Rowing community comes together to overcome tragedy
Germiston High School’s rowing team suffered a tragic blow when their boathouse and a number of their boats were destroyed in a storm.
Rowing and Germiston High School fit comfortably in the same sentence, as the school has been a proud rowing school for decades.
However, the school’s rowing fraternity suffered a crushing blow last Thursday evening when the school’s boathouse, which stored their boats and other equipment, was destroyed by an unforgiving storm.
This just over a week before a competition.
“Our rowers were practising as normal last Thursday when the coach on the water, Mosa Leballo, made the call to get them off the water and send them home, due to the approaching storm.
“Thank goodness he did or who knows what could have happened,” Lebohang Mashigo, head rowing coach at Germiston High School, said when the GCN met with him at Germiston Lake, where the boathouse once stood.
Mashigo was on his way home when he received the tragic news about the boathouse.
“I received a call from a Victoria Lake Club (VLC) member who told me our boathouse had collapsed and bits and pieces of our boats had been found on the other side of the train tracks,” he explained.
Mashigo headed back to the lake with Leballo to assess the damage.
“We got to the lake as quickly as we could,” he said.
“While driving we questioned if the damage was being over-exaggerated or if it was maybe some sort of prank.”
However, when Mashigo received a second call from another VLC member he realised that it wasn’t a joke.
“I ran to the shed as soon as we arrived at the lake, rain and all, and just burst into tears when I saw the damage,” he said.
After shedding a few tears Mashigo found hope.
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“This is not the first time we have had to overcome adversity and I knew we would be able to do it again,” he said.
In total, the school lost five skulls and three doubles, these boats are beyond repair.
While four skulls, a double and a quad were damaged, but are repairable.
True to Mashigo’s statement, the school has already started to find its feet, once again, with the help of the rowing community.
“We have been overwhelmed with the support we’ve received,” Mashigo explained.
“We have received money pledges from King Edward School and Eastern Cape Rowing Association.
“St Benedict’s Catholic School for Boys is planning a fund-raiser for us, while St Andrew’s School for Girls and St Stithians College for Girls are lending us boats.
“VLC has supported us in any way they can.
“There are just too many people and schools to thank – it is overwhelming.
“Even the University of Johannesburg helped by allowing us to store our boats in their shed.”
Though the loss is still very real for the school, which has 23 rowers currently, the tragedy has shown the close bond the rowing community shares.
“Everyone has just come together and shown their support and that has helped us to deal with our loss because we know we are not alone,” Mashigo said.
If the community or local businesses want to help they can contact Mashigo on 062 337 5162 or send him an email at mashigolp@gmail.com or visit Germiston High School Rowing’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/GHSRowing/).
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