Challenge all revved up to raise funds for school

THE Harcourts Wildcoast 98.6 Mountain Bike Challenge kicks off this weekend with its inaugural event.

Prize-money of R30 000 is up for grabs across the divisions and should make for an exciting race.

The main aim of the race however is not the prize-money, but on the charity side.

The event is a Cycling SA sanctioned charity mountain bike race and aims to raise R100 000 a year for the next five years for African Angels Independent Schools’ Teacher Learnership Programme.

“The aim of the Harcourts 98.6 charity MTB Challenge is to attract over 600 riders and their families into our area and demonstrate what can be achieved with vision, passion and energy,” said principal of Harcourts Advantage, Penny Niemand.

The route planning committee has put together three routes all aimed at providing a challenge while introducing riders to the amazing scenery of the area.

There’s a 98.6km race for the more extreme riders, a 50km and a 19km race for the more fun-based riders and a Kiddies Dash to make sure that everyone is catered for.

All races are scheduled for Sunday and will centre on the Crossways Village Centre on the Schafli Road (R102) with a farmers’ market, a beer tent and other entertainment.

As well as the cash prizes, plenty of spot prizes, including a mountain bike are up for grabs.

In addition, the first 500 online entries at www.roag.co.za will get a rider goody-bag.

“We want to promote the lifestyle opportunities available in our area of the ‘adventure province’,” said Niemand.

“Around the world cities are expanding as people choose lifestyle over suburbia and The Wild Coast Jikeleza Route is ideally placed to be the expansion path for East London.”

The charity that the race will help is the African Angels Independent School, adjacent to Chintsa East. It is expanding with a growing demand for teachers.

The school plans to offer teacher learnerships where selected candidates study for their postgraduate certificate in education via Unisa, while working under the mentorship of a qualified teacher.

This combination is aimed at taking candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds and developing them into high quality teachers who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to gain a qualification with such significant practical experience and support.

Hopefully the event can help the school reach its goals, with all the help from participants and fans.

More details can be found at: www.harcourtsadvantage.co.za or on Facebook. — DDR