The 16th edition of the annual St Francis Sport Summer Series will kick off on 19 December with a new event on the calendar – the Seal Point Estates Trail Run & Walk between Cape St Francis and Oyster Bay – thanks to permissions granted by the relevant land owners – more about that later!
Organisers St Francis Sport, hosts and sponsors are looking forward to the usual hub of sporting activity over the festive season. The Series offers fitness enthusiasts 9 different sporting events to participate in till the 30th of December, when the Custom Construction MTB Challenge will finish off the year.
All series entries will go into a lucky draw with two prizes, one male and one female will win a spot on a Baviaans Cycle Tour OR Baviaans Camino hike – your choice!
Without the support of Port St Francis, the St Francis Riparian Committee, St Francis Links, St Francis Field, Mostertshoek, Rebels Rus, Thula Moya, and Eskom none of these events would have been possible – thank you for trusting us with your land, giving us permission to host the various events. Our sponsors are Custom Construction, Chas Everitt, Pam Golding Properties, Blue Abyss Breath, Seal Point Estates, Village Square Superspar, TCS and the Cape St Francis Resort – thank you for your continued support.
So without further ado, swimmers, runners, cyclists and paddlers, get those entries in on EntryNinja – the entry fee for the Series is available at R550, and the entry fee for individual events is R120 for adults and u/18’s and R100 for u/14’s. For individual events, just click on the event name below to enter, or search St Francis Sport on Entry Ninja and you will see them all. Series entries close on the 18th December 2022 at 22h00 and individual entries 90 minutes before the start of the event.
Team events – series entrants have access to team events, however make sure all members are individually entered in order to get a race number.
There will be short prize giving ceremonies after each event (once all participants are in and the results worked out), and full results will be announced on social media. The top three male and female winners in each age category (open, under 18 and under 14) will receive certificates.
Race numbers can be collected one hour before the race from the registration table and race briefing is 15 minutes before the start. NO NUMBER, NO PARTICIPATION
The 2022 St Francis Sport Summer Series program is:
Seal Point Estates Trail Run & Walk
Date: Monday 19 December 2022
Time: 08h00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distance: 21km
Venue: Sunset Rock Car Park, Cape St Francis.
CSF Resort Road Run & Walk
Date: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 5km or 10km
Venue: Cape St Francis Resort, Da Gama Road, Cape St Francis
Chas Everitt Swim & Run Duathlon
Date: Wednesday 21 December 2022
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 500m swim & 3km run or 1km swim and 6km run – teams or individuals
Venue: The Quays, Sea Glades Drive, St Francis Bay
Village Square Superspar Extreme Duathlon (Trail Run & MTB)
Date: Thursday 22 December 2022
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 5km run & 15km MTB or 10km run & 30km MTB – teams or individuals
Venue: St Francis Field (access through gate at Port St Francis side only).
TCS Trail Run (walkers welcome in short distances)
Friday 23 December 2022
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distance: 5km, 14km, 20km
Venue: Dune Ridge Country House Entrance, Tarragona Ave, SFB
Blue Abyss Breathe Canal Swim
Date: Tuesday 27 December 2022
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: bank2bank (under 10’s), 500m, 1km, 2km, 3km (Open only)
Venue: The Quays, Sea Glades Drive, St Francis Bay.
Endless Summer Open Water Swim
Date: Wednesday 28 December 2022 (Reserve days 29, 30, 31 December)
Time: 16:00 (race briefing 15h30)
Distance: 2,3km Start at Port St Francis, finish at Granny’s Pool, St Francis Bay
Venue: Port St Francis, Triton Ave (start), Granny’s Pool, Harbour Road (finish), St Francis
Bay.
Pam Golding Properties Quadrathlon
Date: Thursday 29 December 2022
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 12km cycle, 500m swim, 3km run, 3km paddle – teams or individuals
Venue: The Quays, Sea Glades Drive, St Francis Bay.
Custom Construction MTB Challenge
Date: Friday 30 December 2022
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distance: 15km or 30km
Venue: Eskom Conservation Reserve/Dune Ridge Country House, St Francis Bay.
As said above, without the trust of our sponsors and land owners, none of these events would have been possible. We are extemely grateful that the Rebelsrus Private Nature Reserve, a Protected Area of approximately 400ha, currently recognized as a Nature Reserve in terms of the NEM: Protected Areas Act (No. 57 of 2003), gave us permission to open their land for one day in December so all runners and walkers can enjoy this pristine coastline.
The Nature Reserve contains one of the best-preserved examples of a ‘Headland Bypass Dune-field Ecosystem’, which is a very dynamic ecological system with a diverse range of habitat types. It falls within the Cape Floral Region and is located within the distribution range of a number of threatened, rare, and endemic species. The reserve is recognized as a ‘Critical Biodiversity Area’ in both the Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan and the Garden Route Initiative Biodiversity Sector Plan. Archaeologically, its dune-fields contain a rich heritage of ancient Khoisan relics such as shell middens, stone-age artefacts and locally extinct animal remains that add tremendously to the overall conservation value of the area.
Although approximately 40% of the reserve land surface area is owned by Eskom, reserve management is supported by a consortium of private landowners through a formally constituted landowners association. Rebelsrus is at the core of most of the environmental protection efforts in the region. Management policies of the association secure and protect both the marine and terrestrial environments from exploitation at close to pristine levels. Access is therefore controlled.
For more information, whatsapp Esti Stewart on 073 825 0835. Programs will be available in printed format from Coimbra Cycles in the Village Centre or St Francis Tourism inside the Kouga Municipal Building, Assissi Drive.
