FINALISTS INSPIRE AT THE 2018 JACK CHEETHAM AND LETSEMA AWARDS

The 2018 edition of the Jack Cheetham and Letsema Awards was hosted at the Fox Junction event space in downtown Johannesburg on Thursday, 1 November 2018.

Kass Naidoo expertly took guests through the evenings formalities and introduced the six impressive finalists for the awards.

The Jack Cheetham Award targets sports development projects for able-bodied athletes. The finalists were INK Hockey Club, Langebaan Athletics Club and Welkom Wrestling Club.

INK HOCKEY CLUB was established by Nkosinathi Ngubane in 1993 and due to the lack of facilities in the township, he began coaching hockey in a classroom with nine athletes. There are now 20 hockey-playing schools in the townships of Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal.

The club uses hockey to encourage youth participation in sport which then exposes them to life-changing learning and education opportunities, with a number of players receiving high-school scholarships. The club participates in the KZN Super League division and some of the players have been selected to play in inter-provincial tournaments.

THE LANGEBAAN ATHLETICS CLUB began in 2012 as a life-long dream by Christopher Rodgers to help uplift the local community and youth. From ten members, the club now has 105 active members with many talented young athletes being given the opportunity to attend high-performance camps.

The club teaches discipline through athletics and conditioning training and this has transferred to the classroom with a notable improvement in school attendance and punctuality.

THE WELKOM WRESTLING CLUB started in 1991 when Jan Bezuidenhout decided to train some of the local children in the sport of wrestling. Jan was working on his father’s farm at the time and noticed that there were very few opportunities for the children of the local community. Many of the children went without food and often became involved with drugs and gangs as a means to escape poverty.

The club provides an opportunity to learn life skills, discipline and respect in a safe environment. The club currently has 86 young wrestlers and has produced a number of provincial champions. INK Hockey Club were the Jack Cheetham Award winners, with Langebaan Athletics Club announced as first runner up and Welkom Wrestling Club placing third.

The Letsema Award, which was first awarded in 2009, focuses on sports development projects supporting differently-abled athletes. The finalists in this category were Made for More, South AfricanSports Association for the Physically Disabled (SASAPD) – Boccia and Thuthukani Special School.

MADE FOR MORE aims to empower and equip people who are differently abled. Founded in 2016 by Julia van Zyl, the organisation uses sport as a vehicle to bring hope, build relationships and instil morals and values, while providing athletes with opportunities to pursue their sporting careers.

Made for More’s mission is to guide and empower differentlyabled communities to discover their abilities, worth and purpose. They do this through differentlyabled sport, mentorship programmes, leadership and sports camps, and career guidance.

The organisation currently has 185 athletes across a diverse range of sporting codes including adaptive surfing, Wushu and blind soccer.

SASAPD was established in 1962 and provides the opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in sport. The organisation presents a number of sporting codes including Boccia, which was started in South Africa in 2002.

Boccia is a sport for persons with cerebral palsy and the severely disabled, and has participation across seven provinces. SASAPD aims to facilitate accessible and equitable sporting opportunities for people with disabilities to empower and improve their quality of life.

THUTHUKANI SPECIAL SCHOOL was founded in 1981 and provides holistic education for learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities. Located in Empangeni, the school currently accommodates 419 learners from mostly impoverished families.

The school aims to build the learners self-esteem and functional ability so that they leave the school as independent as possible and equipped with skills they can use to contribute to their communities.

An active sport and cultural programme provides the opportunity for Thuthukani learners to compete against both disabled and abled learners which assists in better community inclusion.

Made for More were the Letsema Award winners, with SASAPD taking first runner up and Thuthukani Special School second runner up.

“The finalists make a valuable difference to their beneficiaries as well as the broader community and we are proud to be able to contribute to their continued success in changing the lives of these athletes” says Henry Laas, Murray & Roberts Group Chief Executive.

Concludes Neil Smith, past chairman of the Johannesburg Sportsman’s Club, previous co-hosts of the awards, “What a venue! What emotion! And what inspiring finalists! It was a privilege for us to attend such a special occasion.”

For more information on the finalists and the awards, visit www.jclawards.co.za.