The Trans Baviaans 24hr MTB Marathon takes place over 230km and takes participants through various communities along the route. With the inaugural event in 2004 it was identified that very few of the local people were aware of the Trans Baviaans taking place on their doorstep. In 2005 the Organisers embraced the social responsibility associated with an event of this magnitude and embarked on a community awareness and development campaign of the event and the sport with the local community of Baviaanskloof and the <?: prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Cambria areas. This campaign/programme has now developed into the following activities: <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Baba Baviaans: The Baba Baviaans, is two cycle races for locals only, in June every year, which takes place in the Baviaanskloof and Cambria areas. At these races the local inhabitants stand the chance of winning one of six mountain bikes and plenty of lucky-draw prizes. These winners also receive a free team entry to the Trans Baviaans for that year. This proofed to be an excellent way to involve the local community and make everybody aware of the event. This resulted in an increase of spectators along the route and great support for the riders during the event. Previous winners of this event did well in the Trans Baviaans and completed the race every time thus far. This year (2009) all of them finished in under 20 hours. These communities are very poor and a lot of assistance is required to equip the teams properly to be able to take part in a big event such as the Trans Baviaans. Primary Schools: Some of the primary schools in the Baviaanskloof and Cambria areas are very keen and enthusiastic about the annual event, but are too young to take part in it. The Doringbos Primary School supported the riders from the first year by gathering along the road side and cheering the participants on. They also started drawing posters which they displayed along the road. To maintain this enthusiasm the Organisers decided to assist these schools with sport equipment and stationary to continue with their art work and support to the riders. Other schools identified are the Ritrivier and Studtis Primary Schools. This year (2009) the first checkpoint was also moved to Vero's. Some might know her as Veronica; she is the lady winner of the Baba Baviaans and started getting involved with the Trans Baviaans by making roosterkoek and coffee from her own little restaurant (Vero's) for the riders. This is just another example of the community getting more involved with this lovely sport! Until 2008 these programmes were funded through own funds generated by the entry fees paid by participants in the Trans Baviaans. Due to the expansion of the programmes and increased costs it becomes more difficult to depend on these funds and outside assistance is required. The following is a list of the requirements for these programmes to continue: Various attributes is required for the various programmes which will mainly involve the following: Bicycles: Six entry level mountain bikes are required for the winners of the local rides. Gear: In order for the winners of the bicycles to participate in the main Trans Baviaans event they need to be fully equipped with cycling gear such as cycling pants , shirts, helmet, gloves, lights, etc. During this race we would also like to offer the community a chance to bring their faulty bikes to get repaired, so any spare parts are most welcome! Lucky draw prizes: To encourage as much as possible of the local people to participate in the development/awareness program some lucky-draw prizes are handed out to all participants completing the development race. These mainly consist of food and other hampers. Primary Schools: Three primary schools were identified who is assisted with sport equipment and stationery in order to promote the event with the local communities Help please!
