Sport

Exciting changes for Dusi 2011

Brad Morgan

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10 September 2010

The Unlimited will be the new title sponsors of South Africa's Dusi Canoe Marathon from 2011, and are promising the best Dusi yet when the race celebrates its 60th anniversary next year. It will be contested in memory of 15-time champion Graeme Pope-Ellis.

These were two of the revelations made at the official launch of the 2011 event, held at the Inanda Dam on Thursday, the second overnight stop of the Dusi Canoe Marathon.

"At a time when a number of companies are cutting back on their marketing spend, it is refreshing to see a company like The Unlimited entering into the world of sport sponsorship," said Cameron MacKenzie, chairman of the Dusi organising committee.

Celebs and sports stars

Many of the country's top paddlers were in attendance, along with a number of celebrities and other sports stars. They included footballer Ryan Botha, television presenters Mark Bayly and Gerald de Kock, Sharks' rugby players Bismarck du Plessis and Andries Strauss, SAfm radio presenter Florence Letoaba, former Miss South Africa Megan Coleman and model Tracy McGregor.

Many of the celebs were teamed with top paddlers, including Dusi winners Michael Mbanjwa, Martin Dreyer, Ant Stott, Andrew Birkett and Jason Graham, in fun races to get an idea of what it takes to paddle on a dam.

In a major change, The Unlimited Dusi will be moving from a date in mid-January to February, with next year's event taking place from 17 to 19 February.

Chairman of the organising committee Cameron Mackenzie explained why: "Umgeni Water advised us that there is more water in the dams and river system in February and it is usually of better quality during that time."

Pope-Ellis medal

All finishers of the 2011 race will receive a specially minted Pope-Ellis medal. Not only was he a 15-time winner of the Dusi, he also achieved victories in three different decades, with his first victory coming in 1972 and his last in 1990.

Due to Pope-Ellis' legendary status and to the many paddlers' lives he touched, the organisers are expecting a big entry.

Known as the Dusi King, Pope-Ellis guided many of the Dusi's other leading lights to success, both in the Dusi and in other big races. He passed away in June after a an accident while farming.

Sponsorship reach

Chairman of The Unlimited Iain Buchan also emphasised that the sponsorship of the Dusi would extend way beyond that race itself. He explained: "As a company we took a view in the first quarter of the year to invest in sponsorships. The canoe marathon is a really good fit for us and we are able to introduce participants to our social responsibility programme, the unlimited child.

"the unlimited child focuses on the importance of stimulation of pre-school children. Without this stimulation their mental development is stunted for life. We work actively to make a difference within these communities by providing educational toys and caregiver training."

Buchan said The Unlimited has already established over 100 crèches, including educational toys and training for care-givers, in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, which is part of the Dusi route. Through the race's fund-raising programme, he said The Unlimited is aiming to build 50 more crèches each year.

'We can change the future'

"I believe if we shift the lives of our children we can change the future of our country. If pre-school education is not addressed, these kids will always have a disadvantage when they reach school going age," he said.

Buchan revealed that The Unlimited's sponsorship of the Dusi canoe marathon is for R10-million over the next three years. He also hinted that the company would like to make its sponsorship of the race a long-term one.