The annual Mossel Bay Sports Festival continues to grow. The 2015 Festival, which will take place from 1 October 2015 until 8 October 2015, has attracted entries from 40 different sports codes this year compared to between 25 and 30 per year previously.

This include lesser known sports such as klawerjas, dominoes and bridge. Like before, there will also be events for the disabled.

The Festival is organised by the Mossel Bay Municipality to promote a healthy lifestyle as well as to market the town. The first Sports Festival was held in 2012.

Each sport has to organise its own event as well as find its own sponsors. The Municipality does the overall marketing of the event as well as provide logistical support where it is required.

A feature of this year’s festival is that it will include the SA marathon championship, which will ensure that the country’s top as well as international marathon runners will be in action. The annual PetroSA marathon on Saturday, 26 September 2015, will double as the national championship.

The race route was accredited in 2014 with the International Association of Athletics Federations as well as the Association for International Marathon Standards. This means that athletes can use the race to qualify for other international races as well as to qualify for events such as the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games.