Municipal Manager Michele Gratz was delighted with the event.
"More than 35 different sporting codes took part, and they attracted participants from all over the country," she said.
"Although a few of the activities - like the aerobatics championship and the Business Chamber's golf day - were negatively affected by the weather on the first day, everything else went well, and in many instances participation exceeded our expectations."
Hotelier and restaurateur Albert Wiffin said that his properties, such as the Point Village Hotel, Oceans Hotel, Delfino's and Café Havana, have performed exceptionally well. "Our accommodation is completely full, and although we've got quite a few longer bookings for people staying here for the Shutdown at the PetroSA Refinery, it's definitely partly as a result of the Sport Festival.
"I've always believed that Mossel Bay should concentrate on festivals like this, and that we should work towards building an Olympic pool, an Astro-turf hockey field, and a tartan track so that we can attract even bigger and more regular events."
Santos Express owner Alan Robertson said that his accommodation, in permanently parked train coaches alongside Santos Beach, was full as a result of the Sport Festival. "We've had a wonderful time, with many of the school groups staying with us, and many of the parents of the players, too."
In fact, he said, the Festival has given added impetus to his plans to buy more coaches, and so allow him to provide additional budget accommodation for future events.
"Festivals like this help our business enormously, and this one's been a huge boon for Mossel Bay – really, kudos to the organisers," he said.
ATKV-Hartenbos manager Mornay Beukes said that his property, the biggest self-catering resort in the Western Cape, has been 'almost full since the beginning of the school holidays'.
"We had to open the top caravan site, because we were running out of space, and we've had quite a few bookings via the municipality for the Sports Festival."
Diaz Beach Hotel and Resort general manager Marulin Goodger said that her resort saw a lot of foot flow from the events that took place on the beach in front of the hotel. "People were using our restaurants and the bar, and we also had a number of overnight bookings from people who took part in the rubber duck race."
She said that while the hotel isn't full, it is enjoying a much better season than it did this time last year.
Protea Hotel Mossel Bay general manager Ronel Theron said that all the hotel's rooms are full, too, and that many of them were taken up by sailors who came to town for the 2013 Finn Class Nationals and the South Eastern Districts Dinghy and Catamaran Championships, both of which were hosted by the Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club as official events of the Festival.
"This season has been better than last year, even though our international business has been down a bit," she said. She ascribed the current good occupancy to 'the Shutdown, quite a lot of corporate business, and the Sport Festival'.
Mossel Bay Tourism's Marcia Holm said that the success of the Sport Festival highlighted the need for reasonably priced group accommodation in the town.
"This is where properties like the ATKV-Hartenbos and Santos Express are so valuable to the tourism industry as a whole," she said.
Dr Gratz said that this year's Festival attracted a number of sporting codes which hadn't feature in previous years, like sea kayaking, body boarding and target shooting, and that this bodes well for the future of the event.
"We received many enquiries regarding the various activities from all over the country, and we aim to make the festival bigger and better every year," she said.
Talle verteenwoordigers van die verskillende sportkodes wat aan Sportfees 2013 deelneem, soos die veerpyltjie se bestuur, het die openingsfunksie terdeë geniet. Foto: Sean Snyman
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