helped the children through the surf. There was a strong rip current from West to East and the organisers wisely made the route of the swims in the direction of the rip.

The competition in the U10s was fierce and although we often managed to pass through to the finals, we could see at an early stage that we were being out run and out swum in many of the events. However we also knew that each individual competing was doing it as a personal challenge and that every time we had a finisher we potentially had points for Summerstrand. The afternoon was overcast and it appeared that some of the children were becoming chilled as the afternoon wore on. They were also extremely tired after all the exercise of the afternoon. The final event was a “March Past”. I did not realise that there were potentially 30 points to be won so I happily suggested that our group go and take part which they did with enthusiasm instead of style and precision. Ah well… Live and learn! Today had been overcast but I still found that I had burnt the top of my head. At the end of the day Chris called a team meeting and told us that there were a mere 12 points separating ourselves from the next team, which I think was Sardinia Bay. He urged that children to have a solid sleep and be fresh for a morning which would certainly be full of exercise.

I know that a number of our group were staying at the Castleton and were meeting for supper but our family agreed that we were only too happy to be able to get into bed as early as possible. And most of us were lights out just after dark. The SA Rugby team were playing France at 22.00 and as Ena does not have Mnet I decided that they would be playing with one less supporter this time. I heard later that we lost something like 21 to 26.

I had planned a short run at 06.00am and met Margie and Warren outside of their accommodation. We ran about 8kays and by the time we were finished the sun was already starting to get hot. During the run Warren & I realised that we had common friends going back years. My cousins, the Spence family, were friends of his from his early years of coming to Plett. Today I anticipated a really warm day and we took out the suntan lotion and hats to try to avoid being too burnt at the end of the day. It is actually not possible to avoid the sun as even if you are sitting in the shade as Jacqui did for most of the day; you will still burn from the reflection of the sun off the sand.

Today was going to be a lot of swimming for me as I assured the Nippers, Ally in particular, that I would always be in the water when they were. I had located a pair of flippers and was happy to use them to assist myself to stay with the youngsters as they ploughed through the surf. It seemed that the wind was coming from a South-Westerly direction and this made the water a little choppier than the previous day. Again Anthony insisted that there should be considerable assistance to the U10s whenever they were in the surf. I think that this helped the Nippers’ confidence and I was surprised and proud of our group each time they had to swim and paddle into the pounding waves that seemed to me to rise up to 5 and 6 feet high. The waves at the Central (Old B.I. beach) do not fold gently onto the beach but rather have a nasty way of dumping the swimmer with quite considerable force.

I saw Donald taking photos and videos of most of the tournament and am keen to see the results of his efforts. The U10 Coaches comprise of Varren (head coach) and his assistants, Roger and myself. We spent considerable time in the water and had the ongoing assistance of Tanielle’s Dad, Chris as well as Matthew’s dad Donald, Katlin's dad, Natalie’s dad Patrick and Tayla's dad Andrew. Without the assistance of the dad’s we could never have had as many competitors from our group. I think that this may be a sign of how future coaching should go. Chris made the point, as we finished, that we should not be scared, on a Sunday, to swim past the waves. Nor to use the body boards in big surf, as we would have to do so at the tournaments and that there was never a guarantee of calm seas on the day of the carnival.

The Sunday started with Run swim Run and ended with a long run (U10s 800meters). In between there were the Beach sprint relays where we had two U10 teams, the Flags finals where Luke was our sole U10 survivor to the finals and he finished a credible 5th place There was also Body boards, Malibu boards, swimming and running to keep us all very busy. One of the most amazing things on a beach like this with hundreds of parents, Nippers, and coaches is the communication. We all had to stay focussed on what was going on to know what we should be ready for and then the gathering of the Nippers was no easy task for us Coaches.

After the final event we had a short photo session, a team-talk and Anthony announced the results of the Carnival. Summerstrand had come first in the U14, U12 and third in the U10 events. The overall Carnival winner was also Summerstrand. This is potentially a warning to Summerstrand: The U10 of today is the U12 and U14 of tomorrow and unless we are not concentrating on the coaching of these young nippers we will find the club coming second to Sardinia Bay and Plett in future years.

