Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club seeks sponsors

This sad story may well be on its way to a much happier ending thanks to the efforts of a group of private business individuals (most of them paddlers) that have committed themselves to the successful launch of the Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club (SCARC). The primary objective of the Club is to introduce children and adults in Soweto to water sports and activities, but the implications and benefits to the community reach much further.

Soweto has limited recreational facilities, the one located at Orlando Dam being the one facility that has recently been well-equipped with a swimming pool, office facilities and good funding contributions from council. Sadly, use of the facility to date has been minimal due to the inability of a large proportion of the local community to swim.

With a general lack of education and swimming instruction from parents and teachers, first and foremost, the benefit of a basic swimming proficiency is fundamental from a safety and life skills perspective. Once these individuals are able to swim, they can then be introduced to the lifestyle and health enhancing elements associated to water sports via the many activities that will be made available at the Club.

The Club committee's manifesto for achieving these objectives details a three-stage swimming and flat-water proficiency which culminates in river proficiency or sailing; the objective being to motivate the learners through stages 1 and 2 by offering them an opportunity in stage 3 that they would otherwise be unlikely to receive. In addition to swimming, canoeing and sailing, proficient swimmers will also have access to windsurfing, water polo, wild water and polo.

The committee is also formulating the provision of extra academic lessons at the Club which will ideally be provided by teachers and pupils from well-financed private schools, and should also include career guidance and entrepreneurial skills. Finally, through a mentoring programme, the learners will be offered a role model in the form of a prominent public figure that they can look up to.

The official re-launch of the Club is planned for Spring 2006 and the success stories are waiting to emerge! More than just a sporting club or a swimming programme, the establishment of the Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club is an ambitious initiative that has the potential to lead redevelopment in Orlando, and provide the youth in this area with a spark of passion that could transform entire futures.

Sports do not build character. They reveal it. (Heywood Broun)

For information on how to participate in this exciting initiative as a sponsor, coach or academic tutor please contact:

Brad Fisher
Vice Chairman
Soweto Canoe and Recreational Club
+ 27 11 327 7110