Seventeen-year-old Durban North paddler, Saskia Hockly proves that she’s an ace in the water; scooping the KZN youth athlete of the year award at the KZN sport awards recently, all while juggling her matric examinations.
“I was shocked actually to even be nominated but at the same time it was a heady feeling, I was buzzing! I was so happy to receive this recognition and, to share it with another junior athlete like Matthew Sates, who is an Olympian, is incredibly special,” gushed the Danville student, when asked about her incredible achievement. According to Hockly, it all started when her parents, both voracious paddlers themselves, introduced her to the sport some years ago. “Well, my mum and dad are both paddlers and my birthday always fell over the Dusi weekend, so I spent many years in the Valley eating melted birthday cake, haha. But more seriously, in 2018 my dad told me about a cool little surf ski series, the Wall and Back, and that he would like to take me in the double for one of the 8km races. I jumped in behind him and loved it, I told him I wanted to do the whole series with him. “I then started training more in my lifesaving ski and to improve my technique. My ROX lifesaving coach, Matt Bouman, suggested I join a training squad. When one of my training mates, Jason Ekstrand, offered to race the Cape Point challenge with him in a double in 2019 I had a fantastic experience. I was sold.” Aside from national events and races, Hockly’s prowess in the water saw her make it to the ICF World Ocean Racing Championships in Lanzarote, which is part of the Canary Islands, Spain in July where she won the Junior Ladies world title as well as coming 4th in the senior women category.
Recently, she jetted off to Romania with the South African National team to race in the in the ICF World Marathon Championships. There she competed in the 20km junior category for the single Kayak (K1) coming third and two days later raced 27km in the K2 senior women’s race with fellow paddler Jenna Nisbet, earning another bronze medal. “From early on when Saskia first tasted success about two and a bit years ago, she put in what she had to in order to win. She would wake up at 4.30am without complaining day in day out for her training sets. During lockdown there was no rest either, canoeing was allowed back earlier than any other discipline and before that happened she trained privately focusing on running, gym and paddling on the ergo,” explained Hockley’s mum, Antje Hockly.
Antje describes how she burst with pride at her daughter’s success at the Worlds Ocean Racing and later this year in Romania for World Canoe Marathon, stating that she had to pinch herself upon seeing Hockly on those podiums. She also describes the incredible and heart-warming support that Hockly and her younger sister, Valma Jean, received from the paddling community, adding that paddlers are an exceptionally great bunch. “From when they started out paddling their first surf ski races, the likes of Dave and Billy Harker, Anton Fouche and Mark Lewin would make a point of recognising them even for just finishing a race. Mark was the first to give Saskia a ski to use, which later on Valma Jean also competed in initially. The community rallied together for our fundraisers to make the overseas trips possible, as they are all completely self-funded.” Hockly states that in the near future, not only would she like to compete in more national and international events, but possibly even the Paris Olympics in 2024.
