Message from Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula

AS we celebrate the 22 years of our democracy, it is quite inevitable that the majority of participants here will be of the born-free generation.

You are all welcome. The age groups at which you all are at are the right time to inculcate the notion of a winning nation.

Research has shown that all effective and comprehensive youth development programmes are built on solid youth-development principles, with an emphasis being on components that support youth leadership.

Quite obviously the focus areas of our National Youth Camp (NYC) – sport, youth, social cohesion, leadership, national identity and integration – remain relevant in the current epoch of our country’s development towards consolidating this country as a winning nation.

“An active and winning nation” is one of the core objectives of this country’s national development plan.

To support these objectives, our National Sport and Recreation Plan (NSRP) provides for different stages of a long-term participant development plan.

This, as the NSRP shows, includes the physical, mental, emotional and cognitive development of athletes within the entire sports development continuum, including athletes with a disability.

The NYC is one way in which we are supporting this vision. Hence from this year onwards the NYC will focus on schools in order to ensure that all learners in the republic participate in sport and recreation.

School sport will be the primary focus for ensuring that we deliver in terms of our mandate.

A true foundation to the notion of “building a winning nation” starts with the comprehensive and integrated development of our future athletes and sport administrators.

The primary objective of the NYC programme remains to develop these young people, and empower them with the requisite values, soft skills and knowledge to assist them in becoming responsible, conscious citizens and to strengthen their sense of patriotism and identity.

I want to wish you all well, not only on the sporting front, but also largely in these other important components of this programme.

Let us build an active winning nation.

I thank you.