NEWS
ELBA Fights Vandalism
It has been a rough year with vandalism and damage at the ELBA rowing facility and committee members have done wonders to fix up the facility to get ready for the Regatta following the theft of all water and electricity infrastructure to the venue .
The vandalism and theft affected most Transnet tenants on the West Bank where security infrastructure was compromised after continuous theft of electricity cables and related infrastructure . Special thanks to Ryan Ewing from Essential Dimensions Architects who went out of his way to arrange the restoration of municipal infrastructure and service to the facility . We also thank parents who donated palisade fencing to improve security and the assistance of Transnet to install it .
The Selborne , Leander and Clarendon Clubs have been investigating the use of the Nahoon Dam as an alternative training venue . Whilst additional training facilities are being developed at the dam , there are no prospects of changing the venue of the Buffalo Regatta .
The school clubs have expressed their support of the ELBA facility at the Buffalo River and the University of Fort Hare recently signed a 3-year lease significantly pushing up the number of rowers using the Buffalo River as a training venue . We believe that many regattas will still be held at the present facility which is rich in history .
The ELBA committee has done considerable work with BCMM and Transnet to improve safety conditions on the Buffalo River and ongoing water testing has been done
since November 2023 . A task team has been inspecting services infrastructure in proximity to the river to identify and address any maintenance-related concerns that may compromise water quality - we still urge all rowers to use care and not to drink water from taps at the ELBA facility .
Collaboration is key in these challenging times to sustain the venue that hosts the prestigious Buffalo Regatta event , we look forward to your ongoing support .
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