2015 Annual Report

Egoli squash is a registered Public Benefit outreach programme of Central Gauteng Squash and uses squash to curb the vicious cycle of poverty and crime for disadvantaged youth aged 8-19 years from the communities of Alexandra, Soweto and the Inner-city.

Visit www.egolisquash.co.za OR www.facebook.com/egolisquash

A registered Non Profit and Public Benefit Organization Proudly 100% Socio Economic Development (SED) BEE accreditation

SUCCESS: LIVES TRANSFORMED THROUGH SQUASH

MESSAGE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

To Our Contributors, Colleagues, Friends, Volunteers and Participants.

While we continue to provide a platform of sport, life skills fun and general good citizenship to our youth we acknowledge and pride ourselves on the success of the year.

We cannot review the year 2015 without a tribute to the late Nelson Mandela, who pioneered the use of sport to overcome differences and united divided groups. Not only did he seek unity, but he also successfully sought resistance and healing through sport. The impact of his work will always be an exemplary legacy to which we can all look and be inspired.

It is thanks to the dedication of our youth, staff, volunteers and partner organizations that we now reach over 4 500 children in our programme. This annual report highlights our results in 2015 and it is also a recognition of our supporters, partners and donors without whom, none of our achievements would be

possible!

In 2015, Egoli squash extended its reach through the introduction of new squash programs in the Inner-city of Johannesburg for new primary school learners, increasing our reach of children by approximately 1,000.

We made important strides in our mission to prioritize the participation of girls and women in our programs, with girls making up almost 30 per cent of children participating in sport and play activities, and female Coaches and Educators numbering more than 40 per cent.

A significant highlight of 2015 was the building of an additional squash court and computer room at the Gazankulu School squash centre, in Soweto through the support of the Gambling Board and Gauteng Sport Council. This is the first time in 25 years that a new court has been built in Soweto and we believe that many future champions will come out of this centre.

We continue to break major ground in the squash world with many of our participants achieving great results on the court, this includes one of our boys being selected to represent South Africa at the All Africa championships and many other making the top ten in SA. With this in mind, we strengthened our relationship with the University of Johannesburg’s Sports Research Centre and have setup not only a high performance structure but also a weekly strength and conditioning program to manage the unique requirements of our players.

While sport is a fundamental core of our programme, we continue to foster good relationships with many schools in order to ensure the academic success of our participants. We hope to offer many new bursaries in the new year.

We are very proud of our graduates of 2015 and 2014 who are all doing well in their new endeavours while being involved as mentors and coaches in our programme

Our corporate partnerships continued to thrive and expand, as we welcomed KPMG as a new Corporate Partner and received substantial support from a wide network of organizations and volunteers.

I would like to thank all of our individuals, sponsors and donors for providing important funding, as well as our local implementation partners for making the delivery of our programs possible.

At one of our events one of our young female players asked me if Egoli squash was only for boys, I was quite perplexed by her question as she was a participant of our program. She pointed to our old logo and asked why it looked like a boy playing squash. We immediately updated our logo to be more inclusive as you can see. At Egoli squash we learn from each other and every day brings new lessons and opportunities.

Team work is the success of any sport and so to in the management of our programme. The team work of all our staff, coaches, mentors and volunteers is a major reason for our success as an organisation.

I cannot close without making special mention of our Egoli Squash – Coordinator Sharon Sibanda who is not only our coordinator, chief of operations, general go to person for all the players but also in the words of some of our players “Ma Egoli squash”. Sharon makes time to help with everyone including players and their families who have an issue or just need a simple smile or hug.

My sincere thanks to you all for your ongoing dedication and support.

When children smile, play and have fun the world is a better place.

Glenn Lazarus Egoli squash Program Director /CGS Executive Member

Thank you to all of the Corporate, Government Partners; Individual Donors; NGOs; schools and Community Partners who share our belief in the power of sport to transform children’s lives.

Because of their support, we will continue to bring sustainable change to the 5 000 children and counting in our programs around Gauteng.

The Development Coaches team: Glenn Lazarus CGS Executive, Programme Director Dikana Mthombeni (Head Coach) Lawrence Dlamini (Inner-city Administrator/Co-ordinator) Sharon Sibanda (Project Co-ordinator) Shadrack Tshivhidzo James Letlake Jonathan Letlake Colleen Vuma Isaac Matsupa The following institutions for allowing us to use their squash facilities for training and homework support: University of Johannesburg Southern Suburbs Recreational Centre Wanderers Squash Club Braamfontein Recreational Centre Gazankulu Primary School (Soweto Squash Courts) Pimville Recreational Center (Soweto) Pace College (Soweto) Pirates Sports Club (Greenside) Parkview Squash Centre The following sponsors and organizations: Maureen Kark & Associates SuperSports Lets Play KPMG Growth Point Properties Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Gauteng Master Squash The CGS Executive Committee The CGS Junior Schools management and support team Squash Community and Clubs Dunlop/Hi-tec/Wilson /Technifibre Our International Friends: National Urban Squash Education Association Israel Junior Squash Governing Sports Board for their guidance and giving us an operational framework: Central Gauteng Squash Squash SA Gauteng Sports Council Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation

