Sam on sport’s progress
March 7th, 2010 | Published in Road Forward | 7 Comments
SASCOC president Gideon Sam said good progress has been made in taking South African sport forward but as always, there’s work to be done.
Sam was speaking after a two-day President’s Council meeting at Birchwood, Boksburg.
The meeting of the South African Olympic governing body was addressed by various key note speakers who provided input in various areas such as unity, transformation and representitivity.
“One of the most important areas is that of unity and it was good to see the engagement on these issues. Professor Denver Hendricks was very good in his input regarding this aspect.
“What’s obvious is that we have to have unity in sport if we are to success at any level. In fact we need unity in all aspects like social structure. Some say that its an economic reality and so on and it remains a dream to have perfect unity but its something that we have to continuously strive for.”
In terms of representivity Sam said: “It’s high time that we go into the various federations and just have a look at this subject but I must also stress that this is most definitely not a witchhunt of any sort.”
Sam says that SASCOC continues to work closely with the various federations under its umbrella.”We are getting them to take stock in terms of the process that we follow at SASCOC and that they also need to follow.”
“It’s most important that the federations must understand that we will take serious steps against people who are not up there with the plan. The federations by their very nature as members of SASCOC need to follow our programmes etc.”
Sam says that one of the areas that will be looked at closely continues to be school sport. “We need finality and get the educators involved. There’s the whole issue of funding, the usual Lotto and Sports Department but maybe we have to go back to the Lotto in areas of the funding criteria and as far as the Sports Department, maybe look at lessening the bureacracy.”
The subject of High Performance centres also came up for discussion. “Someone has to pay for this and the federations are buying in. We must perhaps target the Department of Finance in this regard because after all we are very serious about SA sport.
“All in all I think the spirit was very good and there is no doubt that we are making progress on many fronts. What happens next is that we will have a sports council meeting on 10-11 April where we will concretise decisions taken today.”
March 7th, 2010 at 9:10 pm (#)
Mr Gideon Sam and Board
Allow me to be critical in my observations of a number of sports within South Africa.
In my opinion, two of the discussion points at your gathering: 1) transformation and 2) nation building (whom President Jacob Zuma focussed on in his new years eve message) goes hand in hand.
I believe that in order to build a nation, you need to transform. Without transformation, you cannot build the nation.
It is important for SASCOC to raise, or discuss and interogate such issues.
However, for as long as there are no clear cut transformation targets from SASCOC, the national federations cannot give targets to the provinces. In fact, the so-called white federations will not use their own initiatives to ensure that there is transformation. How about provinces further give targets to pure white clubs.
I do not want to come across as pointing fingers, but swimming is such a sport that is not transformed and plays no role in nation building. It is an individual sport, hence it should be easier to transform. By-the-way Mr Gideon Sam and Mr Sam Ramsamy are former presidents and honorary presidents of this sports code. I dont see any action from them.
After 19 years, still no black olympic swimmer……..at Gala’s you have consecutive events taking place with not one black swimmers participating or even watching. At senior national competitions, blacks can be counted on one hand. Money remains one of the biggest barriers to access swimming.
Federations just want to make money, gate takings, entry fees (R15 per event x 3 = R45 (imagine there is more than 1 child)at times as swimmers travel far with their parents…. and the list goes on.
I don’t want to mention the hotels they stay in…..
Now, if only a certain group of people can participate in sports, how do these sports federations think we can unite people and build the nation through sports?
A certain athletics provincial federation charges R40 for athletes to enter competitions. If you look at the black people in athletics, you will find that most or all of them are from poor backgrounds. mosts are still running barefeet. If a parent has three kids competing, than it will be R120 plus food, transport, etc. How can transformation take place…. How can sport play a role in nation building.
We need to create opportunities for people to get together. We need too make sport accessible to people. We need to bring people to the sport or bring the sport to the people. Sport is a product that need to be sold. Like any product, it needs to be marketed very well.
