On Wednesday, 11 May, in celebration of World Orienteering Day, the Likkewaan Canoe Club is hosting the first Checkpoint Challenge – Paddle event in South Africa.
Participants will be handed a map of the river and its islands and on the map a number of checkpoints will be marked. The challenge is to locate the checkpoints, punch your score card and return to the finish with all checkpoints completed.
Checkpoint Challenge – Paddle is a variation on the sport of orienteering, a map-based outdoor sport. The most common form of the sport is running/ walking with mountain biking events gaining popularity.
Checkpoint Challenge organiser, Lisa de Speville, moved to Parys a few months ago. She is a member of the Likkewaan Canoe Club.
“I’ve been involved in the sport of orienteering for 17 years as a participant, event planner, mapper and coach,” says de Speville. “We really are fortunate to have such a beautiful river in town with an abundance of islands to make it interesting. I’m sure our paddlers – recreational and competitive – will thoroughly enjoy this event; it will bring a different kind of excitement to their paddling.”
For more information on World Orienteering Day, visit worldorienteeringday.com. Find the Likkewaan Canoe Club on Facebook.