We assisted with the carrying and packing of boards and packed up and left. Unfortunately Jacqui’s health had not improved and we decided to make our way home as soon as we could. Next Thursday is a Nippers evening at the Summerstrand Clubhouse and I am sure that there will be a great deal of analysis of the weekend success and failures. I personally cannot think of any individual failure. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned. For example the finals of the flags events could be held at one time for all three age-categories as this is a time consuming event. Overall the Plett Nippers Club can be thanked and complimented for the way that the event was held and the spirit of fun that permeated the two days.
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At the year-end function for the nippers on Thursday 1 December 2005, Donald, Lee and Brian had an awards ceremony for the Nippers who had taken part in the Plett Carnival. We had Jessica’s Nativity Play to attend at Jacqui’s Children’s world pre-school so were a little late. But when we got to the Summerstrand lifesavers club, Donald made a point of calling Ally up to the front to receive her certificate. She had achieved the following places in the events:

Surf Swim 8th
Body Board 9th
Run Swim Run 7th
Body Board Relay 6th
Taplin Relay 3rd
Beach Relay 7th

These were the recognised times but in addition to this she had also taken part in the Beach Sprints & Flags. To put the positions into perspective: there were 6 teams participating: Bluewater Bay, Sardinia Bay, Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay and Seagulls and Summerstrand. We had 12 nippers in our U10 team and while some of the teams may have has fewer members, there were others with even more than ourselves. SO these were really impressive results. The other point to note is while some of the events separated the boys from the girls many of them were mixed events.

After the awards, Donald ran through a series of photos that he had taken on the beach. Amoung them were many of Ally where the size of the surf could be seen as well as the effort that she put into the events. He has promised that he will let us have a copy of the disc to forward to the London family. Ally had her friend Laura O with her. The two of them had a Boerewors roll and then spent the rest of the evening on the beach. The spotlights were shining onto the beach and there was this wonderful vibe as the youngsters played on the sand. The adults had steaks and salad as we got to know each a little better. Barbara had been knitting madly to try to get some presents ready for the London family before Jacqui left on the Wednesday and so had not slept well and was feeling tired and sore from dry lips. So at 21.30 we were on our way home.


Peter Giddy
27th November 2005.

ENERGADE TRIATHLON NOVEMBER 2005.

ENERGADE TRIATHLON. 6th NOVEMBER 2005.

Tim & I had entered on-line during October and so on Saturday afternoon we went down to the Summerstrand Lifesaving Club to register and collect the Chip, a T-shirt and water bottle. There were a number of Achilleans and Crusaders there as can be seen by the results below. Tim & I had run a ten-kay race on Saturday morning in a time that I was quite satisfied with, as it was under 5 mins a kay. Then I looked at some of last year’s times and saw that we had been about 5 mins quicker over the same distance. Ally had swum in a Gala on the Friday and Saturday and had, to our great delight, won two bronze medals.

The Energade event is a 600m swim, 20kay cycle and 5 Kay run. Normally it has started from the Hobie beach but this year had been the Hobie 16 championships at Hobie and I assumed that this was why it was being held at Summerstrand this year. I packed my gear the night before and on Sunday morning cycled down to the start. I thought that I was reasonably early but when I got to Summerstrand there were crowds of people. It seems that the number of entries was almost double that of the previous year. I put this down to Ironman fever in Port Elizabeth. It had rained on Saturday evening and rain was predicted again for this morning. The water had been measured at 17degrees Centigrade and so Wetsuits were permitted. I do not own a wetsuit but was not worried as a short swim like this is invigorating and it is not long enough to chill the body.

