August 22, 2006
By Lucky Sindane
THE Soweto Aquatics Club held a one-day aquatics workshop aimed at improving water sports in Soweto and to attract more township people to the sport.
Held on 16 August at the Lenasia cricket stadium, the workshop was attended by representatives from the City's department of sport and recreation, Swimming South Africa, Dragon Boat, Water Polo South Africa, Rowing, Central Gauteng Aquatics and Life Saving South Africa.
"Our aim is to find ways in which we can link these water sporting codes in order to develop talent at an early age, to improve aquatics in Soweto," said sports, recreation and aquatics manager for Region D, Mandla Mdlalose.
Mdlalose said the City is working closely with 17 schools in Dobsonville, three in Jabavu, two in Pimville and five in Meadowlands to develop the swimming skills of learners.
"Two years ago we didn't have dragon boats in our areas and people are now happy that we have one. We believe what we are doing today will take us somewhere," said Mdlalose.
"We also want to get rid of the perception that 'black people can't swim'. We have nine swimming pools in region D which are located in Dobsonville, Jabavu, Moletsane, Senoane, Pimville, Power Park, Meadowlands, Diepkloof and Orlando," he added.
The Soweto Aquatics Club has produced two swimmers - Lucky Nkabinde from Jabavu swimming pool and Thabang Moeketsane from Moletsane swimming pool - who were offered scholarship three years ago at the Swimming South Africa National High Performance Training Centre in Pretoria by the Gauteng Academy Sports (GAS).
Moeketsane swam in Canada in 2006 and became the first black swimmer in the history of South Africa to receive South African national colours on merit. He is the current Central Gauteng 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke champion and got silver medals in the same events during the South African swimming championships.
"The swimming waves of Thabang is a first in Soweto; the region should be proud of his achievements and thank him for keeping the flag flying high for the region," said Mdlalose.
Moeketsane has now been selected to represent the country at next year's Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Mdlalose said the City would assist swimmers in the region to realise their potential, but called on clubs to get their basics right. "Competitions should be the same, what people get during these competitions should be the same, we don't want a situation where people compete in Diepkloof and get medals and tracksuits in Mofolo," said Mbulelo Mbezu, the manager of sports and recreation in Soweto.
At the workshop it was decided that a permanent committee for Soweto Aquatics Club should be elected and all the other sporting codes should be represented.
Mdlalose said he was ready to make way for somebody else to lead the initiative. "I can't be the regional manager for sports and recreation in Region D and aquatics president. How can I write proposals to myself?" said Mdlalose.
"The committee has to be elected very soon and our sports calendars shouldn't clash," he concluded.
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