INK Hockey Club and Made for More were the winners at the 2018 Jack Cheetham and Letsema Awards.

02 November 2018

INK Hockey Club and Made for More were the winners at the 2018 Jack Cheetham and Letsema Awards.

Johannesburg, 1 November 2018 – INK Hockey club and Made for More received top honours at the 38^th Jack Cheetham and Letsema Awards, hosted by Murray & Roberts in association with SASCOC.

The Jack Cheetham Award, which recognises sports development projects that have the potential to change the lives of young able-bodied athletes, was awarded to INK Hockey Club.  The club uses hockey to encourage youth participation in sport which then exposes them to learning and education opportunities.

Made for More, an organisation that empowers and equips the differently abled to pursue a sporting career across a diverse range of sports, received the Letsema Award.  The award was established in 2009 and celebrates sports development projects for people with disabilities.

The first runner up in the Jack Cheetham Award was Langebaan Athletics Club which uplifts the local community and youth through athletics.  Welkom Wresting Club was the second runner up in the award and uses the sport of wrestling to teach discipline, respect and life skills to young people in the surrounding areas.

SASAPD, an organisation that reaches the severely disabled through the sport of Boccia, was awarded first runner up in the Letsema Award.  Second runner up went to Thuthukani Special School.  Located in Empangeni, the school provides holistic education for learners with profound intellectual disabilities.

“The finalists make a valuable difference to their beneficiaries as well as the broader community and we are proud to be able to contribute to their continued success in changing the lives of these athletes” concludes Henry Laas, Murray & Roberts Group Chief Executive.

About the Awards

The Jack Cheetham Award was initiated by Murray & Roberts 37 years ago in recognition of the special qualities of Jack Cheetham, a former director of the company and the inspirational captain of the South African cricket team in the 1950s who was able to instil in young people the belief that they could win. The award targets sports development projects, focusing on individuals or teams that have the potential to be champions.

The Murray & Roberts Letsema Award was first awarded in 2009 following the outstanding performance of athlete Hilton Langenhoven who captured the attention of the world at the 2008 Paralympics in Athens. This award recognises sports development projects for people with disabilities.

More information is available at www.jclawards.co.za.

 

About the 2018 Jack Cheetham and Letsema Awards Finalists

JACK CHEETHAM AWARDS

WINNER:

INK Hockey Club

INK Hockey Club was established by Nkosinathi Ngubane in 1993 and due to the lack of facilities in the township, began coaching hockey in a classroom with nine athletes. There are now 20 hockey-playing schools in the townships of Inanda, Ntuzuma and Kwamashu in Kwa-Zulu Natal. 

The club uses hockey to encourage youth participation in sport which then exposes them to life-changing learning and education opportunities, with a number of players receiving high-school scholarships.  The club participates in the KZN Super League division and some of the players have been selected to play in inter-provincial tournaments. 

FIRST RUNNER-UP:

Langebaan Athletics Club

The Langebaan Athletics Club began in 2012 as a life-long dream by Christopher Rodgers to help uplift the local community and youth.  From ten members, the club now has 105 active members with many talented young athletes being given the opportunity to attend high-performance camps. 

The club teaches discipline through athletics and conditioning training and this has transferred to the classroom with a notable improvement in school attendance and punctuality. 

Langebaan Athletics Club was awarded the West Coast Sports Councils Community Builder of the Year Award in 2017.

SECOND RUNNER-UP:

Welkom Wrestling Club

The Welkom Wrestling Club started in 1991 when Jan Bezuidenhout decided to train some of the local children in the sport of wrestling.  Jan was working on his father’s farm at the time and noticed that there were very few opportunities for the children of the local community.  Many of the children went without food and often became involved with drugs and gangs as a means to escape poverty.

The club provides an opportunity to learn life skills, discipline and respect in a safe environment.  The club currently has 86 young wrestlers and has produced a number of provincial champions.

LETSEMA AWARDS

WINNER:

Made for More

Made for More aims to empower and equip people who are differently abled.  Founded in 2016 by Julia van Zyl, the organisation uses sport as a vehicle to bring hope, build relationships and instil morals and values, while providing athletes with opportunities to pursue their sporting careers.

Made for More’s mission is to guide and empower differently-abled communities to discover their abilities, worth and purpose.  They do this through differently-abled sport, mentorship programmes, leadership and sports camps, and career guidance.

The organisation currently has 185 athletes across a diverse range of sporting codes including adaptive surfing, Wushu and blind soccer.

 

 

FIRST RUNNER-UP:

South African Sports Association for the Physically Disabled – Boccia

SASAPD was established in 1962 and provides the opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in sport.  The organisation presents a number of sporting codes including Boccia, which was started in South Africa in 2002.

Boccia is a sport for persons with cerebral palsy and the severely disabled, and has participation across seven provinces. 

SASAPD aims to facilitate accessible and equitable sporting opportunities for people with disabilities to empower and improve their quality of life.

SECOND RUNNER-UP:

Thuthukani Special School

Thuthukani Special School was founded in 1981 and provides holistic education for learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities. Located in Empangeni, the school currently accommodates 419 learners from mostly impoverished families.

The school aims to build the learners self-esteem and functional ability so that they leave the school as independent as possible and equipped with skills they can use to contribute to their communities.

An active sport and cultural programme provides the opportunity for Thuthukani learners to compete against both disabled and abled learners which assists in better community inclusion.

About Murray & Roberts

Murray & Roberts has a long and proud heritage of more than a century and is today recognised as a multinational project life cycle group. It’s the Group’s vision, to be a leading multinational engineering and construction group that applies its project life cycle capabilities to optimise client’s fixed capital investment. The Group achieves this by focusing its expertise and capacity on delivering sustainable project engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance solutions.

The Group delivers its capabilities into three global primary market sectors: oil & gas; metals & minerals and power & water.

Murray & Roberts is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is listed on the JSE Limited. It has offices in:

1. Africa:

a. South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Ghana

2. Australasia:

a. Australia and South Korea

3. Europe:

a. Scotland

4. North America:

a. USA and Canada

Murray & Roberts is a group of world-class companies and brands aligned to the same purpose and vision, and guided by the same set of values.

More information is available at www.murrob.com

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