An ambitious dream to build a R12-million township gymnastics centre in Port Alfred to nurture the next generation of South African Olympic athletes has received support from the highest level.
South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) president Gideon Sam confirmed he was doing all he could to help star local gymnasts like 14-year-old Onke Mangele become world champions.
Mangele is being touted as a podium contender at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following a string of impressive international performances on the double trampoline.
The high-flying teenager recently won African Championship gold in Namibia despite doing most of his training outdoors, without a coach and on the wrong trampoline, in dusty Nelson Mandela Township
(Nemato).
During the week, Mangele and his friends train without a coach at the award-winning Nemato Change A Life (NCAL) foundation and only receive specialised training over weekends with top national coach Lee Budler in Port Elizabeth.
Although funding is not yet available to build the centre, Sam said they had high hopes for Mangele and were working on developing his talent in the meantime.
“I was told the remarkable story of Onke and fearing that he may be lost in the system I contacted his coach Lee ,” he said from the Rio Paralympics.
“I indicated to him our plans at Sascoc to identify a pool of athletes for special training for the next four years leading up to Tokyo and the Durban 2022 Commonwealth Games.”
He said land had already been secured for the planned gymnastics centre from the Ndlambe Municipality by NCAL founder Jan Blom, and that feasibility studies were being done. Blom’s “tremendous work” with marginalised township youth involved in rowing, gymnastics, fencing, netball and after-school education at the foundation over the past 10 years was praised.
“At the moment it is still a dream as we don’t have any money in the bank but with partners like Sascoc and others supporting the idea I am sure the dream will come true,” Blom said. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
R12m gymnastics centre plan
South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) president Gideon Sam confirmed he was doing all he could to help star local gymnasts like 14-year-old Onke Mangele become world champions.
Mangele is being touted as a podium contender at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following a string of impressive international performances on the double trampoline.
The high-flying teenager recently won African Championship gold in Namibia despite doing most of his training outdoors, without a coach and on the wrong trampoline, in dusty Nelson Mandela Township
(Nemato).
During the week, Mangele and his friends train without a coach at the award-winning Nemato Change A Life (NCAL) foundation and only receive specialised training over weekends with top national coach Lee Budler in Port Elizabeth.
Although funding is not yet available to build the centre, Sam said they had high hopes for Mangele and were working on developing his talent in the meantime.
“I was told the remarkable story of Onke and fearing that he may be lost in the system I contacted his coach Lee ,” he said from the Rio Paralympics.
“I indicated to him our plans at Sascoc to identify a pool of athletes for special training for the next four years leading up to Tokyo and the Durban 2022 Commonwealth Games.”
He said land had already been secured for the planned gymnastics centre from the Ndlambe Municipality by NCAL founder Jan Blom, and that feasibility studies were being done. Blom’s “tremendous work” with marginalised township youth involved in rowing, gymnastics, fencing, netball and after-school education at the foundation over the past 10 years was praised.
“At the moment it is still a dream as we don’t have any money in the bank but with partners like Sascoc and others supporting the idea I am sure the dream will come true,” Blom said. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
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