Incredible South African sporting organizations honoured in a beautiful awards ceremony, winning over R1,4 million.
Olympians Wrestling Club and Judo Institute for People with Special Needs, were each awarded first place at the 36th Jack Cheetham and Letsema Sports Development Awards, hosted by Murray & Roberts in association with SASCOC.
The Jack Cheetham Award was initiated by Murray & Roberts 36 years ago in recognition of the special qualities of Jack Cheetham, a former director of the company and the inspirational captain of the South African cricket team in the 1950s who was able to instil in young people the belief that they could win.
The award targets sports development projects, focusing on individuals or teams that have the potential to be champions.
The Murray & Roberts Letsema Award was first awarded in 2009 following the outstanding performance of athlete Hilton Langenhoven who captured the attention of the world at the 2008 Paralympics in Athens. This award recognises sports development projects for people with disabilities.
Olympians Wrestling Club were the winners of the Jack Cheetham Award, which recognises sports development projects that transform the lives of able-bodied young South Africans. The club has a school and community outreach programme that promotes Olympic sports to disadvantaged youth in an effort to counter the effects of gang violence, substance abuse and crime.
The Letsema Award went to the Judo Institute for People with Special Needs. The institute uses judo to instil confidence, self-esteem and discipline into players with disabilities, amongst disadvantaged communities in the Eastern Cape. The Letsema Award is in recognition of sports development projects for people with disabilities and was inspired by Hilton Langenhoven and his performance at the 2008 Paralympics.
Golden Lions Gymnastics Club was the first runner up in the Jack Cheetham Award. The club is a community upliftment project for children in the Westbury community in Johannesburg and is consistently among the top performers in international competition despite their lack of funding. The second runner up was the Rock the Boat Canoeing Programme, part of the Grootbos Foundation. The development programme provides canoeing skills and basic water safety to youngsters from the rural Overberg region in the Western Cape.
The Letsema Award first runner up was Mustang Wheelchair Rugby. The club aims to develop wheelchair rugby as a sport in South Africa to improve the well-being of people living with disabilities. Beneficiaries include children with physical disabilities from rural areas in the Free State and Northern Cape. The second runner up was South African Transplant Sports Association. The association’s vision is to optimise the quality of life of organ transplant recipients through sport.
“These awards recognise excellence in sports development and are a highlight in the year for Murray & Roberts. We recognise the organisations that are using sport to uplift and develop the youth in their communities and we look forward to seeing their potential develop over the next few years with the additional support the awards provide” concludes Henry Laas, Murray & Roberts Group Chief Executive.
About the 2017 Jack Cheetham and Letsema Awards Finalists
JACK CHEETHAM AWARDS
WINNER:
Olympians Wrestling Club
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.
There are five clubs operating, some headed by coaches that began as beneficiaries of the club, and they reach approximately 200 high-risk youth twice a week.
Twenty wrestlers have been identified for training at the High Performance Centre, all of whom have provincial colours and have represented South Africa at National and International level.
Olympians Wrestling Club was a runner-up in the 2014 Jack Cheetham Award.
FIRST RUNNER-UP:
Golden Lions Gymnastics Club
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.
Over the past five years the club has produced 149 gold medals and 10 silver and bronze medals at the South African National Championships. In 2004, the club caused an upset at the World Acro Gymnastics Age Group Games by beating the Russian favourites to win the gold medal in their age group category. They are consistently amongst the top performers in international competition despite their humble beginnings and lack of funding.
SECOND RUNNER-UP:
Grootbos Foundation – Rock the Boat Canoeing Programme
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.
The programme offers recreational paddling, competitive sprint canoeing, marathon canoeing, ski paddling and canoe polo as well as basic water safety. In addition to sports, the programme teaches valuable social skills and keeps vulnerable children away from potentially risky and anti-social behaviour.
While still in its development stages, the programme has already produced inspiring paddlers and recently sent a team to the South African Championships in Swellendam.
LETSEMA AWARDS
WINNER:
Judo Institute for People with Special Needs
Judo Institute for People with Special Needs was established in 2009 and aims to inspire blind, visually impaired, physically disabled, and deaf and intellectually impaired children from underprivileged communities in the Eastern Cape.
The institute uses judo to restore confidence and self-esteem, instil discipline as well as provide mentorship and life skills.
At the Common Wealth Championships in 2016, 34 children participated and brought back 19 medals. Since 2010, the institute has won 108 medals from local, provincial and national levels and hopes to send 10 players to the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.
FIRST RUNNER-UP:
Mustang Wheelchair Rugby
Mustang Wheelchair Rugby was formed in June 2011 and aims to develop wheelchair rugby as a sport in South Africa and to demonstrate how it can impact on and improve the well-being of people living with disabilities.
The club provides an environment where people with disabilities feel welcome and safe and motivates those who have suffered a traumatic event to participate in a sporting activity. Patients from rehabilitation centres, care centres and local hospitals are encouraged to visit the practice sessions.
Beneficiaries also include children with physical disabilities from schools and rural areas in the Free State and Northern Cape.
The Mustangs won the South African Wheelchair Rugby League in 2016 and represented South Africa at two international events.
SECOND RUNNER-UP:
South African Transplant Sports Association
The South African Transplant Sports Association was established in 1994 as a centre for transplant athletes. Its vision is to optimise the quality of life of organ transplant recipients, and through sports and other physical activities, promote organ donation and transplantation.
Athletes with high potential are given the opportunity for additional coaching and South African transplant athletes currently hold six World records and the association is working to host the World Transplant Games in South Africa. At the 2015 games, South Africa finished third and took home 89 medals.
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