Johannesburg – The value of sport to local government and communities extends beyond sport for sport’s sake.
It can play a role in bringing communities together, having a social and cultural impact, and reducing crime in various communities.
The Gauteng Flying Disc Association (GFDA), the body that oversees Ultimate Frisbee in Gauteng, have seven teams playing, including their outreach teams, the Orange Farm Ultimates and the Soweto Ultimates.
According to GFDA Secretary Ellie Skyveld, Orange Farm Ultimates was started eight years ago.
“The team has competed in tournaments in the past but is geographically isolated. The captain, Bongani, is a sport teacher at a local school, which has allowed him to add Ultimate to the curriculum and ensure a flow of new players,” she said.
With regards to Soweto Ultimate, in 2015 the GFDA launched a partnership with Move it, Moving Matters, a Johannesburg-based NGO that provides various physical education programmes to 50+ schools in the Soweto region.
Together, they taught a group of 20 interns, who were unemployed and came from disadvantaged backgrounds, how to play and coach Ultimate.
These interns were then dispatched to 20 schools throughout Soweto to teach students in turn.
Each year this outreach project culminates in a massive interschool tournament with over 200 grade 6 children from Soweto playing Ultimate.
The interns, along with some players from Pimville, have created their own club called Soweto Ultimates.
Tokelo Martin Mokhesi, 21, who is the rep for the Soweto Ultimates said it was a challenge for them in the beginning but as they got into it, they keep excelling.
“In the beginning it was weird for them, but as time went by the players improved. So far we’ve played four tournaments and we have done really well from the one. The team has improved. Training takes place twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays,” said Mokhesi.
Their objective is to become competitive enough to compete on an international level, while providing an alternative to the youth to get them off the streets and live an active and positive lifestyle through sport.
“We’ve learned so much from being part of the frisbee community. It teaches you how to be disciplined, and it gives a multiracial experience to our members and it’s exciting,” The Rosebank College student added.
Both teams from Soweto and Orange Farm competed in their big tournament in October, called Rocktober – and both will be competing in their next big tournament in Binnelanders the first weekend of April. The teams are currently training hard (every Monday night at Wits) to prepare, as their league begins in a week.
@LesegoMakgatho