Princess Charlene heads to Sun City for first SA water bike challenge
Image: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
As Prince Charlene continues to make international headlines over her family life, South Africa's beloved Monaco royal will make headlines locally for her passion to promote water safety and water sports.
She will host South Africa's first water bike challenge at Sun City on Friday and Saturday.
Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation CEO Chantell Wittstock said the foundation has a long history of developmental work in South Africa convening learn to swim and water safety classes with its partner, Lifesaving South Africa, the voluntary lifeguard movement.
The 2023 Water Bike Challenge will raise funds for Lifesaving SA.
Initiated in 2017 and convened three times thereafter in and around the Mediterranean, the water bike events have seen global celebrities compete to raise funds for the HSH Princess Charlene Foundation.
“In 2020 the princess herself won the 180km Crossing Calvi Monaco Challenge. The 2023 edition will comprise teams of five cyclists competing in a 1.2km course on the Sun City Dam with each team completing the 21km relay race,” Lifesaving SA said.
The teams include sport, TV, music, acting and modelling personalities.
They are Springbok rugby champions Percy Montgomery and Elton Jantjies, Olympic swimmers Terence Parkin and Ryk Neethling, musicians Neil and Jesse Breytenbach and Arno Jordaan, champion BMX rider Kaiden Keyser, cyclists Grant Lottering and Dave Tanner, Olympic paddler Bridgitte Hartley, TV personalities Bad Brad and Tino Chinyani, professional surfer Roxy Louw, singer and songwriter Jesse Clegg, Proteas cricketer Albie Morkel, model Lee-Ann Liebenberg, actress Angelique Gerber, MMA fighter Garreth McLellan and TV personality, actor and comedian Siv Ngesi.
Lifesaving SA president Dhaya Sewduth expressed excitement and appreciation for being chosen as a primary beneficiary of the event and indicated Lifesaving SA members will be on duty to provide the water safety programme to children and serve as safety officers for the event.
“We are proud to partner with the PCMF to ensure we can meet our nations’ needs for learning to swim and water safety education as the drowning statistics in our country are quite alarming,” he said.
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