New rules for the Dusi next year

With a significant amount of portaging, elite paddlers have been tempted to race in under-weight kayaks and some have been suspected of flouting the weight ruling to gain an advantage when carrying their craft on the tactically important long runs.

The Dusi organising committee has published new rules for the 2014 edition of the famous race clearly aimed at plugging loopholes in the kayak weight regulations.

In previous editions of the race, elite seeded paddlers had to have their craft weighed at the pre-race registration to ensure the craft complied with the minimum weight restriction for 12 kilograms for a single kayak and 18 kilograms for a double.

Underweight craft presented at the weigh-in were often fitted with supplementary metal weights to bring their kayaks up to the minimum weight, which some paddlers are suspected of removing before or during the race to make their craft lighter and easier to carry.

This year's rule changes shift the onus to the paddlers to ensuring that their kayak is the correct weight throughout the race, with officials weighing the top five kayaks in the men's and women's classes, plus the top three juniors boats and other randomly selected boats at the end of each days racing to ensure full compliance.

The new rules also stamp out the use of any loose weights that are needed to bring craft up to the required weight, as these can be too easily removed and added just before the daily weigh-in.

Modern kayak manufacturing technology, using lightweight materials like Kevlar and Carbon, together with vacuum moulding techniques, allow for strong and rigid kayaks to be built at weights substantially lighter than the minimum weights for the Dusi.

The race ruling however is based in making the race as safe and as fair as possible, allowing all paddlers to compete on a level playing field.

"The Dusi is raced over three days of tough river conditions, and light boats represent a serious safety risk as they don't stand up to battering from rocks on the river, and increase the risk of entrapment in the kayak if it gets pinned and broken against rocks," said race committee head Brett Austen-Smith.

"Just as importantly, the race should not be decided by the crew that has the resources to buy a boat that is lighter and therefore offers a clear advantage," Austen-Smith added.

"There is a huge amount of prestige attached to winning the Dusi, not to mention the substantial prize-money, so it is essential that any athlete aspiring to win this race, does so without getting any unfair advantage," he said.

"The athletes that we call up to the top step of the podium must have won their race on their ability, fitness, strength and knowledge of the course, and not on an advantage that might not be within the reach of other competitors who can't afford hi-tech craft," stated Austen-Smith.

With the 2014 Dusi being a K2 championship year, the enforcement of this new rule will be critical, as there is more opportunity for paddlers to exploit weigh savings in a K2 than in a K1 kayak.

Multiple Dusi winner, Martin Dreyer, has given the new rules his full support, saying they will plug loopholes in the old system.

"The old weigh-in at registration was a bit of a joke," said Dreyer. "If a paddler was to get their boat weighed with a really heavy seat, and then swop that for a super light seat for the race, he had gained an unfair advantage. Simply having a wet boat and water in your pump will add half a kilogram, so the officials will have to use their discretion. The boat weight rule has been there for ages and we are all used to it, so we must just enforce it so that it isn't exploited and that no-one compromises their safety by racing in a boat that is too light."

"This applies just as much to the Fish and Chips paddlers, many of whom can afford a really light Kevlar boat that will be a safety risk on the river," Dreyer added

"For me the weight rules was never an issue because I made sure my boat was strong enough to take the beating that gets dished out on the Dusi," said Dreyer.

(File Photo:Gallo Images)

- Gameplan Media

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @ECRSportswave