Two days of love Villa
Two days of love
Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge grows into a two-day event
“With an extra day and three
more sporting and lifestyle
challenges added to the
2009 programme, this year’s Sabrina
Love Ocean Challenge, brought to you by
Stonehage and Discovery, is guaranteed
to be an event that offers something for
everyone,” says event director Mark Collins
of Magnetic South.
Plettenberg Bay is gearing itself to
host the 6th running of its most unique
charity event – the Sabrina Love Ocean
Challenge – and this year it will take
place on both 27 and 28 December to
accommodate the new expanded format.
Organisers are preparing to add a new
25 km mountain bike race, a one mile
river swim and the Sabrina Kids of Steel
duathlon, which will include a run and
swim challenge aimed primarily at the
6- to 10-year-olds.
The Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge,
which forms the main fundraising
activity for The Sabrina Love Foundation,
has grown in popularity from its original
handful of participants who took on
the first ever 6 km Ocean Swim in
2003, to over 1 000 competitors who
participated in the variety of options in
2008. The Sabrina Love Foundation was
established by Tony and Suzy Lubner
in loving memory of their daughter
Sabrina, who very sadly passed away
when she was only six years old. The
foundation is dedicated to the care of
children living with special needs in the
Bitou Region.
Good timing
With the event falling between Christmas
and New Year, Collins believes that
the sporting challenge is ideally timed
as it attracts all those holiday makers
who are looking to keep fit in a fun
and competitive environment and
at the same time know that they are
contributing to a most worthy cause, as
100% of the entry fee goes directly into
the Sabrina Love Foundation.
All of this has been made possible
by the very generous sponsorship by
Stonehage (international family wealth
advisers) who have supported the
event for the past three years. This year
Discovery has come on board as well and
this exciting partnership with Stonehage
has enabled the event to be extended to
include the extra day of sporting options
that will further enhance its popularity.
And once again, this year we will
be in the company of top celebrities.
Accomplished Olympic swimmer Natalie
du Toit has made the Sabrina Love Ocean
Challenge her signature event. Comrades
marathon legend Bruce Fordyce, TV
presenter Derek Watts, Dusi Legend
Martin Dreyer, Iron Man Nick Bester
and Olympic long distance swimming
medallist Chad Ho are but a few of the
Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge’s more
famous annual supporters.
The iconic 6 km Ocean Swim from
Robberg Beach End to Central Beach,
together with the 10 km Road Run, the
15 km Surf Ski Race and the Family
Beach Walk will take place on the 27th
from the original venue on Central
Beach, while the new activities on the
28th will be happening on the Cape
Nature property adjacent to the N2 on
the Keurbooms Lagoon.
More to do
“With the event now being spread over
two days, one can now double up their
support of the Sabrina Love Foundation
by competing in more than one event,
something not possible until now,” says
Collins. “Some might even try doing
the 10 km run, the mile swim and the
25 km mountain bike race; The Sabrina
Triple”.
Collins is also particularly delighted
that the ocean swim will now be a
qualifying event for South African
Champs. “It has been attracting some top
swimmers in the last two years and it’s
good to see it getting the recognition.”
While swimming six kilometers in open
ocean may be too much for a lot of
people to contemplate, the one mile
in the river should attract a lot more
swimmers. And with there now being
two swims on different days, Collins is
hoping most people will do both!
All corporates, including the smaller
business entrepreneurs, are encouraged
to enter their staff and families as there
is a sporting discipline available for
every level of fitness. What better way
to end your year than with a charity
event? Including the Sabrina Love Ocean
Challenge in your end of year company
function will offer you the combination
of a fun outdoor activity with a great
vibe but more importantly, to enter
the spirit of giving by supporting the
disabled kids who reside in the area and
who will never have the chance to enjoy
participating in such an event the way
most of us can.
Online entries for The 2009 Sabrina Love
Ocean Challenge are now open. Adults
entering one discipline will pay R150,
two disciplines R250, three disciplines
R300, while children under 12 will pay
R100 per discipline. No entries will be
accepted on the days of the event. Get
your online entries in by visiting
www.magneticsouth.net
(online entries will be
entered twice into the lucky draw). For
those who do not have Internet access,
the Sabrina Love Mobile Entry trailer will
be open for business on Central Beach
from 16 to 26 December 2009 to accept
your most appreciated support.