Sundays final round of the popular Weekend Post Ocean Racing Series was marred by a nasty incident on Sunday morning as over 300 swimmers from around the country participated in the last swim of Season 6 at Hobie Beach.
About 30 minutes into the event, a group of up to six swimmers deliberately entered the water without registering for the event and proceeded to swim directly into the race participants as the 3km swimmers were completing their 2nd lap and colliding into several participants. Attempts by the water safety team to avoid the collisions were unsuccessful after which the officials endured some vicious verbal abuse from the group who said they were entitled to swim where they please.
It is assumed that the group were all municipal lifeguards as they all entered and changed in the Hobie Beach lifesaving hut after their swim.
Of greater concern to the organisers is that one of the group was controversial Beach Manager, Fernando Cain, from whom the beach is hired for the event.
“It was unbelievable to see members of the public behaving in this way and disrupting a televised Metro event. To then hear that the Beach Manager was one of the swimmers and may have been involved in the verbal abuse which our water safety officials were subjected to blows my mind, what the hell was he thinking?” said a furious Mike Zoetmulder who is the organiser of the Series and the Metro’s leading campaigner in establishing the Metro as Africa’s water sport capital.
“A group of our participants got out the water furious at what had transpired, but our officials were left helpless as Mr Cain and his followers ignored all safety warnings and requests to leave the competition area immediately. It goes without saying that we will do all in our power to try and ensure such similar incidents don’t happen during Metro sports events as it not only compromises the safety of the participants but also that of officials.”
The Nelson Mandela Bay Ocean Racing Series, having just completed it’s 6th season, is one of the Metro’s most televised sporting events, generating exposure to the Metro valued in excess of R20 million per season. Close on 5,000 participants took part in Season 6 which took place between October last year and last weekend, regularly drawing crowds of spectators to the Metro’s beachfront.
Editors Notes: Seems like our officials are too puffed up on their own deluded illusion of self importance! But, a word of advice to Cain and CHUMS – the Ironman is coming up this weekend so why don’t you try that stunt during the swim event on Sunday as well and do an excellent job in EMBARRASSING the good citizens of Port Elizabeth on international television as well?
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