Nelson Mandela Bay hosted the final of the Friday Night Lights Athletics (FNL) Series on Friday 4 December 2015. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University stadium saw athletes from around the country test their stamina, speed and strength against one another. The track was set alight as the 100m boys broke times of less than 11 seconds whilst field athletes excelled and took advantage of the fair weather conditions of the day.
The Friday Night Lights Athletics Series comprises of 5 track and field competitions held in Nelson Mandela Bay over the period of September to December. Points are accumulated during the series over the five legs of FNL to determine the top three places and medal winners for each event and age group. The points for the series will double in the final; 1st – 12 points; 2nd – 8 points; 3rd – 4 points and 2 points for the rest of the places. The top 3 athletes after the final event will be awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively!
Ms Jessi Heatley, Director and Head Biokineticist of TJ Athlete Management, shares “We realised the need for additional platforms for athletes to challenge themselves and harness their skills and had to think of an innovative way to implement this and that is when my partner and I decided on FNL”
Ms Heatley’s partner of TJ Athlete Management who is also a Director and Head Coach, Mr Thobela Thoba confirmed, “The event is owned by TJ Athlete Management and is modelled against the IAAF Diamond League Series. The initiative was taken to create excitement around track and field athletics by creating a series of 3-hour meetings. Friday nights were chosen to encourage family participation as a whole.”
The events have proved to be popular and a great success thus far attracting athletes from East London, Humansdorp, Jeffrey’s Bay, Jansenville, Cradock, Graaff Reinette, Queenstown, Middleburg, Aliwal North and Umthatha. The final leg on the 4 December hosted athletes from the Western Cape and KZN.
The event ended with top athletes being awarded trophies as follows:
(Best U/17 Field Female Athlete), D Swanepoel (Best U/19 Male Track Athlete), G Ellis (Best Senior Male Field Athlete), H Du Plessis (Best U/17 Male Field Athlete), L Holmes (Best U/17 Track Athlete, M Paddock (Best U/15 and Best Overall Male Track Athlete).
M Cumming (Best U/19 Female Field Athlete), L Majerman (Best Senior Male Track Athlete), I Senekal (Best Senior and Best Overall Field Athlete), C Seddon (Best U/19 and Best Overall Track Athlete), E Du Plessis (Best U/17 Female Track Athlete, A Assam (Best Senior Female Track Athlete), K Kapp (Best U/15 Female Field Athlete), S Jansen (Best U/19 Male Field Athlete), I Nortjé (Best U/15 Male Field Athlete),
For the 2015 Friday Night Lights Athletics Series the event was managed by TJ Athlete Management with the support and sponsorship of Eastern Province Athletics, Jumbo Clothing, NMMB Legacy Project as well as Madibaz Sport culminating in a great success.
TJ Athlete Management confirmed that they are looking forward to continuing this initiative in 2016 and welcoming new sponsors, athletes and stakeholders to the FNL family.
Alan Straton
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