Estate Living Digital Publication Issue 1 January 2015 | Page 22

“

Inside, the Nedbank Challenge
has transitioned from being a
fun golf event into a serious
tournament with an expanded
field

I was entertained for lunch in the
Vodacom skybox and both the food
and the company were excellent. The
social nature of the event’s appeal
was reinforced by many of the people
I spoke to, both at the Vodacom
area and elsewhere. Many admitted
to being very poor or non golfers,
but said that they wouldn’t miss an
opportunity, or turn down an invite
to attend the Nedbank Challenge
because the event was ‘just great to
be at’. The general feeling was that
where else, within a relaxed social
atmosphere, could you see so many
people that you know or work with all
in one place.

A well run event is rather like a swan
swimming across a still pond with the
appearance that everything is serene
and controlled, but meanwhile, under
the water there is a flurry of activity.
The Nedbank Challenge owes its
success in no small part to three
factors; a great venue (as it’s our
‘own’ I sometimes think we forget just
how great Sun City is), a committed
brand partner in Nedbank and the
backroom team who are in effect, the
swan’s feet.
While I was at the event, I took the
opportunity to talk with two people who
have been involved with the Nedbank
Challenge for a number of years. Ian
Stewart, who retired in December
after almost 30 years of service with

Sun International, has been involved
with just about everything in the event
management field at Sun City; from
rock concerts to Miss World pageants
and of course helping out with the
Nedbank Challenge each year Carol
.
Lourens is integral to SAIL’s golf
event management capability, which
involves her looking after amongst
,
many other events, Vodacom’s
hospitality activities during the week
long Nedbank Challenge.
Both Ian and Carol agree that the
matching up of permanent on-site
staff with the subcontractors is a good
example of the type of teamwork
essential to make a big event work
effectively. It is a relationship which
enables Sun City’s ‘home’ team to
concentrate on the delivery of the
event as a whole, while the ‘outside’
event
management
companies
handle the day-to-day requirements
of their clients during the event itself.
All successful events evolve and the
Nedbank Challenge is no exception.
Both Carol and Ian also agree that
coming back to the same venue each
year enables organisers to polish
and refine their offering, and avoids
the logistical nightmares with events
that keep moving to new venues
each year Just to provide a glimpse
.
of what it takes to run a major event,
the following selected statistics, from
a huge inventory of requirements,

will help to put your culinary efforts at
the family braai in some context and
underline the sheer volumes that are
involved in delivering a tournament
like the Nedbank Challenge:
Pork spare ribs:
Over 8 000 kg (that’s over 8 tonnes!)
Pure South African boerewors:
Over 3500 kg
Wild About game kebabs:
1 000 kg
Mini cheese:
28 800 portions
Ice used during the event:
19 000 kg
Ice creams consumed:
Almost 40 000 units
Soft drinks consumed:
Over 100 000 units
Bottles of water:
Almost 40 000 units
Number of extra staff employed:
Approx. 1 200 people
Additional man-hours:
84 000 hours
Congratulations must be given to
Nedbank, Sun International, Sun City
and all the sponsors for continuing to
bring such a well run event, with such
broad appeal, to our diaries each year
.
Long may it continue!
John Cockayne
The Business of Golf
Estate Living Golf Editor

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