Southern Shamaal

For 35 years now, off the East Coast of Southern Africa, men of the South African Surf Lifesaving community have been taking on a monumental challenge every 24 Months. Known as "The maker of men", "The blood, guts & glory race", "4 days of hell at sea" or simply "The Challenge" it has captivated the minds of the public through the sheer toughness and bravery of the competitors and the paddling community who offer deep respect to those who can say "I have done it"...

Southern Shamaal is the toughest ocean paddling race in the world and Indivirtual was asked to design and develop a website for the event.

The main requirements of the organising committee were:

• The design should reflect to long history of the race and its South African origins.
• Three unique home page versions dynamically changing content based on race state: pre-race, during the race and post race states.
• An interactive introduction with photos and music of the past.
• Online registration and online credit card payment for singles, doubles and teams that participate in the race.
• Profile creation with personal details which are shared among the participants and the public.
• Access to race information through a flash based interactive map.
• News, Notice Board, Photo & Video library functionality to share the best moments of the past and during the event.
• Live weather feed covering the duration of the race.
• Content Management and Administrative interface that allows the organisers to edit, create and delete content of any part in the website as well as to perform race registration administration, payment and order tracking among other tasks.

The project was delivered on-time, within scope and budget, and most importantly build with future-proof standards and best practices that will ensure site re-use for future Southern Shamaal races with little to no investment from the client.

Some Reactions

“...thanks for making our vision happen!”
Wayne Randall (client, Dubai, UAE)

“One of the best sites for this sport in the world...”
Anton Erasmus (Epic Kayaks, South Africa)

“Your website is terrific. It has really set the standard in websites for our sport. Well done. My job is to commentate on brands and their execution, and I just couldn't help myself when I happened upon yours.”
Karl Treacher (Brand Behaviour)

Would you like more information? Don’t hesitate, contact us.