Gogos doing it for themselves
ALEXANDRA – Elders sports club urges others to join for their own health and fun.
Alex grannies and granddads got together for some sporting fun which, God willing, will help prolong their lives and enable them to enjoy the company of their grandchildren.
The elderly sports enthusiasts and members of the Rethabile Senior Citizens’ Social Club gathered at the Altrec Sports Complex to participate in their multi-sport exercises that they made look so easy.
The club was formed in 2010 driven by the euphoria around the soccer World Cup held on home soil. Ever since, their sporting spirit has consolidated resulting in a steady increase of members to over 60 who, without fail, attend the regular exercises, and also local, provincial and sometimes international competitions.
Founding club member Fundiswa Mgoqi said the club, made of mostly Ward 105 residents, was open to all from other wards who ought not to be vegetating at home and wallowing in self-pity as they were still young enough to enjoy more years of life by exercising and eating healthily.
Mgoqi said the club was also motivated by the support received from the City Council’s Jozi Healthy Lifestyle Programme introduced in 2010 by Mayor Mpho Parks Tau to encourage a healthy lifestyle.
She added that the council’s Sports and Recreation Department introduced club members to a range of sporting codes and facilitated their participation in city, country and international competitions.
The department’s Bulelani Maphandla said the club’s members were busy preparing for the Golden Games to be held in Bisho, Eastern Cape in October. There had already been regional contests and there will be a provincial contest on 29 July at the University of Johannesburg leading up to the games.
The variety of sports, he said, included, ring the stick, jukskei, rugby throw, ball relay and pass, straight ball relay, target shooting, and 100m to 400m track events.
Maphandla also commended the participants for their active involvement, saying the exercises and games were a platform for networking and to develop friendships which will hopefully bring back smiles and ward off stress and illnesses.
