The 9th Annual de Wildt Funduro
Purpose
- To be the leader in the
provision of community upliftment by enhancing quality of life, community
and education
Vision
·
To be a community capacitor.
Mission statement
·
To build long term relationships with our community
and clients and provide exceptional service by pursuing business through
servant hood.
Core values
·
We believe in treating our customers and
community with respect and in good faith
·
We grow through serving others
·
We integrate honesty, integrity and business
ethics into all aspects of our business model and community service.
Objectives
·
To generate
·
To serve
·
To reach out
·
To be
Introduction
The Funduro originated seven years
ago out of very humble beginnings as part of a fund raising project initiated
by concerned parents. The objective of the project was then and is still is; to
generate funds for additional projects to ensure the smooth operations of the
school. Originally the project was purely focused on the welfare of the school;
the project however grew to also include the welfare and development of the
surrounding De Wildt Communities.
Community Engagement:
•
The primary objective of the Funduro is to positively
impact the surrounding community.
•
It gives the parents of the school an opportunity
to strive for common goals and get involved in the upliftment of the community.
•
The teachers, students and school governing
body, all get the opportunity to make a contribution in one way or another.
•
This once off opportunity will allow participants
to view our beautiful farming community.
•
Having a track through the beautiful De Wildt farmland
aids in community safety.
•
By inviting visitors to our community we do not
only market our community, but also support local business.
•
The funds raised will again be allocated and
utilized for various projects to improve our local schools and community
centre.
General
Our community is situated at the foothills of the well-known
Magaliesberg mountain range, where it forms the infamous Magalies mountain valley,
of which de Wildt forms the heart of the area. Just say “de Wildt” to any Petrol
Head and you have their attention! It makes perfect sense to host an off road
event for bikes and quads in these beautiful surroundings.
February 2011 saw the birth of the Vissershoek Funduro. It
started with two dads having a cold drink, after the ward athletics hosted at
our school. They bounced the idea of some other dad’s and soon a team was
formed that would host the Vissershoek Funduro for the school.
The first year we were blessed with rain, rain, and more rain.
Yet this did not deter Petrol Heads to show up and show their support. The 45 kilometre
track was wet and very muddy! The race started the morning, with just over 40 entries!
Due to the challenging weather conditions, eventually only 25 riders completed
the route, but the spirit amongst the riders was great and the guys and girls
left with great memories and made a commitment to be back the next year.
The hosting of the 1stDe Wildt Funduro enabled the organising
committee to give much needed attention to the boys and girls bathrooms at the
local school.
When the group of dads, and now also some mums, came
together in early 2012, it was decided to host the Funduro for the second time.
But the team decided to set some solid goals; fix the 1974 Ford school bus and
grow the event and host it in such a manner that it can become an annual event
on the off-road calendar!
On 14 April 2012, the early morning cockerel was replaced by
the roar of two and four stroke engines, the de Wildt valley was filled with excitement.
Everyone from the community was anxious, as more than eighty riders lined up to
concur the De Wildt Funduro.
For the first time sponsors from bike related business and
others that just wanted to support a good cause and came on board early on in
the planning phase of the event.
At the end of the day, riders (one or two on crutches…),
marshals, and schools’ representatives got together under the welcome shade of
Marula trees to share stories of the battles of the day. Much fun was had, and
without any exception, they all promised to be back for the next de Wildt
Funduro!
The 3rd Vissershoek Funduro (2013) was a huge success. Two
hundred and twelve (212) riders were hosted at the event. The organisers were
astounded with the growth in entries. Every single rider had fun. Some came
back all smiles, others complemented the scenery along the route and others said
that is was the best ride they had in years! Again everyone said that they will
be back for more. Our support from sponsors and business alike grew further,
from both within the dirt family and other services.
We were very happy to have the school bus fixed to its former
glory, thanks to the guys and girls with petrol in their veins .This was the
biggest fund raiser in the school’s history.
2014’s Success enabled to acquire a new school bus and can
be summarised in the words of Simon Fourie, from Bike SA: “The Vissershoek (De Wildt) Funduro had become an iconic event on the
annual off road calendar of happiness, a must for everyone some time in their
lives …A good lot all of them. A breath of fresh De Wildt air, that will be
sucked up and enjoyed by a happy lot of competitors and spectators , hopefully
,for many years to come “.
In 2015 we re-wrote the history books. Online entry numbers
exceeded expectations, reaching the largest number of riders in an off-road
event in Africa, namely three hundred and sixty eight (368).
2016 we went into space! For the first time the DE WILDT
FUNDURO was broadcasted on Supersport. Rider’s numbers hit an all-time high at
376. Proving that the DE WILDT FUNDURO is still the largest dirt bike event if
Africa! We also introduced the legends league. This is our way of saying thank
to entities that contribute to the dirt biking industry.
2017 saw the DE WILDT FUNDURO broadcasted on Supersport for
the second time. In 2017 no less than 412 riders participated in the event. We
also introduced our own YouTube channel. Through the help of some crazy
sponsors we also introduced our own Enduro cross section. This enabled greater
exposure for sponsors and tested the riders’ technical skills to the maximum.
In 2018 we burst our seams 527 Riders ! Social media was a buzz with joyful memories being shared . The riders had an awesome day .
As a team we believe in order for us to harvest we must plant . And we rented in some farms ...Many happy faces in our surrounding communities and schools . We also invested in ladies thru support to the Pinkdrive .
We are proud and
thankful for the support of well-known entities who contributed which included;
Grundfos , Bras parts , Raceworx KTM , Liqui
Moly , Afrit , Pirelli , LCP roofing , Nomadic , Q4 Fuel , McLaren Attorneys , Envirocycle , Meatgood and Tyremart Menlyn .