Oscar Chalupsky (born 1 March 1963) is a South African paddler. He was South Africa's team captain at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona where he competed in K-4 1000 m event, reaching the semi-finals. [1] He is also a 12-time World Surfski Champion - his latest win (2012) coming at the age of 49, 29 years after his first win. [2]
He attended Westville Boys' High School in Durban, South Africa. In 1979 he became the youngest ever South African to represent his country in life-saving. [3] In his final year at school, 1980, he represented Natal at Craven Week Rugby, [4] received South African colours for water polo and life-saving, [3] and became the first person to win both the junior and senior men's Iron Man titles at the South African Surf Lifesaving Championships. [5]
He co-founded Epic Kayaks with Greg Barton and was vice president until 2015 when he joined Nelo Kayaks as CEO of the Surfski division. He is currently based in Portugal.
He remains extremely active in the sport of surfski worldwide and is one of the sport's most prominent athletes and advocates, attending events and hosting coaching clinics.
Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, including New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Surf lifesavers in Australia are colloquially known as "Clubbies".
East London is a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa, in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. As of 2011, East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area.
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated with the ICF after seven national federations were added at the 2008 ICF Congress in Rome.
Richards Bay is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on a 30 square kilometre lagoon of the Mhlatuze River, which makes it one of the country's largest harbours. Richards Bay also has the deepest natural harbour on the African continent.
A surf ski is a type of kayak in the kayaking family of paddling craft. It is generally the longest of all kayaks and is a performance oriented kayak designed for speed on open water, most commonly the ocean, although it is well suited to all bodies of water and recreational paddling.
The sport of Ironman was developed in 1964 in Australia by Valentine Trainor to combine the four main disciplines of surf lifesaving into a single race; swimming, board paddling, ski paddling and running. The sport should not be confused with Ironman triathlon. It is typically run as a single event as a part of a surf life saving carnival, although it can be run as a sport in its own right. Internationally it is sometimes called Oceanman.
Trevor Ronald Hendy, AM is a former Australian professional surf lifesaver.
Clint David Robinson, OAM ,born 27 July 1972, is an Australian sprint kayaker and surf lifesaver. At the Summer Olympics he has won a total of three medals: a gold medal in the K-1 1000 meters at the 1992 Olympics, a silver medal in the K-2 500 meters at the 2004 Olympics, and a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 meters at the 1996 Olympics.
Dennis Allan Green was an Australian sprint canoeist, surf lifesaver, coach and sporting administrator who competed from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. He was the first Australian to compete in five Summer Olympics, and he won a bronze medal in the K-2 10000 m event at Melbourne in 1956. He also won 57 Gold Medals at the World Masters Games and a further 75 at national level.
The ILS World Life Saving Championships are the world championships for lifesaving sport events. They are sanctioned by the International Life Saving Federation (ILS), conducted every 2 years, and formerly marketed and known as the ‘Rescue’ series, for example – Rescue 2008.
The uMkhomazi River is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Jo Brigden-Jones is an Australian kayaker. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in sprint kayaking.
Teneale Hatton is a New Zealand flatwater canoeist.
Murray Scott Stewart is an Australian kayaker. Stewart qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and teamed up with Riley Fitzsimmons, Lachlan Tame and Jordan Wood in the Men's K-4 500m sprint. The team did well in the heats clocking 1:22.662, came second in the semi-final, but couldn't repeat their best time coming in 6th in the final behind the eventual winner, Germany,
Lachlan Tame is an Australian canoe sprinter. Tame teamed up with Jordan Wood, Murray Stewart and Riley Fitzsimmons in the men's K-4 500m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The team came second in their heat with a time of 1.22:662. In their semi-final they rowed quite a bit slower but still managed to come second and qualify for the final. They couldn't keep up their good form and came sixth in the final, nearly 3 seconds behind the eventual winner, Germany.
New Zealand is a popular surfing destination, with a long history of the sport and a varied coastline with locations suitable for all types of surfing. The West coast is notably consistent, with big swells and high winds, whereas the east coast is dominated by cyclone season swells; the North island is notably warmer than the South, but less consistent; mean temperatures range from 7 °C to 20 °C, depending on location and time of year. Winter is more consistent than Summer, with a southeasterly swell. The climate of New Zealand is varied, so different surf conditions are encountered across the islands.
Lifesaving South Africa (LSA) is a South African organisation that promotes water safety and provides surf rescue services. LSA is a founding member organisation of the International Life Saving Federation, and a member of Royal Life Saving Society. It is recognised by DSAC and SASCOC.
Dawid John Steyn Mocke is a South African surf ski athlete, entrepreneur and sports personality. During his athletic career he represented South Africa internationally and has won multiple World and South African surf ski and kayaking titles.
Jaime Roberts is an Australian canoeist. She qualified to represent Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Her team consisting of Jo Brigden-Jones, Catherine McArthur, and Shannon Reynolds made the women's K-4 final but failed to win a medal, coming 7th with a time of 1:39.797 over two seconds slower than their best time in the heats.
Bernadette Wallace is an Australian canoeist. She qualified to represent Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She competed in the Women's C-1 200 metres and with Josephine Bulmer in the Women's C-2 500 metres. They were unable to progress past the quarterfinals of the women’s C-1 200m, while they finished 13th as a pair in the C-2 500m.