It started with two friends, a mountain bike race and a crazy idea. In 2017, after years of riding the legendary Absa Cape Epic together, Nicky Webb and Cecil Munch (pictured above) set out to use their passion for cycling to make a difference in the lives of South African women. That idea became ILoveBoobies, a non-profit organisation that has since provided free clinical breast screenings to more than 17 500 women, with 1 045 referred for further investigation.
Nearly a decade later, South Africa’s sporting community has become one of the organisation’s greatest champions. And what a community it is!
From the gruelling trails of the Absa Cape Epic to the spectacular routes of Wines2Whales, mountain biking remains firmly at the heart of ILoveBoobies. What started as a fundraising idea inspired by the Cape Epic has come full circle, with ILoveBoobies now an official charity partner of both the Absa Cape Epic and FNB Wines2Whales mountain bike races. With Wines2Whales just around the corner, 12 teams will be taking to the trails in ILoveBoobies colours, riding for something far bigger than a finish time.
Runners, swimmers and everyday fitness enthusiasts have joined the movement too. The annual Imagine Challenge has grown from 1 200 participants in 2021 to more than 14 000 registrations in 2026, with participants moving throughout October to help fund free breast screenings.
And then came a weekend that showed just how powerful sport can be.
On 10 October, the Vodacom Bulls, Lions, Stormers and Sharks, supported by the BRC and USN, helped take breast cancer awareness into two of South Africa’s biggest rugby stadiums. At the heart of the message was Springbok referee Aimee Barrett-Theron, currently undergoing breast cancer treatment.
At the same time, approximately 2 500 women gathered at 25 Secret Swim venues across the country, celebrating survivors, supporting those in treatment and remembering loved ones lost.
But while thousands were swimming, cheering and moving for a cause, ILoveBoobies nurses were doing what all this support makes possible. At Willowbridge Shopping Centre in Cape Town, 91 women received free clinical breast screenings. Nineteen were referred for further investigation. That is the real finish line.
From mountain bikers tackling impossible climbs to rugby supporters filling stadiums, from corporate teams to first-time runners, every participant helps take the message of early detection further. Sport brings people together. It creates communities, opens doors and gives ordinary people the opportunity to do extraordinary things.
For ILoveBoobies, the greatest sporting victories aren’t measured in seconds or kilometres. They’re measured in women reached, screenings delivered and lives changed.
ABOUT ILOVEBOOBIES
Founded in 2017, ILoveBoobies ZA NPC is a South African non-profit organisation providing free breast health education, clinical screenings and diagnostic referral support to women in underserved communities. To date millions of women in South Africa have been educated, more than 17 500 women have been screened and over 1 000 women have been through the referral programme of diagnosis. Its work is funded through sporting events, merchandise, corporate partnerships and donations.
Source: ILoveBoobies
