SA ’ s winning swimmers high and dry
SOUTH Africa’s Olympic gold medalist swimmers Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Berg, will be expected to contribute to the R1.4-million cost to send the national team to the Fina World Championships in Barcelona.
It emerged this week that the 25 swimmers taking part in the championships in July will have to pay for their own flight tickets and accommodation.
Contributions from each could be as much as R50 000.
Swimming SA was plunged into financial chaos last year after losing its R11.5-million a year Telkom sponsorship.
On Friday Le Clos’s father and manager, Bert, called the lack of sponsorship a “disgrace”.
“It’s pathetic that you have to [buy] your own flight tickets, ” he said.
He added: “It’s a disgrace when you consider the amount of medals and glory swimmers bring to this country. There are other teams, which I don’t want to point out, that get millions but bring back nothing.”
Swimming SA’s management this week confirmed that it had been struggling to get funding from companies since Telkom withdrew its sponsorship.
Chief executive Shaun Adriaanse said negotiations with several potential sponsors had been unsuccessful. “Some of the feedback we have received from companies is that swimming does not form part of their sponsorship strategy or that their focus is either on football, rugby, cricket or golf. So far we have not received positive feedback for sponsorship,” he said.
Adriaanse confirmed that a team would be sent to Barcelona “but athletes will be required to contribute towards their participation”. He added that preparations for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics in Brazil would also be affected by the federation ’ s lack of funds.
On Friday sports minister Fikile Mbalula said he was unaware of Swimming SA’s financial woes. “Nobody has approached me about that,” he said. However, in a written response in parliament’s national assembly in November last year, Mbalula’s office said he had held business briefing sessions with companies identified as potential sponsors for Swimming SA.
“The minister has also held a discussion with the former sponsor of Swimming SA, Telkom. (Although he) has not met Swimming SA to specifically discuss the lack of sponsorship for the swimming team. However, he has held a discussion on this matter over the phone with them.”