Sports Outreach Africa

Drafting: Forget about drug use, altitude training or equipment weight. The single most influencing factor in professional cycling is the same today as it was 100 years ago at the first Tour de France.

Drafting is when cyclists follow closely behind one another to be spared the wind resistance. At speeds of 50km/h this means the cyclist behind only does 60% of the work of the first, and the cyclist sitting in 6th place only needs to do 30% of the work of the first to keep up. The cyclist in 100th place hardly has to cycle as he is sucked along in the vacuum created.

One thing that you will find is that the cyclist at the front does not do all the work by himself. Not one of these cyclists could manage to cycle the 150km stage at this speed on his own. So every couple of minutes, a new cyclist comes to the front of the peleton, and takes his turn to pull the pack along, thereby enabling the whole peleton to move at a faster pace than each could on their own.

Towards the back of the peleton are new riders, learning from the technique and tactics of the more experienced. Also resting at the back are those who have done their bit at the front on previous days, and those waiting for their turn to come. The weak and sick hang in at the back, still keeping up with the pace, but not having to exert themselves to the same extent as the pace setters.

These dynamics encourage younger riders to move to the front, and lead the way for a short time, then slip back into the protection of the group before the effort gets too much for them. Older, regular pace setters will get the chance to rotate to the back before they become burnt out from the sustained effort, and render themselves useless for the future.

Our various ministries function much the same as a peleton (a group of cyclists). There are often older and wiser members of our team leading the way, doing the maximum amount of activity and giving the most effort, whilst others of us benifiting from their leadership are pulled along in the momentum that they generate. But as with cycling, there is only so much a leader can do before they, too, need to rest and slip into the protection of God's care to recover. Sustained effort, without this rest will lead to burnout.

If you are enjoying the security of your ministry \"peleton\", why not find out how you can share some of the workload? Over the next two months, with the Rugby World Cup, and the 8th All Africa Games, there will be a lot of need for you to take your turn at the "front".

The SOA website aims to be some form of encouragement to those of you who give a sustained effort selflessly and continually, whilst aiding those less experienced to sample the joys of ministering at the front of the team. We provide help in listing your events and activities, assistance in setting up outreaches and ministry teams, and pointers on raising financial support. We are also able to answer your questions in the Forums.

We like to think of ourselves as a bit of an online peleton.

Some of the people taking their turns at the front of our ministry are André Vos and Jonathan Barber. Previously SA rugby captain. André joins us as an online columnist, just in time to write a couple of articles relating to the upcoming Rugby World Cup, and will also host a Rugby Question & Answer Forum. Jonathan is a professional Triathlete. If you thought being a pro sportsman was hard, try being a pro at 3... Swimming, Cycling and Running. Jonathan also hosts a column and forum on this site.