the satellite championships feature a race within a race.
each national team trying to outstrip other countries
to seize the big prize,
and take their place as the best of backyard in the world;
with the individual winners seizing a place in the starting corral at big’s in 2025
to contend for the title; last man on earth.
but other rivalries matter.
today we take a look at one continent where the teams will be trying to best their neighbors.
africa;
south africa, led by thembikosi sojola whose 55 yards in the 2023 individual championships is the best african performance to date, has to be the favorite.
RSA has a long sporting tradition, and was the first african country to hold a backyard.
with a number of events each year, south africa has the most team depth.
of course, thembi’s big yards can’t come into play without an assist. nicky booyens leads the field of hopefuls to carry team south africa to a big total.
the second most experienced team in africa hails from the opposite end of the continent.
morocco is led by abderrahmane ait haddou (say that three times fast!) with anouar mohamed glia who was the assist in the 2022 satellite championships.
one factor in morocco’s favor is the timing.
october is considered the best time of year for outdoor activities in morocco.
we are getting close to the rainy season, but the temperatures should be ideal.
right next to morocco is the great unknown of algiers.
led by liess makhlouf who logged 52 yards at a race in france,
algiers has no other “proven” backyarders.
after a couple of years of trying,
this is the first time they have been able to hold an official backyard event.
it is new territory for the algerians,
but they have the benefit of liess’ experience leading the way.
the other darkhorse is kenya.
the kenyan backyards to date have been fun, community events.
but when you say the words kenya and running in the same sentence,
you cannot overlook the potential for big things happening.
team kenya is led by peter wambugu wanjiru, winner of the last nairobi backyard with 28 yards and his assist michael kihiko.
can the kenyan team spring an october surprise?
other african teams will be representing mauritius, namibia, cote d’ivoire, zambia, botswana, and egypt.
on paper they do not have the experience and depth to challenge the favorites…
but this is the backyard.
nothing is decided on paper!
i knew about africa from school.
but history and geography classes do little to flesh out a place on the map.
having the privilege of getting to meet real africans
even if only by email
and to watch their developing backyard community
one gets a taste of the richness and variety of the continent.
i cant wait to see how things develop during the championships
and to find out who will be coming to bell buckle in 2025!