NURTURING TALENT & KEEPING THE FUN IN SCHOOL SPORTS Despite the fact that South Africa has implemented the Schools Sports Policy which mandates that Physical Education (PE) should make up 6-10% of curriculum time in all schools; the extent of implementation is still hampered in disadvantaged schools because of inadequate facilities, local school sport structures and lack of adequate skills to teach sports for many educators.

However, Egolisquash through Central Gauteng Squash has made huge strides through its mobile squash court to introduce the sport of squash and ensure that learners have an opportunity to enjoy the fun of playing sports. Through its flexibility, the mobile squash court can be set up on hard surfaces- parking lots, soccer fields making the game accessible to children from all demographics.

During 2015, a total of 1 000 learners from Yeoville Boys academy and Norwood Primary had an opportunity to have fun and learn the game of squash through the Egolisquash roadshows. The roadshows have helped form the foundation for developing squash as a sporting code for the schools and a series of squash training sessions will be implemented.

To further the success and growth of the schools programme; one of Egolisquash’s priority focus has been to increase the amount of local, entry-level competitive squash opportunities available through schools. During 2015, the Egolisquash Bronze Tournament, Open School Teams Challenge, Youth Day Tournament and the Inner-city schools Cluster League were run to encourage competitive squash. The main aim of the tournaments is to increase the amount of schools and young people from disadvantaged communities regularly playing competitive squash. Through each school team effort; learners had an opportunity to expand their squash skills and knowledge as well as having a

continued opportunity to compete in the sport. Each participant was provided with an opportunity to demonstrate their skill in a competitive and mutually supportive squash environment whilst representing their school. Tournaments and Leagues have been great way for school learners to enjoy the thrill of competition, encourage player development and advancement.

HOMEWORK SUPPORT & HELP ME TO READ PROGRAMME

While levels of access to education have improved in the country, significant proportions of Inner-city, Soweto and Alexandra learners still face difficulties in Maths, Science and English subjects.

In 2015 our Homework Support programme focused on providing the students with the necessary skills and content knowledge to pass Maths, Science and English subjects.

Through structured Saturday and Sunday lessons in our UJ and Gazankulu centres, players are equipped with skills to improve their performance on these subjects.

DEVELOPING CHAMPIONS FROM DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES: Colts Future Champions Programme

This year has been one of unprecedented achievement for the Colts Future Champions High Performance programme.

Through the Colts Future Champions, the Egolisquash programme seeks to develop young sports talent amongst disadvantaged Inner-city, Soweto and Alex youths and nurture it towards excellence. Currently, the Colts programme has helped to create a high performance environment that nurtures young players into elite athletes. The establishment of our strength and conditioning program is a huge milestone and assists our players in dealing with their unique requirements to become world champions in the future. The Egolisquash’s High Performance Program is a three-tier system engineered to identify, develop and foster the skills of young athletes who aspire to compete at provincial and national levels of squash. The levels are Colts Feeder, Colts Future Champions and the Central Gauteng Squash High Performance. The Colts Feeder level is the entry-level tier of the High Performance Program, focusing on the identification, support and development of athletes aged 10-19 years old. Benchmark tests are done so we are able to measure the ability and strengthen the players based on their individual physic. Some of the 2015 Success Highlights:

· Under 19 Player qualified to represent South Africa at the All Africa Championships · Under 19 Winner of the CGS Junior Closed Tournament · Under 16 Winner of the CGS Junior Closed Tournament · Under 14 Winner of the SA Prince Open Tournament · Under 14 Winner of the Bloem Open Tournament · 20 players ranked in the top 10 in their different age group in Central Gauteng · 3 players ranked in the Top 4 in the country and Twenty-two of our players were

selected to go the SA Schools Interprovincial tournament in 2015

Best Ever Our U19 player, Makhosonke Ntuli (left side) Qualified for the 2015 All Africa Championships

Fun Makes It All Happen

Hard work and Discipline

Planning Essential: High Performance Training Camps

Undefeated: U14 position 1 CGS Junior Ranking Tournament

OUR SOURCE OF INSPIRATION: Stephen Coppinger

7 times winner of the SA National Championships and currently ranking 17 in the world- Stephen Coppinger is a great source of inspiration to our programme. We are obliged for the time and effort you put in assisting our players and coaches through various coaching clinics. Thanks Steve!!!

