South African team selected for Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2009

Through an unusual selection process, a South African team has been chosen to compete in the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in December 2009. Alex Pope, Christo Viljoen and Francois Jooste will race with Lisa de Speville as Team www.AR.co.za in the 3rd edition of this six day, staged adventure race.

www.AR.co.za, South Africa’s adventure racing website, is an Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority Award recipient. The website’s owner and editor, Lisa de Speville, invites wanna-be team members throughout South Africa to submit an application form; the team is selected from these entries. “It’s an unorthodox method that worked really well last year,” Lisa explains. “Just sending in an entry tells me that the person has carefully considered their application in light of the training and preparation involved and their obligations to the team should they be chosen. Their answers to simple questions are more telling than their sporting experiences.”

Of the 31 applicants, seven were women. “Last year we went to ADAC with a two-guys-two- girls combination and I was leaning very much in favour of this mix again,” says Lisa. Her final decision was made after analysing the possible matches in terms of gender, age, experience, personality, skills and location. “There were many ideal applicants; the difficulty was in achieving a good team combination. I found it much more challenging to choose my team mates this year,” she adds.

This Team www.AR.co.za is youthful. Alex Pope (21, Jo’burg) is a university student. He has been orienteering “since I can remember” and in recent years added adventure races to his calendar. Francois Jooste (20, Pretoria) is also a university student. He did his first 65km adventure race and 24hr mountain bike relay event at 14. “Both of these guys are ahead of their years,” Lisa says. The third guy is Christo Viljoen (32, Bloemfontein). Christo is an all-round multi-sporter with numerous multi-day adventure races and multisport events under his belt. Lisa (33, Jo’burg) is the team’s captain; she has 10 years of adventure racing and ultra distance, staged and mountain running as her background, including ADAC 2008.

“Alex is the one I know the best – from orienteerring,” Lisa says. Christo and Lisa have encountered each other at races, mostly in passing, over the years. “My clearest recollection is of doing most of the trekking section at the winter edition of Wartrail, in mid-2007, with him,” she says. Lisa spoke to Francois on the phone for the first time two days ago. “The guys don’t know each other at all. But with the guidance I received from other racers, I think that I’ve chosen well and that we’ve got compatible and complementary personalities and strengths.”

The team members will meet each other within the next few weeks and with five months to prepare, they’ll be ready for the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in December.

Follow Team www.AR.co.za’s training and preparations on teamwwwarcoza.blogspot.com and read more about the event at www.abudhabi-adventure.com.

ENDS