CAPE TOWN – The water crisis currently affecting Cape Town demands everyone takes extra measures to ensure that Day Zero never comes.
The Sunshine Tour has committed itself during this week's Cape Town Open to use less water in an effort to assist the City and the citizens in their endeavours to save the scarce resource.
The first measure was to move the tournament from its usual home, the Royal Cape Golf Club which has a dire shortage of water, to the King David Mowbray Golf Club, where the golf course is treated with effluent water.
The other important measure taken by the Tour in this regard is to encourage golfers to use showers only on the Tuesday of the pro-am, on Friday for those who miss the cut and who are travelling, and on Sunday after the tournament.
Efforts to reduce the consumption of bottled water throughout the week have been made, which includes trucking in 700 cases of bottled water from Gauteng for player hydration and operational areas and thus helping further stress on local resources.
The organizers of the @CapeTownOpen have brought in 700 cases of water from Joburg due to the water crisis in the City. Please use it wisely! #SaveWater #BeWaterWise #DefeatDayZero pic.twitter.com/JVoQDKODY9
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 19, 2018
Using disposable plates, cutlery and cups for all catering areas during the entire tournament week will remove the need to wash dishes, and because the toilets in the clubhouse are fed by greywater systems, this reduces the use of potable water during this event.
Further, all tournament officials and players are being encouraged to wear blue on Friday to help create awareness that ‘Day Zero’ could be a reality.
In line with the City’s strategy to preserve this important resource, the Sunshine Tour will also be running a social media campaign through which aims to engage the public, players and tournament staff.
While the water crisis is very real, the Sunshine Tour are committed to ensuring that the Cape Town Open, sponsored by Sun International, goes ahead and with the use of such strategies and gaining public support in raising awareness around the issue.