Focus on finding talented youths
TWO young race walkers arrived in Pretoria yesterday morning after a taxi ride from Durban in their bid to seek athletics bursaries at the Tuks high school.
Such acts are not unusual — last year a coach in rural KwaZulu-Natal persuaded his local government to sponsor three kids to the schools’ trials.
Since an anonymous donor, a South African living abroad, decided to invest about R15-million a year into this project in the wake of the 2012 London Olympics, the school has grown.
His Athletics Foundation Trust funds around 70 pupils each year up to R180 000 each, says programme manager Rose Juby.
With 17 matrics leaving at the end of the year — including Olympic sprinters Clarence Munyai and Gift Leotlela — more than 200 children vied for those vacancies.
Short-listed to 40, they went through biokinetic screening tests and interviews yesterday.
“We’re doing injury risk screening,” said technical director Lindsey Parry.
“One of the problems is we have selected athletes and then they break down with a serious injury.
“If we detect a problem it doesn’t mean we don’t choose them, we then know how to work with them.”
Athletics potential is only one of the criteria for selection, said Juby, adding that academics and behavioural patterns were also important. “Discipline is critical.”
Children are also tested for English comprehension and maths, and undergo psychometric tests.
There had been a case where one pupil was rejected because her English was too poor, so she worked on her language skills and applied the following year, with success.
A schoolboy was rejected amid doubts over his athletic potential, but he too came back faster 12 months later to win a spot.
“This is a national programme,” said Juby, adding that the focus was on finding talented youths in rural areas.
Of all the pupils, 65% come from homes where the monthly household income is R5 000 or less, and 95% with incomes at R15 000 or less.
Some are orphans or from foster homes; a full bursary even includes R300 pocket money a month.
“The confidence they gain here — the difference is amazing,” said Juby. “We have one girl in matric who has been accepted to study medicine.
“She said that before she didn’t have the confidence to say she wanted to be a doctor.”
Parry is confident the cream of the athletic talent will shine on the world stage. If they have the drive of the two determined race walkers, why not?