Knysna’s Big5
During this year’s Pick n Pay Oyster Festival visitors and residents alike will be exposed to the Big5. Although this Big5 does not refer to the collection of magnificent South African wild life, the seventh BIG5 Sport Challenge evokes as much admiration.
This event, one of the highlights of the annual Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival, will once again be hosted as part of the Festival July 1 – 10.
This prestigious multi-sport event includes the Momentum Weekend Argus Knysna Cycle Tour MTB Race, the Momentum Cape Times Knysna Forest Half Marathon, The Featherbed Trail Run, Knysna Dragoon’s Lagoon Mile Swim and the Momentum Health OatWell DualX, powered by PeptoPro.
The BIG5 Sport Challenge is not for the faint-hearted and has become a bucket list item on the local and international endurance and adventure race calendar. In this multi-sport stage-race event, athletes compete in five pre-determined events and a point system is used to determine the winners.
The BIG5 Lite
The BIG5 Lite is possibly a less ominous but just as arduous event. Four of the events are pre-determined and athletes may choose between three other events to make up their fifth event result.
Entrants to the BIG5 Sport Challenge will enjoy a one-stop registration process where only one online entry form needs to be completed covering all five events, meaning that none of the events need to be entered separately. Athletes will also enjoy preferred seeding for all events, free access to the individual award ceremonies and the overall prize-giving event at the end of the challenge.
Taking the popularity of the event into account (across the field of events at the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival) a limited field of 125 entries is available for the BIG5 Sport Challenge and 125 entries for the BIG5 Lite.
The BIG5 Lite offers athletes a reduced distance challenge and the option of choosing one event from a number of disciplines including mountain biking, road cycling, open water swimming, paddling, trail and road running to make up their five events.
BIG5 Sport Challenge Club Champs
Athletes that enjoy racing alongside their club team-mates should join the BIG5 Club Champs. This allows them to race with their team and collect points in each event they finish. This will help their club team to move up the leader-board.
For every ten club members entering the BIG5 Sport Challenge or BIG5 Lite, their club will automatically is awarded one free entry to use as they wish. Big5 Sport Challenge Club Champs entries enjoy early bird entries to selected races at the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival and will be given a designated BIG5 Sport Challenge area near the finish of each event. A floating trophy will be awarded to the winning club.
Registration for BIG5 Club Championship competition is free.
Entries for the events are open https://entrytickets.net/.
For further information or queries pertaining to the BIG5 Sport Challenge contact Wilma Lubbe via Email –big5@oysterfestival.co.za or 072 8718346
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