Diepsloot Mountain Bike Academy eyes top sports award

The Academy has been nominated as one of three finalists to participate in the final leg to be held in Mangaung on 22 November – and won a cash prize of R15 000 in the process.

The local bikers will represent Gauteng under the Recreation Body of the Year category, and will compete with two other finalists from Cape Town, Waves Change and Skate Boarding, for the national award that comes with a R130 000 cash prize.

A trustee of the Academy, Cindy Ross, could not hide her excitement during an interview with Fourways Review. Ross said the achievement was encouraging for the young bikers who were used to be looked down upon.

“This means that the government is recognising our effort, not only to promote sports but also trying to change the perception of Diepsloot,” said Ross.

The final winner will be announced during the South African Sport Awards (Sasa) ceremony on 22 November in Mangaung to recognise sporting excellence in 2015.

The Academy is not a newcomer to snatching sporting awards. They won the Murray & Roberts Jack Cheetham Award last year, bagging R500 000 in the process. In the same year, the local cyclists walked away with the 2014 Beyond Sports Local Impact Award for Johannesburg. And early this year they lifted the Sport Development of the Year Award in the 2015 Discovery Sport Industry category.

The Diepsloot Mountain Bike Academy is a youth empowerment and sports development initiative based at Northern Farm in Johannesburg North.

It was originally founded in 2006 by Simon Nash as a project to teach Diepsloot youth how to ride bicycles. In 2012, Andre Ross an Absa Capital employee took over the project.

Details: For more info, visit the Diepsloot Mountain Bike Academy Facebook page