GARDEN ROUTE | HESSEQUA NEWS - Three of South Africa's top rugby heroes, John Smit, Schalk Brits and Hanyani Shimange, set off on Sunday, 6 September, for the start of an all-out 200km endurance race against time on the Verneukpan in the dry salt pans of the Northern Cape.
They completed their journey on 9 September.
They were led by the fourth member of the team, adventure athlete Erik Vermeulen. The team was managed by Butch James. The aim of the event was not only to defend their sport's honour and secure ultimate bragging rights that rugby produces the toughest athletes, but, more importantly, to effect positive change by appealing to passionate South African sports fans to support them and help raise money for Covid-19 relief efforts in South Africa.
Team Rugby is the first of four teams competing in an innovative fund raising initiative, the BrightRock Battle of the Sports Challenge, which will see four leading sports teams in rugby, running, soccer and cricket take to the Verneukpan on foot, one team at a time over a five week period - pulling their provisions on a light frame cart on "fat-boy" mountain bike tyres, in only four days.
The brainchild of Clive Grinaker, founder of NGO, Events to Aid, the goal is to raise R50 million to protect vulnerable populations from Covid-19 as well as to assist all patients and health care workers in critical care facilities throughout South Africa in need of PPE, oxygen and vaccines.
Grinaker says the fundraising aspect of the linked 200km challenge is simple.
"While our sports heroes are battling it out on the Pan, we are encouraging ordinary citizens from all walks of life, sports fans, corporates and schools - whether in South Africa or across the globe - to do the 200kms. This can be done either alone in one go or over the five weeks of the event, in teams of ten with each person doing 20km, or 100 people doing 2km.
"The distances are optional. As long as our participants have registered and the 'challenge' adds up to 200km, then the objective has been achieved.
"Each entrant donates to the cause and is part of the excitement," says Grinaker.
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