To conclude, President Sam and SASCOC Board, you need to deliver, or atleast get the federations to deliver as they are the custodians of sport and you are the police. The next step would be to meet with them individually and set transformation target, monitor and evaluate. If achieved, give the carrot, if not give the stick…..
Schools sport is alive. I have been attending schools sports events and the atmosphere is much better than at provincial competitions (the level is just lower). You also see in some codes that people of all races attend and cheer for their children. (leaders just need to find ways to ensure that people from all races are properly brought together.
This is not a personal attack on anybody or to discredit anybody, but its facts!
March 7th, 2010 at 9:17 pm (#)
In the interest of transparency, can the minutes of your meetings be published or made available on this website for the nation to see?
March 7th, 2010 at 10:02 pm (#)
There are sports codes that are far worse off, in terms of transformation, than swimming. Shooting comes to mind immediately. It still looks like 1970, and there has not even been a willingness to open up and become inclusive, leave alone specific steps and concrete plans.
March 7th, 2010 at 10:28 pm (#)
COMMENT
The first CEO of the AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE of SPORT made the statement
“MONEY in = MEDALS out”
In my books I translate it to:
FACILITIES, Trained coaches, then athlete support then administration.
Let start by building top class facilities, then train our couches to world standard, then we will see athletes rising, support them by establishing funds to support them AFTER their sport career has finished. This will lead to athlete committing themselves, and subjecting themselves to good management.
Regards
March 8th, 2010 at 10:55 am (#)
Transformation must be understood first. You have a board member who is the President of korfbal. Blacks don’t play that sport. You have a board member who is a spokesman for the DA. The DA need to transform before thet can play a role in transformation and nation building. Concerned is right. Sam was the president of swimming. A sport that is not transformed.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:17 pm (#)
Mr. President
It is quite disappointing that ever since you got to the office,you have not once called Basketball South Africa to account.
I want to place on record that,South African basketball will never improve or go anywhere under the current leadership lead by Mr Malesela Maleka the spokesperson for the SACP.
The Executive of Basketball South Africa is made out of the same people who served in the Vusi Mgobhozi administration which some of them are incompetent.
Need I remind you that Basketball is an Olympic sport and as such,we require it to be taken very serious as other codes…I challenge you Sam to look into Basketball and “act” on many things that are not right.
If I may make an example…The structure was formed by Provinces who were not and still not constituted.The likes on Malesela,Tsepo Nyewe and the Dr. Malumbethe Ralethe identified people in Provinces and asked them to vote for them.
You have Tsepo Nyewe who then was employed by Basketball South Africa as an Administrator who then was President of Gauteng,writting a letter to SASCOC then under Moss Mashishi calling for a Special General Meeting to dissolve BSA.
BSA was dissolved and for me,a case like what happened in Athletics SA should have been done to BSA then.All these guys are corrupt and Basketball will never change under their leadership.
Dr. Ralethe is still to tell us What happened to the College Basketball League that was running smoothly and Nationally…Now our High school Basketball is so good that when the kids get to College there is nothing for them to continue playing…
Another example…The so called President of School Basketball, Mrs Gezephi Mbatha is a Board Member representing schools.She was President of USASSA then that was dissolved.Today,schools have no Basketball programs.There are no Provincial Basketball Committee which again raises questions to who mandated her to represent Schools.
What I am trying to say Sam is that you have got to go deep into the affairs of Basketball.Forget the Basketball South Africa leadership…Come to provinces and hear what people will tell you about the sport and it’s direction and draw your own view.
November 3rd, 2010 at 1:04 pm (#)
Mr President
I need a letter from sascoc for my work, i am going overseas with the SA SANSEI GOJU RYU KARATE TEAM can you please assist me with this with a letter with sascoc headers that SHIHAN JAMES Vermaak was part of SASCOC FOR MANY YEARS.
It is only for Transnet for Mr L Reynhardt we are going to the USA for the Karate world championship.
Please inform