FEAT’s annual adventure celebration

Almost a year has passed since the last Fascinating Expedition & Adventure Talks (FEAT) evening, where 10 South African adventurers took to the FEAT stage to relate their tales of adventure – in only seven minutes each. This October the audience will again be spellbound as they briefly journey over continents and oceans, up and over mountains, outside our borders and within our own country.

“FEAT has been going since 2010 and this will be our 5^th event,” says FEAT organiser Lisa de Speville. “That’s 40 talks! And there are another 10 coming up soon.”

She’s often asked she has a favourite evening or a favourite talk. “Each event is a totally different mix and the adventures are totally diverse,” she replies. "They're all my favourites."

De Speville describes FEAT as a theatre-style evening that provides a platform for adventurers to share their experiences. “In only seven minutes,” she adds with a smile. This short-talks format is dynamic and fast-paced. Each presentation decorated by slides, which are projected on to large screens.

“The audience is enveloped in the excitement of the talks – people, places, experiences, dangers, emotions and successes,” de Speville says.

Instead of releasing a list of speakers upfront, as before, de Speville is announcing the speakers once-a-week in the lead up to the evening.

“There are events that I attend regardless of the line-up because it is aligned with my interests. FEAT is very much like this. Also, the audience is unlikely to know a majority of the speakers unless they’re specifically involved in that sporting discipline. That’s the nature of these pursuits – so it doesn’t really help to know names. Of course you may recognise one or two; but again this depends on your interests.”

The names of three speakers have already been announced.

There’s Chris Bertish, an accomplished Big Wave Surfer and competitive Stand-Up Paddleboard (SUP) athlete. In August he crossed the English Channel by SUP, setting a new record for the crossing. This came only a day after completing a multi-day, non-stop expedition to SUP the Thames River (243km) from source-to-sea.

Richard Goodhead is another speaker on the roster. This Capetonian ran 6,000 kilometres from Cape Agulhas to Kilimanjaro two years ago and earlier this year he completed a three-month, 4,000-kilometre run from the southern-most tip of Argentina to Mt Aconcagua.

Back in 2002 Karen Hauptfleisch climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, which set off a chain reaction and her loves for African countries and adventures. Since then she has visited over 30 African countries, climbing to the top of their highest peak. There are 54 African countries, including the islands, so she has many more trips and adventures still to enjoy as she aims to visit every one of them.

“In fact, I don’t know most of the speakers – not in person anyway,” De Speville announces. “But, I love what they’ve done, I’m fascinated by their adventures and I’m sure you will be too.”

FEAT takes place at the Victory Theatre in Houghton, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 10 October 2013. Tickets (R190pp) are available online through www.entrytickets.net. Full event details including ticketing, speakers, parking information and venue directions are on the FEAT website at www.featsa.co.za.

Just when Cape Town has been feeling totally left out, FEAT is delighted to announce the first mini-FEAT events, in partnership with Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA), which take place in Cape Town on the evening of Thursday, 14 November and in Jo’burg on Monday, 18 November 2013. Details for these events will be announced after FEAT in October.

“But,” says de Speville with a wink, “you can diarise the dates now”.

FEAT is made possible by its sponsors, Black Diamond, Capestorm and Powertraveller, and its media partner, Go Multi magazine. These companies proudly support a range of adventure sport disciplines, events and athletes.

A sense and scent of Spring

Running through my 'hood, I'm seeing the signs of Spring. Some trees got ahead of themselves a few weeks ago and now others are getting with the programme. I snuck out for a quick half-hour run at lunch time today, taking pics of some spring loveliness. In not long now the grass in the park will turn green again and the trees will be fully robed in their leafy gowns.

The most glorious bank of jasmine. Actually, there are two or three big bushes, all outside this one house. The perfume in the evenings, like it was last night - magnificent!

Fresh young leaves and buds on the Weeping Willows. I love it when the hanging twigs get that green sheen. Hard to photograph in the breeze. The poplars are becoming tinged with green too. 

Ah... blossoms. So pretty!

More blossoms. Oh my heart!

My favourite shade of green - 'new leaf'. It pleases my eyes and heart.

O Mountain Marathon on Sunday

I saw a buddy yesterday who told me about teams making really, really elementary and stupid mistakes at Full Moon this past weekend. He'd hear teams nearby (like 200m to 300m), see lights moving away from him (at a CP) and then they'd rock up two hours later!

Dare I say (again) that navigation is a discipline of adventure racing. This sport is no not about running fast or riding like a demon...

Mountain Marathon is the most fabulous O event for adventure racers. Off the top of my head I can't remember the criteria except that to be a Mountain Marathon the course must have a certain amount of elevation gain (more than 500m?) - anyway, it's more than standard cross-country O events.

We only have one MM a year, and it comes up on Sunday at Groenkloof. And, I've just seen from an email that we'll have a RED course. Where BROWN is usually the longest and most technical challenging, RED is longer but not as difficult navigationally - perfect for trail runners starting to find their way around.

Course Distances:
Brown 12.5km +/- 500m (Open M21+)
Blue 9.5km +/- 400m (Veterans M40+) (Open Women W21+)
Green 7.7km +/- 300m (Master M50+) , Veteran Women (W35+)
Light green 3.6km (Masters Women W45+)
Orange 2.7km
White 1.7km
Red ...tbc - aiming for 10-16km.

