Words & Photo: Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival
Now in its fifth year, entries to the Big 5 Sport Challenge, taking place 5 to 13 July 2014, officially opened 17 February. Fast becoming one of South Africa’s top multi-sport events, the organizers at Magnetic South say this year they are preparing for the biggest and best year yet.
Christine Collins, Magnetic South Director explains, “Following the 2013 challenge, we conducted a post-event survey and received some great feedback on how the competitors would like to see the Big Five Sport Challenge evolve. As a result we have a number of improvements in the cards for 2014 and we’re all really excited to see this event start to form its own identity, and deliver what competitors really want in a multi-sport event. For example, this year competitors will receive a high quality Big5 Sports Challenge branded buff, a finisher’s shirt, and a finisher’s a medal – which speaks volumes about the enormous difficulty of the challenge and the prestige that comes with crossing that final finish line.”
Ms. Collins continues, “In the evening of each race day Big 5 participants will also be invited to attend the Big 5 Yellow Jersey Ceremony, where for the first time Yellow Jerseys will be handed over to the leading athletes. After the last of the 5 events, on Saturday July 13, the Big 5 and Big 5 LITE events will culminate in another new addition, a not-to-be-missed award Ceremony where podium finishers, and all other finishers, will be honored and receive their hard earned Race Medals. With prize money totalling R35 000, the top three men and women will have even more to smile about.”
“And even bigger news for 2014 is of course the launch of the inaugural Big 5 LITE, which to opens up the playing field to more multi-sport athletes who want to compete at a (slightly) less grueling level. Competitors to the Big 5 LITE will also have access to the daily Big 5 Scoring System rankings which has been a mainstay of the competition. All of these additions meant an increase in the cost of registration, but we hope to continue to grow the event while delivering it at world-class standards.”
The cost to register for the Big 5 Sport Challenge is R2200 and the cost for the Big 5 LITE is R2000, including registration for 5 events. As in previous years, Big 5 participants have a separate registration process, eliminating the need to register for individual events. Entries for the Big 5 Sport Challenge are handled by Entrytickets.
To register for the Big5 Sport Challenge, visit: http://www.entrytickets.co.za/eventview/big5challenge
To register for the Big5 Sport LITE, visit: http://www.entrytickets.co.za/eventview/big5lite
For more information, visit www.oysterfestival.co.za, email or phone 044 382 2932.
