| 28-11-2002 |
| Jack Cheetham Award to Rowing SA |
|
The 2002 Murray & Roberts Jack
Cheetham Memorial Award was presented to Rowing South Africa at a gala event at
the Wanderers Sports Club in Johannesburg this evening. Murray & Roberts also celebrated its 100th anniversary at the event. In partnership with the National Olympic Committee of South Africa (NOCSA) and the Sowetan newspaper, Murray & Roberts selected rowing in recognition of the excellence and leadership in its development programme and the advances achieved in transformation. Rowing South Africa is an affiliate of NOCSA. The Jack Cheetham Memorial award was initiated 21 years ago in recognition of the special qualities of Jack Cheetham, a Murray & Roberts leader and the inspirational captain of the South African cricket team in the 1950s. Cheetham was able to instill in people the belief that they could win. A new-look award, launched this year, targets development sports projects in designated sporting codes, focusing on individuals or teams that have the potential to be champions. "Rowing is a minority sport that competes with the larger, more popular sports for sponsorship. Against these odds - and boosted by passionate and dedicated leadership - Rowing South Africa has established a well organised, effective development programme, with structures in place to identify and develop talent, particularly in previously disadvantaged sectors," said Murray & Roberts Chief Executive Brian Bruce. In 2001, Rowing South Africa appointed a transformation committee under the chairmanship of Vuyo Kahla aimed at universities and schools. In less than 2 years, the development programme has unleashed considerable potential and produced South Africa's first black rowing champion, Lawrence Ndlovu. During this period, the University of Natal, the University of Cape Town, Rand Afrikaans University and Rhodes University implemented transformation initiatives, with limited funding from the Department of Sport. Schools projects were also launched, including a talent identification project for previously disadvantaged pupils in Western Province, the purchase of second hand equipment and an initiative to motivate disadvantaged juniors to take up rowing for SACS, Bishops School, Somerset College and Rondebosch Boys High. A similar project was launched in Gauteng at Mondeor High in Johannesburg and General Smuts High in Vereeniging. Both schools were previously Model C but are now fully multiracial. “This project has produced excellent results, the most impressive of which has been Lawrence Ndlovu, a pupil at Mondeor who is a member of NOCSA’s senior men’s squad training for the 2004 Olympics,” said Lyndon Barends, NOCSA Chief Executive Officer. Ndlovu has competed at the Dutch National Championship, the International Junior Regatta in Belgium and the World Junior Rowing Championship in Bulgaria. Mondeor also has two other very promising young rowers in Jimmy Baloyi and O’Neil Sonickson. This year, two more Gauteng clubs have been identified for assistance, Germiston and Florida Park, and possibly a third school, Bishop Bavin. 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,” said Barends. Murray & Roberts has stipulated that a substantial portion of the prize money be allocated to coaching rowers and coaches. Also in the running for the 2002 Jack Cheetham Memorial award were the Umnini Sports Development Centre in KwaZulu Natal, the Canoeing South Africa transformation programme and development of slalom canoeing, the South African Baseball Union and the Uitenhage Amateur Boxing Club. As a South African company operating in the global arena Murray & Roberts’ mission is World Class Fulfillment. The Jack Cheetham Memorial Award demonstrates our commitment to development and the belief that we are World Class |
