The 2003 Murray & Roberts Jack Cheetham Memorial Award was presented to Canoeing South Africa at a gala event at the Wanderers Sports Club in Johannesburg late last year.

In partnership with the National Olympic Committee of South Africa (NOCSA) and Sowetan newspaper, Murray & Roberts selected canoeing in recognition of the excellence and leadership in its development programme. Canoeing South Africa is an affiliate of NOCSA.

The Jack Cheetham Memorial award was initiated 22 years ago in recognition of the special qualities of Jack Cheetham, a former Murray & Roberts director and the inspirational captain of the South African cricket team in the 1950s, who was able to instil in young people the belief that they could win. The award targets sports development projects in designated sporting codes, focusing on individuals or teams that have the potential to be champions.

“Canoeing competes with the larger, more popular sports for sponsorship. Against these odds, and boosted by passionate and dedicated leadership, Canoeing South Africa has established a well-organised, effective development programme in KwaZulu-Natal,” said Brian Bruce, Group CE of Murray & Roberts.

“With funding support, this programme has the potential to be extended throughout South Africa and to produce Olympic champions,” Brian added.

The Dream of Two Men

The slalom development programme, which has offered opportunity beyond their wildest dreams to disadvantaged young people in KwaZulu-Natal, represents the dream of the remarkable Robert Lembethe and Cameron McIntosh.

Robert, the founder and driving force behind the Lembethe Canoe Club, has been part of the rowing fraternity since the 1970s and is still a top class paddler. His dream to take canoeing to Nagle Dam, deep in the Valley of a Thousand Hills started with informal coaching courses for young people in the region and then led to the formation of the Club. Now the Club is home to scores of teenage canoeists and has already produced international contestants like Michael Mbanjwa, Tom Ncgobo, Loveday Zondi, Lucky Ndlovu and Octavia Mzolo who have represented South Africa.

Cameron, South African slalom canoeing champion and aspirant Olympian is striving to qualify a boat for South Africa at the Athens 2004 Olympics. He has put his final year of medical studies on hold to develop canoeing champions, particularly in the C1 and C2 disciplines, by training and creating opportunities for the Lembethe Canoe Club members.

The Dream Team

The development programme is being undertaken at Nagle Dam and involves approximately 40 young people from local communities. It dovetails with a five-year strategic plan by Canoeing South Africa to develop slalom canoeing and produce a team for the 2008 Olympic Games, chosen purely on merit but fully representative.

“This development project has produced excellent results, the most impressive of which have been three young canoeists who have been identified as potential champions and are being trained for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,” says Lyndon Barends, CEO of NOCSA.

The three, referred to as the “dream team”, are Lindelani Ngidi, Sbonisiso ‘Master’ Cele and Simon Dube. Cameron has created opportunities for them to be coached and to compete internationally. Sbonisiso picked up the nickname ‘Master’ for the ability he developed to Eskimo-roll a C1 canoe. For Simon and Lindelani, learning the art and skills required to paddle a C2 took determination.

On a sponsored trip to Australia last year, they completed an intensive two-week training course on the Penrith Olympic course. When they participated in the World Cup in Australia, they caught the attention of the International Canoe Federation.

This led to the three athletes flying to Germany to receive several weeks of dedicated coaching and finally competing in the 2003 World Championships in Augsburg, Germany, where they won many friends for their skill and determination.

Rewarding the Dream

The Jack Cheetham award will provide a timely cash injection of R100 000 to the development programme. “It is clear that the capacity and leadership are in place to achieve much greater impact with additional funding,” says Lyndon.

Canoeing South Africa has confirmed that the Jack Cheetham prize-money will be used to:

• fund equipment and a course for the expansion of the slalom project at Nagle Dam

• expand the development project to Gauteng, Western Cape and Eastern Cape

• support funding of the elite ambitions of Lindelani, Sbonisiso and Simon, and

• fund a life skills education and sustainability programme for young canoeists and administrators.

Also in the running for the 2003 Jack Cheetham Memorial award were:

• Chrysalis Academy, an upliftment programme in the Western Cape, which has achieved impressive results using sport to empower young people who are exposed to crime and gangsterism, and

• the South African Amateur Fencing Association, which has achieved considerable success with its development programme in Soweto and Mamelodi.

Sydney Matlhaku, Associate Editor of Sowetan said: “Sowetan is delighted to be associated with this Award. We have a proud history of partnering corporates in development projects that enhance the lives of many South Africans. We believe that the Jack Cheetham Award and Murray & Roberts, will make a significant contribution to development of sport in South Africa.” By Lesley Lambert