Cape Town - A collective of Fish Hoek Valley churches has strongly objected to the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon being held on Easter Sunday.
More than 10 churches based in the seaside town, representing about 5 000 congregants, have taken the organisers of the marathon and the City of Cape Town to task for allegedly overlooking the impact the marathon will have on services on Easter Sunday.
Fish Hoek Presbyterian Reverend Michael Muller said despite denominations from the area reaching out to the City and the marathon organisers weeks ago to voice their concerns, they were still overlooked.
“Denominations and congregations were not engaged whatsoever by City officials or the marathon’s organisers. Nor were we approached to talk about the proposed plans they had in mind to reduce the problems road closures and lane closures might present to many church members who attend services on Easter.”
Muller said the collective was taken aback by the profound insensitivity on the part of the race organisers, the City, and particularly mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who they wrote to weeks ago stating their discontentment with the marathon being held on an important day for faith organisations.
“There is no excuse for what seems to have been deliberate avoidance of engaging with us, the same organisations often inconvenienced by such events,” Muller said.
In response to the claims by the collective, the City said that it had not granted Two Oceans Marathon a permit to stage the race but that it was currently engaging with the event organiser to resolve the concerns raised.
Two Oceans Marathon Board chairperson William Swartbooi said the marathon was proceeding as scheduled despite organisers not yet having a permit from the City.
“We don’t have a permit as yet. However, we are talking to the City, we have a meeting tomorrow, and we will hear from them what the way forward is. Yes, the marathon was planned over two days, and there are logistical processes in place for us to have the event.
“Let me also say that we have consulted with a wide range of churches for a long time, with many church leaders. Now that the event is becoming closer, more churches are coming to the fore after realising what is happening and how the event will impact them.”
Swartbooi said despite the comments by the collective, event organisers had put in place measures to ensure that churches were not terribly impacted by the marathon.
“This year, we will be starting earlier than usual. We had to produce a transport management plan for the City in terms of when and how the roads would open. We also put in extra marshals to manage roads should people want to access churches earlier.
“The organisers have put in a lot of work and will continue working with the community leaders. We respect the church, every religion there is,” Swartbooi said.
The Fish Hoek Valley Ratepayers and Residents Association said it had sent its complaints to the community's local councillor for urgent attention.
Chairperson Brian Youngblood said: “The marathon was previously held on Saturdays. Why couldn’t that be done this year as well? More so now that Covid-19 regulations were lifted.”
Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC Anroux Marais said: “While the marathon is an annual highlight of the sporting events calendar in the province, engagements between the hosting municipality and the organisers on the success of the event are always encouraged. I hope that an amicable consensus among all involved can be reached going forward.”