The picturesque Garden Route town of George will host the 20th Outeniqua Chair Challenge (OCC) on February 24 – a competitive and fun event for wheelchair athletes.
“The two categories in our competitive section are open to quadriplegic and paraplegic athletes. There are subcategories catering for competitors based on the type of chair used,” explained organiser Alewijn Dippenaar. These include, amongst others, racing chairs, hand cycles, and basketball chairs.
Roads will be blocked off for racing on the 42.2km route, part of which is used for the 21.1km and 10km races.
There will also be a fun 5km course completed by competitors in wheelchairs pushed by an array of helpers. Entrants across the board will feature a colourful mix of not only South Africans from every corner of the country, but also nationals from Namibia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Botswana.
OCC 2024 takes place at Carpe Diem School on Saturday February 24, but the premises will be buzzing with activity from the day before between 11h00 and 18h00, when participants arrive in droves to confirm their registration.
“At 18h00 on Friday evening, as is the norm, we host the official opening ceremony for participants, and by Saturday morning the first riders start off at 07h00 – nice and early on that late summer’s morning,” says Dippenaar.
Once all competitive and fun races have been completed, an award ceremony concludes procedures at lunchtime on Saturday – and everyone is invited.
“Members of the public are very welcome to join us on the Friday night and Saturday morning, at no cost,” he adds, advising that there are food stalls on hand for spectators, and many different ways to get involved.
“As per previous years there is a special category for businesses, each of which gets its own ‘kaskar’ that is powered by members of their team. George enterprises and offices that have participated in this event before, taking place just before the start of the 5km fun race, will know that this ‘business boxcar’ category delivers on marketing mileage and much hilarity at the same time,” concludes Dippenaar.
The race will also feature racing legend Pieter du Preez – who won gold in the 2020 Paralympics in Japan, and is the first quadriplegic in the world to complete a full Ironman.
