The Buffalo City Modern Pentathlon Association closed off a successful season of biathle and triathle locally with awards presented to its top competitors in the various divisions, on November 12.
Both locally and internationally, the association’s athletes have achieved a number of medals, with seniors Tara Schultz, Andrea Ranger and Rodney Westgate bagging titles at the national championships in Stellenbosch, as well as at the world championships in Portugal earlier this month.
The athletes were awarded on the night for their performances in local competitions in the metro.
Chairperson, Ryan Coates, said: “Post-Covid it was difficult for us to have events but what we have seen is growing uptake at junior levels, especially at schools.
“What drives a lot of the kids is the opportunity to compete abroad and we aim to drive more opportunities next year.
“This year, out of East London, our athletes won four gold’s in South Africa and two of our athletes won gold at the world champs. This is phenomenal for us.
“By this time next year, we hope to continue the winning streak at the South African championships and looking at how we can increase our medal tally.
“Our biggest goal is looking at ways to encourage more youngsters at Under 11 and U9 level to participate in the sport.
“If we can do that, we have achieved what we set out to do.” Coates said the SA Pentathlon Association had achieved well, with its athletes growing capacity to achieve medals on the national and international stage.
Rodney Westgate, multiple national and world champion and the BCMPA Masters 50+ male division winner, said the past year had presented exciting opportunities to compete, which would enable improvement for next year’s season.
“World champs for us this year was really different because a lot of it was on sand and that is a first for us, and especially for the kids, because we have never competed like that before. It added a completely new dynamic to the races for us and we needed to plan our strategy better to avoid burning out,” Westgate said.
“Buffalo City has got a wealth of good athletes and a lot of the young kids in biathle have already achieved awards in sports like running and swimming.
“I would like to see more money and resources being invested in these smaller sports so that the youngsters can be motivated to keep going.
“When we compete abroad, we carry our country to higher heights, because we compete under our flag and that’s what people need to remember when considering to sponsor our national athletes.”
SA senior ladies champion and BCMPA Senior ladies division winner, Tara Schultz, said: “I really enjoyed the season and winning the triathle champs was a highlight for me.
“There are a lot of opportunities in the sport and the friends you make around South Africa adds so much to your life.”
BCMPA will go through committee changes by the end of next year’s season, as long-time secretary Sherelle Smith concludes her service and a vacancy opens for the position of committee liaison.
