Ruan Knobel
Promising young rower
Click photo for larger image
Promising young rower urgently requires
sponsorships
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GPS (Global
Positioning System) |
A promising young rower, Ruan Knobel urgently
requires sponsorships. Ruan is 14 years old and in grade 8 at Point High
School in Mossel Bay. He is a member of the Outeniqua Canoe Club in George.
He started canoeing in August 2004, because
knee problems prevented him from participating in contact and running sport.
From his very first competition he showed
potential as canoeist and in his first Western Province competition (after
paddling for 6 months) and South African competitions, it was clear that he
had a promising future in sprint and long distance paddling. For a full list
of all his achievements read more at: Rowing
achievements
Sponsorships to help Ruan with his rowing
exercises and to participate in future competitions will be of tremendous
value to him. At the moment Ruan can train on the water only three times a
week. His two main competitors in his age group train six time a week.
Ruan practices regularly on the Little
Brak River, and this year had to train without any coaching or training
program. This makes his achievements to date even more noteworthy.
At this stage Ruan is the best paddler in his
age group in both Eastern and Western Province, and the second best in the
country. He has the ability to improve even more if he could have more
practice and training opportunities available. The winner in his age group
is presently trained by a Hungarian coach employed by the South African
Canoe Union, one of three such coaches in the country. At this stage of his
development, it is critical for Ruan to have this kind of coach to give him
the right guidance (a coach is available in Cape Town).
River canoe
We urgently require sponsorships to give Ruan the best opportunities to
develop his sport. He has one canoe, a sprint canoe, which is not suitable
for river rowing, as it is made from carbon fibre that can not withstand the
kind of knocks it would be exposed to in river or distance canoeing. An
entry level river canoe cost round about R5500.
Paddling exerciser
The second important item is a sprint paddling exerciser, that mimics the
sprint paddling action. This is important, as Ruan does not have the
opportunity to practice on the water frequent enough. This is a sophisticated
machine that ensures that his style is developed and not harmed. Most
commercially available exercisers are not suitable, as they have a rowing
action and not a paddling action. Electronic instrumentation keeps record of
times and distances paddled. This exerciser/simulator however costs R15 000.
GPS
Other equipment, which is not absolutely essential, but used by most
competitive paddlers, is a GPS (Global Positioning System), to determine
time and distance paddled on the water. Because Ruan often has to estimate
distances paddled, it is difficult to keep accurate records of his progress.
A GPS will thus be of great value to him.
Coach
Ruan also needs support for transport costs to the coach in Cape Town and to
make use of other opportunities. In the first five months of 2007 his father
drove more than 6000km to get him to various competitions.
Sponsorships for this promising young
rower
Please consider sponsoring
Ruan in order to provide him the best opportunities to achieve the highest
level in rowing.
We welcome questions, suggestions and
comments. Your assistance will be highly appreciated and accepted with thankful
hearts.
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Tel: 044 691 2244 or 084
361 3539 |
Rowing achievements
To date, Ruan had the following achievements:
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