Port Elizabeth's Algoa Bay will be filled with colour and action over the next week as the Algoa Bay Yacht Club completes the year’s sailing calendar with ABYC Week which incorporates the 505 dinghy National Championships. Weather forecasts predict that Sunday will be a “perfect” day for sailors and spectators alike, according to event spokesperson Alan Straton. “Algoa Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) Week will see 39 boats on the bay battling it out for honours in three fleets – 505 Dinghy, Fleet 1 (day and sport boats) and Fleet 2 (cruisers),” he says. Good news for spectators is that the course has been designed to ensure that the action happens close to Hobie Beach. Ideal vantage points for the sailing will be off Hobie … [Read more...]

Future participants in the SPAR Women’s Challenge can start their training early following the introduction of the SPAR Little Ladies’ Race in Port Elizabeth on May 1. The 2km fun run, which takes place from Pollok Beach in the Summerstrand area, will be open to all girls aged eight years and younger. Participants may be accompanied by an adult woman but no boys or men will be allowed. “This road running festival is strictly for ladies of all shapes and sizes,” said SPAR Eastern Cape marketing manager Abri Swart. “It’s a fun and healthy way to say thank you to our loyal shoppers and give back to our community.” According to Swart, the SPAR Little Ladies’ Race was the ideal way to broaden the participation base of … [Read more...]

In the recent Boardwalk Hobie 16 Sailing championships held from 21 to 24 March 2013 in Port Elizabeth, a total of 8 races were sailed over three days (Saturday was blown out). Conditions were mostly below 12 knots with flat seas and the wind from the East, South and West to make for an interesting and complete regatta under the hand of bridge officer, Doug Allison. On the first day of sailing sailors were greeted with a perfectly sunny and calm day and were eventually called out in the early afternoon by Race Officer Doug Allison who, in the light South-Easterly of 6 to 8 knots, set a Windward Leeward (Sausage shape) course with the start in line with Shark Rock Pier, the top mark in line with Admiralty Way and the bottom marks in line … [Read more...]

ADULT TAG RUGBY® TOURNAMENT AT CELL C NMB SEVENS A new addition to the Cell C NMB Sevens in 2012 has been a Tens Rugby event. This sees 10 players (and not 7 or 15) playing in a team in a Tournament. It is a festive occasion and ties in well with the Rugby Biggest party theme. Adult Tag Rugby® is growing extremely quickly in South Africa (now part of the widely acclaimed Corporate Games held in Cape Town annually.) We are extremely proud to have recently become a part of the three Tens events held in South Africa annually. These events are the Jozi Tens, PE Tens and the Cape Town Tens. The Adult Tag Rugby® event takes place on Sunday 9 December on the fields adjacent to the NM Stadium from 10:00 – 13:00. You can enter a … [Read more...]

A number of big retail brands, including a national bank, have signalled their confidence in the rejuvenated Port Elizabeth central business district by moving into Pier 14 Shopping Centre on Govan Mbeki Avenue in time for the festive season. The most recent addition, the North End branch of Standard Bank, is relocating to Pier 14 and will open for business on December 1. It joins new fast food franchise outlets Debonairs Pizza and Cassie’s, which started trading last month. According to Martin Wragge, CEO of GRITprop Investments, which owns Pier 14 Shopping Centre, the influx of national tenants was in part due to a five-year, R40-million expansion process. "The upgrade has increased footfall and turnover and we now have more … [Read more...]

With the 2013 Super Rugby season not far off, Nelson Mandela Bay awaits the arrival of Super 15 Rugby on our shores with great anticipation. Access Management, the operators of Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, hosted a Golden Ticket event last Wednesday, where local captains of industry got together, demonstrating their support for rugby in the Bay. Despite some rather inclement weather, the event proved to be a memorable one indeed. The Golden Ticket event was designed to encourage Port Elizabeth business to get squarely behind local Rugby, by inviting them to declare their intent to take up the offer of corporate season ticket packages, (which are aimed primarily at empowering their workforce – and ultimately the community – and … [Read more...]

The Port Elizabeth CBD is set to be invaded over the weekend of the 15th and 16th September for an Urban Festival, like the city has never seen before, on the cities historic Donkin Reserve. Over 1,000 participants have already entered to tackle the City of Port Elizabeth in the annual Nelson Mandela Bay Herald Urban Run which sets off at 9am on Sunday 16th September. This unique 10km urban obstacle course highlights urban renewal undertaken by the Mandela Bay Development Agency over the past decade whilst raising over R100,000 for local charities. The Urban Festival kicks off from 9am on Saturday 15th on the Donkin Reserve with African drumbeat dancers and musicians performing throughout the day. This is complemented by live music, … [Read more...]

The second round of the Investec Night Relay took place on Thursday evening with records tumbling in 3 of the 4 categories. Held at North End Lake in near perfect conditions given the time of year, the race provided the fastest times in the history of this Business Night Relay Series. Leading the charge was the Gamble Pharmacy team breaking their previous course record in the Men's Relay division by just under 2 minutes to record a very fast 1hr 7min 33sec over the 21km distance. The all ladies team Merrell from Medicus Shoes shattered the previous ladies record held by the Rhino Group finishing in a time of 1hr 31min 39sec whilst the mixed running team from naming Sponsors Investec broke the Mixed category record by almost 10 minutes to … [Read more...]

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium precinct will once again be alive with activity on Thursday evening as over 100 business teams take part in the second round of the Investec Night Relay. The event, hosted by the Mandela Bay Development Agency, starts at 6pm from Lakeside and will see walking and running teams tackling the 4.2km laps around the Stadium and North End Lake. Round 2 of the Investec Night Relay series will be creating awareness of the ACVV Kamvalethu Street Work Programme which is the only drop-in centre for street children in Nelson Mandela Bay and is situated just around the corner from the Stadium in Korsten. The centre focuses on empowering the children and their families, getting them off the streets and providing the … [Read more...]