During 2015, Stephen Coppinger ran a three day coaching clinic for our Colts Future Champions programme at the UJ Doornfontein Squash Courts. The focus of the sessions was to expose the Colts from the Inner-city and Soweto areas to a positive, strong role model the Colts would look up to and emulate.

SUCCESS STORY

Despite facing significant challenges in life, Clinton has shown a clear moral standard that nothing can let him down.

Clinton Ndebele is 19 years old who matriculated in 2015. He joined Egolisquash in 2012.

He managed to qualify for the Central Gauteng Inter-Provincial Teams for two consecutive years. He also received an academic bursary through the squash bursary fund- Taylor Pullinger Trust to study at Barnato High School. He excelled in his matric studies- English-70%, Zulu 82%, Maths 51%, Life Orientation 63%, Geography 78%, History 79% and Life Science 73%.

Recently, he was offered another bursary to further his studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA) to study a Bachelor of Education degree. He will also be an intern assistance teacher at St. Johns College whilst pursuing his studies.

However, life for Clinton was very different before joining the Egolisquash programme.

This is his story:

“I grew up in Yeoville in Johannesburg living with my mother. My Dad passed away when I was ten years old and life became very tough for us. We could not afford rent and moved around the city from flat to flat. Life was a struggle- my mother could not afford to buy me nice clothes like the other kids in my neighbourhood. I vividly remember that I used to have one pair of toughees school shoes that I would wear even during school holidays and other fun outings such that my friends used to call me “one-way” to show that I did not change my shoes. When I joined squash in Grade 8, my coaches were unaware that I owed thousands in fees and was being sent home every morning for non-payment. One day, I was sent back home and I went straight to the squash courts and told the Coaches about my struggles- little did I know that was the turning point of my life and that my life would change completely!

CAPACITY BUILDING: CREATING REAL & LASTING CHANGE IN COMMUNITIES

Coaching is central to the ongoing success of Egolisquash, all the way from grassroots to high performance.

This year Egolisquash put hundreds of educators, sports coordinators, parents and coaches through coach development programmes, giving them knowledge, skills and networks to take back to their local communities. Egolisquash continued its highly successful Coach the Coach course, with this year’s participants including educators from various schools from the Inner-city, Soweto and Alexandra communities. Egolisquash Coaches had a great opportunity to participate in the Discovery Sport Summit with leading speakers from international backgrounds and the business world of sport taking the stage to discuss the future of sports marketing in Africa. Through building capacity at local level, we have deepened our impact and created stronger partnerships, gained better understanding of local interests and engaged more effectively in long-term planning directly in the communities in which we operate.

SUCCESS STORY

‘Being an Egolisquash Coach is about much more than leading training sessions. Being a Coach is being a role model and a leader.’

Shadrack Tshivhidzho one of our Soweto Township Coaches was awarded the 2015 Central Gauteng Mass Participation Coach of the Year Award. Here is his story:

Statistics indicate that with little to do after school, it is not surprising that teens resort to risky behaviour and easily fall into a cycle of HIV-infection, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and violence in townships. However, Shadrack’s zeal for the development of squash has helped youths from the Chiawelo, Soweto community to avoid the peer pressures and socio-economic pitfalls plaguing this impoverished community and opt for sports instead.

Shadrack has generated great enthusiasm in school learners for a different kind of sport altogether - one seldom equated with the ‘ghetto’ township of Soweto.

Shadrack has demonstrated that he is an exceptional communicator, gifted player and is a highly dedicated mentor who knows how to motivate disadvantaged players to strive for excellence.

Through Shadrack’s drive it is forecast that this ‘unexpected’ sport will gradually make inroads among the youth of Soweto in areas such as Meadowlands, Zola, Diepkloof, Naledi and others.

Providing leadership, support and play, our Coaches help young people develop the critical life skills necessary to become active citizens; they engage adult community members in our programs, and create a network of positive and capable adult role models for the entire community.

Egolisquash focuses on enabling teachers, sports coordinators and coaches from the Innercity, Soweto and Alex communities to develop skills and competencies so that there is the ability, competence and teams to both manage the training sessions, run the programme with minimal external input in the future and earn a living from these structures. Our capacity building policies ensure that disadvantaged community members involved in our programme are more cohesive, more resilient and better placed to confront economic and social challenges.

AMAQHAWEKAZI WOMEN IN SPORT-Levelling the playing field and creating more opportunities for women and girls through sport

In spite of the restructuring of sport in the new South Africa, a majority of girls and women are still confined within the domestic sphere and shut out of the sporting landscape due to societal expectations of the space they should occupy.

However, the Egolisquash programme through its, ‘Amaqhawekazi Women & Girls in Sport’ programme is altering the course of girls and women’s involvement in sport.

The program has been able to foster an environment that encourages positive health behaviours and has introduced over 500 women and girls from the Johannesburg inner-city, Soweto and Alexandra communities to the love of physical activity and sport.

