A fun and exciting new event on the Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay calendar is expected to draw hundreds of people to the beachfront on Wednesday morning. The City Lodge Hotels Group 3 Beaches Challenge will be taking place from Pollok Beach at 9:00 am on Wednesday morning and will see open water swimmers, surf lifesavers, paddlers and runners all competing against each other along the entire city beachfront.
“With one of the best beachfront facilities in the world, we’re excited that the City Lodge Group has supported us in creating an exciting event which takes advantage of all of our city beaches. The inuagral 3 beaches challenge on Wednesday morning will see teams and individuals taking part in a 4-stage race stretching between Pollok Beach and Kings Beach.” said event organiser Mike Zoetmulder of Zports. “There are 3 different categories, one for the swimmers another for the surf lifesavers and also one for paddlers. The event sees participants race from Pollok Beach to Hobie Beach, Hobie Beach to Humewood Beach, and then Humewood Beach to Kings Beach before tackling the run leg back to Pollok Beach.”
The lifesaving ironman category of the event will see the surf lifesavers paddling on their surf ski from Pollok to Hobie, then swimming to Humewood before paddling the Malibu Board to Kings Beach and running back to Pollok Beach. Favourite for this discipline will be former SA triathlete and top Summerstrand Surf Lifesaver, Andrew Skowno.
The swimming category of the event will include individuals, teams of 2 and teams of 4 participants. A number of top triathlete’s have entered in the individual category which will see them covering 3.2km in the water before tackling the 3km run back to Pollok Beach. The individual category of this event is also being recognised as a qualifier for Easter Saturday’s Bell Buoy Swim. The teams category is wide open with some interesting combinations being put together, the vast majority of these are social swimmers wanting to enjoy the event.
Prize money of over R5,000 cash will be up for grabs, thanks to associate sponsors Quantum Investements. Great vantage points of the event will be available along the entire beachfront with the start and finish taking place at Pollok Beach.
The event starts and finishes at Pollok Beach and consists of 4 stages along the 3 major sections of the city beachfront.
- Stage 1 – 1.6km from Pollok Beach to Hobie Beach
- Stage 2 – 0.8km from Hobie Beach to Humewood Beach
- Stage 3 – 1.1km from Humewood Beach to Kings Beach
- Stage 4 – Run 3km from Kings Beach to Pollok Beach
At each point, participants will leave the water and either tag their team-mate or run through the transition area to continue.
The following categories are catered for:
- Swimming: Quad Team (3 swimmers & a runner), Duo Team (1 swimmer & a runner) or Individual
- Paddling (Surf ski, Stand up paddler or Malibu Board): Quad Team (3 paddlers & a runner), Duo Team (1 paddler & a runner) or Individual
- Lifesaving Ironman: Individual (Surf Ski, Swim, Malibu, Run) or Team (one member per discipline).
Organisers expect the first team to be home in a fast 45 minutes for all four legs – enough time to have a lazy holiday breakfast and be down at Pollock Beach by 9:45 am to catch the first of the finishers.
Alan Straton
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