Entries are open for the 2023 Summer Series!
The 17th annual Summer Series will see a few venue and route changes, so make sure you check the info and arrive at the right place on the right day! St Francis Sport and the sponsors of the Summer Series are looking forward to the usual friendly rivalry and healthy competition between family and friends!
If you enter for the series, not only will you save some money, but you also stand a chance to win a spot on a top notch hiking or cycling holiday. 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!
The series kicks off on Monday 18 December with the Seal Point Estates Trail Run & Walk from Cape St Francis to Oyster Bay. This 21km distance is only available to the Open category and walkers are welcome provided they get to the Thysbaai Beach before 10h30. No dogs are allowed, and entries are limited to 100 only.
All canal events will start and finish at The Cove in Shore Road, which results in some distance and discipline changes. The Pam Golding Properties Quadrathlon will not have a cycle leg anymore, in order to ensure a safer event, and it will be replaced by a 1km SUP/Malibu Board (in fact, any type of board but NO flippers will be allowed). The order of the disciplines are swimming, SUPing, running and paddling.
Series entries cost R600, and the rate for individual events are R130 for adults and u/18’s and R100 for u/14’s. Just click on each event to enter, or search Summer Series on Entry Ninja and you will see them all. Series entries closes on the 17th of December 2023 at 22h00 and individual entries 90 minutes before the start of the event, so please bring your POP to the event.
For team events, each team member must be 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
St Francis Sport Summer Series 2023
Seal Point Estates Trail Run & Walk (limited entries, no dogs allowed)
Date: Monday 18 December 2023
Time: 08h00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distance: 21km
Venue: Sunset Rock Car Park, Cape St Francis, finish Oyster Bay Beach Lodge. Drinks will be for sale at the Lodge, and you will have to organise your own transport. Please note that the only age category is Open.
Date: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 5km or 10km
Venue: Cape St Francis Resort, Da Gama Road, Cape St Francis
The River Club Swim & Run Duathlon
Date: Wednesday 20 December 2023
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 500m swim & 5km run or 1km swim and 8km run – teams or individuals
Venue: The Cove, Shore Road, St Francis Bay
Village Square Superspar Trail Run & MTB Duathlon – new venue, new route!
Date: Thursday 21 December 2023
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 5km run & 15km MTB or 10km run & 30km MTB – teams or individuals
Venue: Dune Ridge Country House Entrance, Tarragona Ave, St Francis Bay
TCS Trail Run (walkers welcome in short distances, no dogs)
Friday 22 December 2023
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distance: 5km, 14km, 20km
Venue: Dune Ridge Country House Entrance, Tarragona Ave, St Francis Bay
Date: Wednesday 27 December 2023
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: bank2bank (under 10’s), 500m, 1km, 2km, 3km (Open only)
Venue: The Cove, Shore Road, St Francis Bay
Just Property Lifestyle Open Water Swim
Date: Thursday 28 December 2023 (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.
Please whatsapp Esti Stewart on 073 825 0835 to add you to the whatsapp group for safety and other arrangements.
Age category: Open only
Pam Golding Properties Quadrathlon
Date: Friday 29 December 2023
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distances: 500m swim, 1km SUP/Malibu/Paddle/Surf Board, 5km run, 3km paddle – teams or individuals
Venue: The Cove, Shore Road, St Francis Bay
Custom Construction MTB/E-Bike Challenge
Date: Saturday 30 December 2023
Time: 08:00 (race briefing 07h45)
Distance: 15km or 30km
Venue: Dune Ridge Country House Entrance, Tarragona Ave, St Francis Bay.
Any further questions, please contact: Esti Stewart 073 825 0835
We thank Port St Francis, the St Francis Riparian Committee, St Francis Links, Mostertshoek, St Francis Field, Rebels Rus, Thula Moya, and Eskom, as none of these events would have been possible without you trusting us with your land, and giving us permission to host the various events.
Our sponsors are Custom Construction, The River Club, Pam Golding Properties, Blue Abyss Breath, Seal Point Estates, Village Square Superspar, TCS, Just Property Lifestyle and the Cape St Francis Resort – thank you for your continued support.
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.
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.