Pupils from 28 primary schools in Soweto gathered at the Arthur Ashe Sports Complex for a three day intensive sports development programme this week.
This Get Ahead Sports Programme (GASP) is an initiative that was made possible by Total South Africa (SA), Iconage Holdings and City of Johannesburg among other corporate partners.
According to Total SA, this year 10 pupils from Grade Five in 28 schools were part of the Move It Moving Matters (MIMM) programme based on their ability to develop skills for sports related activities including tennis, soccer and cricket.
“These bright young pupils who were chosen for their extraordinary talent and potential for development in sport will undergo intensive training sessions in collaboration with partners such as Virgin Active, Cricket South Africa and SA Football Association to enhance their sporting and sport leadership skills,” said Total SA’s sustainable development manager Nyameka Makonya.
Director and Expert Advisor of the Move-It, Moving Matters and GASP, Dr Claire Nicholson said: “The MIMM programme together with the GASP were initiated as a capacity building initiative to address the lack of physical education in many schools in impoverished communities in South Africa, who are no longer being supplied with the equipment required for sports and who do not have the additional resources to purchase the equipment on their own.”
Nicholson said the funding commitment from Total SA for the MIMM programme enables 5 000 intermediate phase pupils, within 41 schools in district 14 in Soweto, from Grade Four to Seven to participate in the programme for at least one hour, every week, throughout the school year within the formal curriculum.