I had forgotten my goggles at home and was a little worried as there had been a light Easterly blowing and this had made the sea choppy with large swells. But to my surprise and delight, just before the race was due to start, my daughters, Cathy & Ally presented me with goggles. They had realised that I had left them at home and had walked down the beach to find me. We stood at the start in the light drizzle as nervous runners normally do just before the start of any event. We tried to position ourselves as far to the East as possible as we realised that the swell would carry us back towards the beach. The race started at 09.00 for the ladies individuals and ten minutes later for the men. The teams were to start five minutes after the men had left. The organisers placed the start on the East side of the lifesaving club and this meant that only the swim out to the first Buoy was going to be tough as we would have to swim through the waves, then it would be a matter of following the swell. I battled to get past the huge waves and swells and I think that this contributed to a much slower time than last year. It could also be due to extreme lack of training in the sea. I was one of the last swimmers to pass the first buoy and soon after that the team swimmers came charging past me. As I had thought, once past the first buoy the swell carried us in the general direction of the beach. Overall I had a good if slow swim and was soon out on the beach again and ran past Barbara, Suzanne and my other cheering fans.

I take a little stool to sit on to change into the cycle shoes and so washed my feet, put on socks and the cycling shoes. I had obtained a new bike from my niece, Tracy whose husband; Mark is a good cyclist. I think that Tracy had though that she would join him but after a cycle of about 50 kays decided that this was not for her and abandoned the bike. They have now emigrated to Canada and left the bike in our care to pay for if and when we can. So I felt good as I mounted the bike and started the ride out to Noordhoek. I enjoy having the gear levers on the handlebars as it makes changing gears a lot smoother. Overall the bike was a lot classier than the old one that has served me so faithfully.

Most Triathlons do not allow drafting but in the Energade series this is allowed and I took full advantage as I followed one person after another to the turn. The route back from Noordhoek would be mainly against the breeze and I was able to hook up with a few other chaps as we took turns in the lead. By now there was a bit of rain but nothing would upset me as I was having fun this morning. The only problem that we experienced was the traffic as the cyclists were going in both directions and motorists were becoming visibly agitated.

Back to the transition and on with the takkies. The run was to McArthur Baths and back. I always find that the first few Kays of any run are tough as the legs loosen up. After the cycle this is particularly noticeable and it was only after the half way turn that I settled into a good stride. I had seen many fellow runners heading home as I plodded on the way outward. Now there were only a few people still on the path and I realised that I would be one of the last runners home. On the way towards Hobie beach the cameraman on the motor Bike had filmed and chatted to me. By then I was feeling great and was really enjoying the mornings exercise.

I got back to the transition area just in time before most of the spectators headed home, as the rain was becoming stronger and they must have been getting quite wet and miserable. I am not sure of my time but it must have been slower than last year. I looked in the records to see that Tim & I had done a 1.24 (Position 235 out of 313 competitors and 39 out of 53 Vet Males) last year and today had about a 1.35. In Triathlons you become a Vet at the age of 40. I think that they really never expected people older than that to take on the sport. I think that the choppy seas may have had an influence on the times of today. But I had a terrific morning and felt great about the event.

Just one point that I would have like to make to the organisers: is that the road between the Summerstrand Inn and Noordhoek should be closed to motor vehicles. There were so many cyclists going in both directions that an accident is almost inevitable if stricter control is not enforced.

Some of the Results of people who we know:
Garreth Jacobson last year 1.02 & this year 1.12
George Scott last year 1.29 & this year 1.35
Tim Gendall Last Year 1.24 & this year 1.22
Peter Giddy Last Year 1.24 & this year 1.34
Davera Magson Last year 1.21 this year 1.18
Chris Gedye this year 1.14
Sharon Wilson last year 1.44 & Jill Dunlop Last year 1.20
Roger Oakley this year 1.09
Baron Naude this year 1.17
Jonti Daniel this year 1.17
Paula Wilson this year 1.18
Tracey Brink this year 1.21
Mike Kinston this year 1.21
Pat Thomson this year 1.24
Cathy Thomas this year 1.26
Dion Millson this year 1.29
Roger Vogel this year 1.31
Bobby Bulock This year 1.39
Trevor Hawkins This Year 1.49
This year 377 Finishers in the individual, while last year there were 313 finishers in the individual event. This year 109 Teams finished and last year they had 84 team finishers.

Peter Giddy
6th November 2005.