Date: Sunday, 1 September 2013
Venue: Groenkloof Nature Reserve

Registration: from 09h00
Starts: from 09h30

Courses: Six courses catering for beginners to advanced. Red course suitable for trail runners wanting distance without complex navigation

Fees:
R70 Members
R80 Non-­members
R100 Groups

Pre-­entries -­ www.orienteeringonline.net
R10 discount for pre-­entries with payment into ROC account before 30 August

Please pre-enter if you intend running this weekend, even if you don't pre-pay and get your R10 discount you will still have a pre filled in entry form and save us capturing details on the computer at the event.

Also entry to the reserve is covered by your entry fees so please make sure you mention you are coming to the Orienteering event at the 'Boma'

Rand Orienteering Club Bank Details for Pre-­Entries:
Standard Bank
Boksburg 011842
Account no 025096311

FYI: Colours of courses (From British Orienteering Federation site)

• White Courses (XS) are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups. 
• Yellow Courses (XS-S) use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups. 
• Orange Courses (S-M) progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters. Long Orange courses are used mainly by novice adults wanting a longer run. 
•  Light Green Courses (S) are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and ‘point’ features. 
•  Green Courses (S) are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty. 
•  Blue Courses (M) are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers. 
•  Brown (L) and Black Courses (XL) are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.

(Red is the longest but is navigationally easy - targeted at trail runners who want distance but don't have practised navigation skills)

Ride (run) for us

As the administrator of a sports club, Adventure Racing Club, I get a number of race notifications, which I pass on to my club email group if relevant. With the 94.7 Cycle Challenge coming up in November, I've had a vast increase in the number of emails from charity organisations seeking people who will ride 'for' them, representing their foundation.

The most recent one received offers those who sign up "fun goodie bags, cycle shirt, charity start time, hospitality before and after the race and a massage at the end of the race, just to mention a few of the benefits." Riders have to commit to raising a minimum of R1,800. A deposit of R600 confirms their participation.

Another sentence states that 100% of funds collected goes towards what the charity does. Thus, the money spent by the sponsor goes to paying for the hospitality area, catering, goodie bags, cycle shirts...

The charity has a title sponsor for this event. Riders would thus wear cycle jerseys emblazoned with the name of the sponsor company (and the charity) - mostly the sponsor, if photos from last year are anything to go by. Yes, mobile billboards on their bicycles for the corporate.

The charity seeks 500 riders. At a minimum of R1,800 each, that's R900,000 raised. And as some will raise far more, they could quite easily get over R2-million with a full complement of riders.

Looking at the team photograph from last year I count around 150 riders. That's a minimum of R270,000 raised. Interestingly, they raised R1,050,000 last year! Let's say they get 250 riders this year... they could raise around R1.3-million. Nice!

My question is... would the charity get more money if the sponsor put their marketing spend into the charity instead of hospitality areas, catering, cycle jerseys and handouts? Yes, yes, yes, I know this is a marketing exercise and not just a charity initiative... but what if? Goodies per rider are possibly in the region of R800 and then there's the hospitality area and hire of seating plus banners, printing, catering... And what about advertising pre-event to promote the initiative... I'm quite certain that well over a million is spent.

And you don't have the option of saying, "I don't want the goodies, I'll raise funds for you regardless. Rather put this money spend into the charity". For me it isn't about the goodies. But, it is actually all about the goodies.

The thing is that events like 94.7, Argus, Two Oceans and Comrades are big fundraising opportunities for charities and large total sums are generated by individuals seeking support from friends and family not just in good wishes, but in financial contributions to a cause that the participant supports. It's a boost for these foundations and a marketing exercise for corporates involved.

I get a lot of requests from people I know - and also those I don't know (very well or at all) to support their run/ride/swim by donating to XYZ charity. I don't respond to most because their causes, while totally worthy, are not my causes and I have initiatives to which I already contribute.

These mass participation events are one thing... I'm yet to be convinced about the feasibility of doing things like climbing Kilimanjaro to raise funds. It certainly costs in excess of R20,000 to do it and if you only raise R5,000? If the charity is so important to you why not donate that disposable R20,000 to it?

Awareness you say? It's about raising awareness too? Sure. But I can post regularly on this blog and on Facebook about the importance of blood donation without climbing a single mountain nor raising funds. A friend is a big supporter of Puppy and Kitty Haven and her posts reflect this. As a result, this animal shelter is front of my mind most days and she hasn't walked a step nor spent a penny.

Me, I'm fatigued by the constant requests. I don't 'approve' of there being multiple organisations (from two to 200 or more!) in support of a single cause and that these organisations are not 'friends' with each other. Rival organisations both aiming to protect sharks? That every Tom, Jane and Harry establishes their own foundation instead of partnering with an existing organisation to better their efforts... It just doesn't make sense to me.

Nonetheless, fundraising has its place and the manner in which funds are raised will appeal to each of us differently. Like me, go with what appeals to you - the cause, the person you're supporting or the method of attracting your support.

The important thing, I think, is to at least support something.