Adventure race fun lights up Yellow Sands
Adventure racing action was in full flow over the past weekend at Yellow Sands as the ever popular annual Lilyfontein Adventure race was battled out on Saturday.
This year saw 132 teams in 10 different divisions with over 492 participants and six race routes taking on the challenging, yet enjoyable journey, featuring over 50 marshalling points with hundreds of volunteers.
“The logistics behind putting an event like this together is mammoth,” said Lilyfontein marketing manager Lisa van Wyk.
“We would like to thank our Lilyfontein family, staff, teachers, learners, volunteers, participants and the greater East Coast community for supporting Lilyfontein School throughout the years.
“Thank you to Margaret Mitchell, event director and her Adventure Department for all the energy required to put this event together.
“The routes were so adventurous this year, and we saw teams sliding, pushing and swimming at various points throughout the race.
“There were also lots of hills and a cave, and some paddling and abseiling were among the other challenges along the way.
“This is thanks to Alan Angelbeck and Donald Matthewson for the U15, U19 and Corporate/Crocs and Duo teams, and to Florence Jackson and Alison Fouche for the Grade 4-5 and Grade 1-3 routes.”
Lilyfontein has been hosting the Adventure race since 2000.
The appeal is definitely the ability to progress through the various categories and gain experience until one is ready to tackle the premium event the Corporate Division.
There is always a healthy support of entries in the Grade 1-3 and Grade 4-5 divisions, which is attributed to eagerness of both learners and parents to participate and support from local schools.
The Family Fun category was introduced as a milder category to welcome all and offer a taste in a fun way of what adventure racing is all about.
But the race is also a provincial qualifier for U13, U15 and U19 age categories and the winners in these divisions have qualified to participate in the annual SA Adventure Racing Championships at Ventersburg at the end of the month.
The Corporate divisions allow corporate teams, friends and fitness bunnies to explore the local area and apply all their skills to compete in the premium division in the event.
The category winners for 2018 are:
Grade 1-3: 1. Team Cyclomatics (Stirling Primary), 2. Team Gritty Four (Stirling Primary), 3. Team Turbo’s (Home School)
Grade 4-5: 1. E-Lemonators (Lilyfontein), 2. Iron Eagles (Hudson Park Primary), 3. Blue Warriors (Merrifield)
U13: 1. The Advanced (Lilyfontein), 2. Awesome Foursome (Kidds Beach Primary), 3. Vertically Challenged (Lilyfontein)
U15: 1. Hyper Active (Lilyfontein), 2. Stirling Stars (Stirling High)
U19: 1. Go Getters (Byletts High), 2. Sole Survivors (Lilyfontein) Family Fun: 1. Powerlly Power, 2. Team Koch, 3. Muddy Spokes Corporate Crocs: 1. CapeCross, 2. Red Baron, 3. Slow & Steady Corporate Crocs Duo: 1. Team Squatchy, 2. Landhart, 3. Team Red Corporate: 1. EA Bound Corporate Duo: 1. Hit & Miss