WCDBA Sweeps (Helms/Steerpersons)

IDBF Race officials

IDBF Accredited Helms Pamela Newby - 1996 (Mujaji) Zandra Dixon - 2009 Jonathan Lodge - accredited 1996, (Paddlesnappers) Kristi Mackintosh - accredited 2004, now in Japan WCDBA Race Helm - Competent sweeps with race experience at local National / International level Abdul Edross - 2007 (Monte) Craig Barrett - 2004 (Paddlesnappers) Craig Seymore - 2004 (Paddlesnappers) Christoph von Kalckreuth - 2004 (Mujaji) Fouche Conradie - 2004 (Dragon Pursuit) Greg Pearce - 2004 (Mujaji) Ismail Smit - 2008 (Drachen Hari-Yoshi) Marwaan Charles - 2009 (Warriors) Martin Poole - 2006 (Paddlesnappers) Stephan Michaelis - 2005(DSK) Solvej Strandvik - 2008 (Belles) Wajdi Edross - 2009(Monte) Wendy Scurr - 2008 (Belles) Richard Bennett accredited 2003, now in UK Jasmin Kriek accredited 2006, now in UK Niko Meures accredited 2007, now in Germany Shane Stone accredited 2004, now in Australia Thor Harley accredited 2006, now in UK Club Helms Aaseef Adams - 2008 (Monte) Aurelian Brandt - 2009 (DSK) Jeremy Botha - 2006 (Paddlesnappers) Nadeem Charles - 2009(Monte) Nigel Wilson - 2009 (Belles) Paula Kingham - 2008 (Mujaji) Dominik Buss - 2008 (Dragon Pursuit) Jerome Meyer - 2004 (Mujaji) Madre Conradie - 2007 (Dragon Pursuit)

Comments arising from practical assessments General helming skills Always check the sweep arm and platform as well as the tie-down of the oar. (When there is a drummer get them to check the drum tie-down as well as the drum-seat. Use backpaddling on the opposite side of drawstrokes to prevent boat moving forward. Do not rely on paddlers stopping the boat when coming in to moor up. With a hard right turn under power, don't wait until past the turn before turning or you come in too wide and end up entering on the left. A lost it when backpaddling because C (helming for a club practice) got in his way. Although C shouldn't have done this, A should have overidden instructions and called a stop (the examiner was assessing from the drum seat and couldn't see the other boat). Regardless of what anyone else has said, The Sweep Is The Boss Show consideration to other boats/clubs - don't do a sprint in the middle of someone else's assessment/ time trial or come up close behind when they are doing a reversing exercise. Try and anticipate what they are going to do and keep clear. A sweep doesn't power the boat, so wherever you need help from paddlers, ask for it. Don't carry out an exercise immediately you are told to (by anyone, including the coach) if you are not happy with your boat's position. You are the one that will get the blame if anything goes wrong! Remember the sweep is the one giving the commands. The sweep overules the coach, the captain (& the sweep examiner) as the sweep is the one responsible for the boat and crews safety. Twist the sweep oar when cornering, this gives a sensitive, more stable response. In a side wind, the stern tends to get blown away; loading heavy paddlers at the back helps stop this. Always helm as though it is an assessment! Always bring your own whistle (and head-torch in winter), even if you aren't expecting to sweep. Encourage during racing! Yelling that you are catching up / overtaking / getting caught is a great incentive when paddlers are tiring Call commands loudy and clearly. The people in front are 11m away, and can't hear you if it is windy or people behind them are chattering. Don't call too many instructions when they are paddling - they won't hear you properly, so they won't hear a command either. If you want to instruct, stop the boat and get them to look at you (or try to) so you can see they are listening. When aligning, use the wind by turning into it and use it to take the nose round. eg, reversing into the lock in a SouthEaster, approach from right (alongside the SS Somerset) and turn left into the S-Easter. When racing, do not endanger paddlers for the sake of winning. Always keep at least 2m between your paddlers' paddles and the other team's paddles. It was interesting that nobody used the paddlers to help them turn corners sharply. Also, when told to move the boat yourself, you could have used a paddle to get over the initial inertia of a stationary boat. Helming Corporates When briefing novices ask if any = asthmatic and if so, do they have their pump? With a rowdy crew, psychology helps. Put yourself in a dominant position by pairing them off and seating them - preferably in the boat, otherwise on the jetty. They are now confined, Mr Bigdeal is no longer in centre stage, and you are standing over them so they are more likely to listen to you than him. Tell them that if they mess about, the boat WILL capsise. This will make the rest of the boat tell Mr Bigdeal to behave! Avoid the temptation to throw a paddle at him … ! If they are totally unruly, walk away and tell their captain you'll come back when they are ready to listen. Also warn them that you are not going over scheduled practice time, so the more they mess about, the less time they have in the boat. If you have a group of paddlers who make very little effort and keep stopping, move them all together to the back ... and then do back-half/front-half excercises ! With regards to safety in the V&A Whistle blows were too short and not necessarily in correct place. Remember you are doing it as a warning to other boats, especially ones you can't see or who can't see you ! One blow = proceeding to starboard !! Should not blow once when cutting left across the cut! One blast means you are proceeding though it on the right. Look for boats coming through the cut before setting off from the corner! Don't reverse side-on into cut. Hug the wall on your starboard side, even if it means using paddlers to fend off. Ask the stroke pair for the ok before crossing any cut. If you see a large black hull fishing boat coming in, you'd expect it to go to the bottom (I&J) end of South Arm - however, it could surprise you by being on its way to the dry dock. Be observant and watch which boats moor where. Small blue or green fishing boats are either on East Quay (the BoE wall) in the Albert Basin, or out on the Collier Jetty (the wall to the East of the Robben Island ferry's jetty) You need to be aware at all time of what is going on around you. Ask yourself things like "That ships engines are running -is it about to depart, or just charging its batteries?" (If about to depart there will be people standing at mooring lines ashore or on the ship ready to cast off). Constantly observe activities on the quayside, on jetties and gang-planks, bridges, lights etc and ask for example "Why is that guy walking down a gang-plank to nothing" ... (the boat that moors there will be about to come in!) A boat travelling in the traffic flow has right of way, If another dragon boat is doing a 500 from the lock to the white bridge (or vica versa) they are with the flow. Another dragon boat coming out of the synchrolift area should give way. If in any doubt, be polite, give way. Remember we are smaller and far more tender (tippy) than anything else on the water - so never expect anyone else to get out of our way! Finally, remember that it is important that the Waterfront see us as an asset - and not as a nuisance! Take Care.

South African IDBF Race Officials Level 1: Greg Pearce (1999), Christoph von Kalckreuth (2003) Zandra Dixon (2009), Abdul Edross (2009), Wadji Edross (2009), Martin Poole (2009) Level 2: Pam Newby (Level 1:1999, Level 2:2003)