SA ATHLETES NEED FINANCIAL SUPPORT

LATE on Wednesday, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture’s press release landed to announce the nominees for the South African Sports Awards.

The theme for the 17th edition of the event, which will take place on Sunday, May 5 at the Sun City Superbowl, is “Celebrating 30 years of freedom through sporting excellence”.

Of course, there have been a number of memorable moments since unity in sport was achieved from 1991 onwards.

The South African men’s cricket team toured India in late 1991, Elana Meyer won a silver medal in the 10 000m at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and then the Springboks claimed the Rugby World Cup title in 1995. Bafana Bafana followed it up with the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in 1996.

Josia Thugwane and Penny Heyns brought back gold from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

In recent years, Wayde van Niekerk produced a 400m world record to win gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Springboks won back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023, Tatjana Schoenmaker ruled in the swimming pool at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and Banyana Banyana made us all proud by becoming the first SA senior team to reach the World Cup play-offs.

But many of these great achievements have been attained despite limited financial support from the government, whether it’s at an elite-athlete level or providing facilities on the ground in local communities.

Often teams or individuals have had to find their own funding to travel to world events, or battled to get in the necessary training in the build-up.

But when they bring glory to Mzansi on the international stage, Sports Minister Zizi Kodwa and his predecessors have either found their way to the final of the matches, or had a big welcome at the OR Tambo International Airport.

Kodwa expressed his excitement about the SA Sports Awards, saying “our national athletes and teams have been raising the nation’s flag sky high. “In the South African Sport Awards, we celebrate the role sport continues to play to unite our diverse people, and in lifting the nation’s mood.”

How about rather lifting the mood of the athletes and teams by using the money spent on the awards to assist them to conquer the world?