Staff WriterThe Conservation Cup is back, and this year promises to be bigger, brasher, and just as wild as the animals it’s trying to save. On Thursday, 4 September, Pearl Valley’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Course will host the second edition of the tournament — a star-studded showdown where South Africa’s sporting legends trade stadiums and arenas for fairways and greens, all in the name of conservation.
This time, the heavyweight captains are Oscar Chalupsky, the surfski icon, and football hero Shaun Bartlett. Chalupsky will lead Team Rhino, while Bartlett rallies Team Pangolin in a Ryder Cup-style 27-hole format.
Forty-four athletes, from rugby bruisers to cricket royalty, will tee it up for glory — and more importantly, for the future of South Africa’s most vulnerable wildlife.
A Who’s Who of Sporting Icons
The line-up reads like a highlight reel of South African sport: Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, Schalk Burger Jnr., Neil Tovey, Mark Fish, André Joubert, Robbie Fleck, Akona and Odwa Ndungane, Gcobani Bobo, Gary Teichmann, Schalk Brits, Marco Wentzel and Marc Watson.
Add a sprinkle of business leaders, a gala dinner, and live coverage on SuperSport, and you’ve got yourself a spectacle.
Beyond the Fairways
The Conservation Cup isn’t just about bragging rights or birdies; it’s the flagship fundraiser for The Fisher Foundation, which supports conservation and education projects across South Africa.
Funds go toward relocating endangered species, running youth education programmes, and tackling poaching with cutting-edge tech like GPS collars and tracking devices.
Last year’s inaugural tournament proved the model works. Proceeds helped deliver:
- A football and life-skills clinic for 140 children with Bafana Bafana greats Neil Tovey and Doctor Khumalo.
- An immersive conservation camp for Grade 7 learners.
- The collaring and translocation of five elephants from Asante Sana Reserve to the Eastern Cape.
- The safe movement of five cheetah into Mozambique to strengthen the gene pool.
- Rhino dehorning projects designed to deter poachers.
Champions in the Wild
This year also marks the launch of Champions in the Wild, a new initiative from The Fisher Foundation showcasing how sports stars can inspire the next generation to protect wildlife.
Richard Fisher, Founder and Executive Chairman of City Logistics and President of The Fisher Foundation, summed it up: “We are extremely grateful to our sports stars who are a powerful voice in driving home the message of conservation of our most precious wildlife assets.
We believe that investing in conservation education during the formative years of our children’s lives will translate into a more sustainable future for generations.”
He added: “Our immersive education camps in protected wildlife areas go a long way to ensuring that future generations will conserve, protect and cherish our gifted natural heritage.”
The Bigger Picture
The Conservation Cup may only be in its second year, but it’s already proving that sport can be more than entertainment.
It can move elephants, save rhinos, and inspire kids who might one day become the next custodians of South Africa’s natural treasures.
And if that’s not reason enough to watch a group of rugby players try to sink three-foot putts under pressure, I don’t know what is.
