Jack Cheetam

INK Hockey Club was established by Nkosinathi Ngubane in 1993 and due to the lack of facilities in the township, 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 Kwa-Zulu 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.

Langebaan Athletics Club was awarded the West Coast Sports Councils Community Builder of the Year Award in 2017

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.

The schools and community outreach programme, a project of the Olympians Wrestling Club, was established in 2006. The club is based in the Western Cape and promotes Olympic sports to disadvantaged youth to counter gangsterism, substance abuse and crime.

Established in 1988, Golden Lions Gymnastics is a community upliftment project for children from Westbury, Newclare, Claremont and Newlands in Johannesburg with the aim to produce South African and World Acro Gymnastics champions. The club takes children off the streets of rough neighbourhoods and gives them an opportunity to excel and perform while also educating them around the dangers of drug use, HIV and teenage pregnancy.

Rock the Boat Canoeing Programme was established in 2016 by the Stanford Canoe Club, part of the Grootbos Foundation, as a development programme to attract youngsters from the local communities in the rural Overberg region in the Western Cape to the sport of canoeing.

Sail Africa Youth Development Foundation was established in 2007 and is the development project of Sail Africa. The overall objective of the Foundation is the expose youth to the sport of sailing as well as to careers in nautical sciences and the maritime industry.

National Archery in Schools Programme (NASP) uses the sport of archery to uplift the youth and promote participation in responsible outdoor activities while developing life-long skills.

NASP is the development project of 3DI Target Africa which is affiliated to the Federation of Archery in SA. NASP introduces the sport of archery, facilitates and implements archery programmes, facilitates training and participation in competitions, develops infrastructure needed for the sport and identifies and trains coaches.

CODAH Cycling Club is a project of the Children of Destiny at Home (CODAH). CODAH is an NPO operating in Hammersdale, KZN and was established in 2007. CODAH provides support to orphans and vulnerable children living in impoverished environments through an outreach programme which includes a feeding scheme, life skills training, sports and basic skills development. The programme reaches approximately 900 children, with almost 300 of them being orphans

The W4C surf programme is a year-long programme after which surfers graduate in order to make room for the new intake.  Gradates can also become Community Coaches who receive a 2-year accredited Coach Training. Through the Waves for Change programme, the first ever township teams participated in the SA National Inter-Club championships held at Strand Beach in 2014. To date several promising surfers have been developed and participate in district, provincial and national competitions.

There are currently 30 paddlers in the development programme.  The programme begins with a Learn to Swim component, followed by strength and conditioning and exposure to competitive environments such as cross country racing.  The purpose of the Learn to Swim component is to introduce participants to the water, to ensure that all paddlers are capable swimmers and to expose them to the dynamics of the river. Once learners are water safe and demonstrate the interest and fitness required, they are introduced to canoeing.  A Level 1 International Canoe Federation coach from the local community facilitates their training on flat water, river paddling and river proficiency.

Through their outreach programme No Limits Trampoline provides free coaching to children and youth from Sebokeng.  Through physical activity, the club develops athletic ability as well as reducing risk taking behaviour such as drug use or criminal behaviour.  Many of these gymnasts participate provincially and nationally and are viewed as role models in their communities, providing hope and inspiration and increasing participation rates amongst the community.

The academy provides opportunities for the youth of Diepsloot community through sports development and empowerment programmes to enable them to become active participants in the social upliftment of their community. The long-term vision of the academy is to develop each athlete into a well-rounded and skilled individual who is able to earn sustainable income and provide for their family.

The academy promotes Olympic Wrestling and academic tutoring among disadvantaged youth to empower them with leadership skills and personal success and provides an alternative to crime, gangs and drug abuse prevalent in the local community. The long-term vision of the academy is to develop each athlete into a well-rounded and skilled individual who is able to earn sustainable income and provide for their family.

The objectives of Lifesaving South Africa is to encourage and provide the best drown prevention practices and to create a healthy environment for mass and individual participation in the sport of lifesaving. The development programme introduces wrestling to schools in Fisantekraal, Philadelphia, Klipheuwel and Joostenberg Vlakte in the Western Cape; children receive training and are fed, clothed and taught important life skills.

Bethelsdorp Wrestling Academy is a programme to uplift children from communities in Bethelsdorp, Jacksonville, Gelvandale, Kwazahkele and Kleinskool in Port Elizabeth that are affected by drug abuse, gang activities and poverty.  The academy provides an environment of self discovery, mutual respect and discipline and takes vulnerable children off the street.  Bethelsdorp Wrestling Academy took home seven gold medals, six silver medals and one bronze medal at the South African Regional Championships in September.  

The programme introduces the sport of archery to schools in previously disadvantaged and rural areas and encourages young people to participate in responsible outdoor activities in order to uplift the community.  Archery is an accessible sport that teaches life-long physical activity, self esteem and has been shown to positively impact on school attendance. The National Archery in Schools programme provides a platform for children to compete at a local level with the aim of identifying players for the National Team.

The goal of the Dreamfields Project is better schools through sport, stronger communities through better schools.  Dreamfields does this by supplying schools with basic equipment, sustaining regular and predictable football programmes in primary schools and giving teachers the opportunity to gain basic skills in coaching young players.  The project also builds community football fields in rural areas and will build their 17th field in Ogies, Mpumalanga in early 2014.  Through weekly football, children learn valuable life lessons about determination, teamwork and what it takes to succeed.

The Paarl Canoe Club Development Programme has for many years been encouraging and enabling kayaking as a sport among previously disadvantaged youths in the Western Cape. The programme focuses on both development and high performance and has achieved significant results, dominating the South African National School sprints in recent years and producing domestic and international gold medal winners, including Luke Stowman who has been identified as a leading prospect for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Coach Wayne August, an early beneficiary of the programme, has trained many of South Africa’s national sprint and marathon champions and is a powerful role model to his younger protégées.

The Sedibeng Korfbal Region has been promoting korfball as a sport to previously disadvantaged youth in Emfuleni for over 15 years. The project began in Bophelong and rapidly expanded to Boipatong, Sebokeng, Sharpeville and Evaton, where it has enabled hundreds of children to participate in competitive sport and be mentored by older korfbal champions in their communities. In 2012, 862 children involved in the project participated in domestic korfball tournaments, 41 were selected to represent South Africa in the sport and over the years, a number of its participants have achieved their Protea colours and gone on to develop careers as coaches. The project was initiated by Hein van der Lith, who continues to be its driving force, ably assisted by Paulos Masiloane.