Battle of the Giants

Cyle Williams and Jolida Kalomo
On the morning of 24 June, 19 teams of 10 each, participated in The Dolphin Schools’ annual Canoe Combat and Meat Festival. The Canoe Combat is TDS’ biggest and most popular fundraiser, luring hundreds of locals to the food, fun and games, as well as competitors from different walks of life.
Although being a big part of the day, the competition happening in the water was not the only attraction. There were many stalls to cater for all ages, from colourful face painting and game stalls for the youth, to the chance of landing great prizes, some of which were made by The Dolphin Schools’ students themselves.
The day was filled with good sportsmanship and the laughter in the air was ecstatic. Not even the misty, gloomy weather at the beginning of the day could deter festival goers and canoe combatants whose warm smiles were contagious. If the smiles weren’t enough to warm you up, then the variety of classic foods, such as corndogs and toasties, as well as hot beverages surely would. In line with the festival’s name, a wide variety of meats were sold on the day. Everything from steaks, game, beef, mutton, biltong and more was available in various forms to purchase. The game meat was provided by The Dolphin Schools’ very own Sean Kouwenhoven and Rassie Esterhuizen Jnr. with their fathers JP Kouwenhoven and Rassie Esterhuizen Snr.
All the canoe combat teams arrived at 7 a.m. sharp ready to compete and win, dressed in customised T-shirts and their respective team colours. The teams were very supportive of each other. The cheers of the crowd and participants were so loud that it could be heard from the games hall and food tent. Although all teams portrayed great team spirit, it was EBHN (Elgin Brown & Hamer, Namibia) whose fantastic team spirit landed them the spirit cup once again.
The Suicide Squad was awarded the best dressed team of the day, with them channelling their inner Harley Quinns and Jokers from the 2016 blockbuster movie, Suicide Squad.
The fastest paddlers and overall top 4 teams were Bank Windhoek in 4th place; Vasbyters Namib Desert 4x4 Club in 3rd place; Seawork-Seawork Food Professor (PTY) Ltd. in 2nd place; and the overall winners of the day, and also returning champions, were the Wave Blazers- Fox Fishing.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day and left with full bellies and exhausted smiles.