The programme aims to bring about a sustainable change that builds a positive future for women and girls’ participation in lifelong physical activity. Beyond the clear physical and health benefits of sports; participation in the ‘Amaqhawekazi’ programme has provided women and girls with opportunities to transform the way they think about themselves, develops leadership skills and other essential social competencies to lead productive lifestyles.

LIFE SKILLS PROGRAMMES & COMMUNITY SERVICE

During 2015 continued its mandate to create a legacy of ‘ubuntu’ values and equip youth with life skills to make personal and social decisions to carry with them throughout their lives.

We believe that every child has the potential to be a leader: a world leader, a community leader, a leader at school, or a leader in the home. By fostering access to peer leadership skills, we are working to ensure that both girls and boys have the chance to learn the skills necessary to reach their goals and contribute to their communities.

Community Service at the Ethembeni Children’s Home

Peer leadership programmes play a pivotal role in our programming

Egolisquash uses sport to mobilize and educate communities around key health issues to support national health objectives, in particular life skills education, drug and substance abuse, obesity and HIV and AIDS prevention and awareness.

Egolisquash works with local social service organizations and clinics who have additional technical expertise and experience in HIV/AIDS and other life skills education such as Lovelife, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, SANCA and others.

This year our life skills programme continued to reach greater heights as we welcomed the national Lovelife organization as one of our major life-skills partners. The Lovelife organization started implementing its two modular programmes for the Saturday social players. The lovingLife programme is a twelve week modular-based curriculum covering goal setting, family relationships, entrepreneurship and community relationships. The love4life is a 15 week modular-based curriculum covering sexual and reproductive health education, HIV⁄Aids and STI related education and lifeskills to deal with life transitions.

While squash is always fun, it is through play that we educate children about vital life skills. That knowledge and confidence is helping them create change and to create better futures for themselves.

AWARDING EXCELLENCE

The support of our partners and supporters has played a greater role in equipping our youths to become better prepared to realize their dreams through sport. During 2015, Egolisquash introduced its Awards of Excellence programme to acknowledge and reward individuals and organizations that have made an outstanding input in the growth of our programme.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR COMMUNITY CLUB OF THE YEAR Winner: Lesley Cowan Winner: University of Johannesburg

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO DEVELOPMENT SQUASH GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO COLTS PROGRAMME Winner: Irene Maxton Winner: Craig van der Wath The unflagging support from our partners has brought new opportunities and new hope to disadvantaged children who had none.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS- expanding our horizon

The Egolisquash programme uses sport as a medium for increased networking and cooperation with players, coaches and clubs from across different continents.

PSA players from England, France, South Africa and other countries

Canada Jesters Team visit our Gazankulu center in Soweto Township

During 2015 about twenty five players from different countries such as Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, England, France and others from across the world engaged in a three day coaching clinic for the Egolisquash intermediate, Colts high performance players and coaches from the Inner-city of Johannesburg and Soweto. Throughout the year, we had representatives from Metro-Squash in the US, Canada Jesters, Urban Squash in the US, Yale University and Zimbabwe.

KEEPING THE FUN IN SPORTS-having fun is one of our core goals

‘Giving a child the chance to play is only half of the battle – children cannot play and learn effectively if they do not have fun’.

During 2015, Egolisquash was fortunate to partner with Lions Rugby and Highveld Cricket organizations who share our vision of ensuring that children have access to sports fun-filled activities. Through these organizations, a total of 200 Egolisquash players and coaches were able to watch rugby and cricket fixtures at the Lions Rugby stadium and Highveld Cricket stadium. Many of our players and coaches had never been to a rugby/cricket match before and this was a great way to learn more about the game. These outings were a great success- through this huge exposure to the sport of rugby and cricket our players and coaches are now avid supporters of the games.

YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAMME- Equipping Youth with Leadership Skills

“We believe that every child has the potential to be a leader: a world leader, a community leader, a leader at school, or a leader in the home. By fostering access to peer leadership skills, we are working to ensure that both girls and boys have the chance to learn the skills necessary to reach their goals and contribute to their communities.”

The year 2015 saw us expanding our programme and introducing the Young Leaders programme which focuses on linking post-matric players with internship opportunities, integration into the coaching profession, mentorship and other opportunities to ensure that our players can sustain themselves even after matric studies.

During 2015, Konica Minolta offered two of our post-matric players; Request Sinyadiwo and Wesley Ngwenya with a Marketing internship opportunity at their organization. Similarly, through Egolisquash and Squash SA; ten post-matric students undertook coach training in Level 1 coaching course.

Wesley Ngwenya, post-matric player is currently a Sales and Marketing intern at Konica Minolta

OUR FUTURE

Creating our future

There is still work to be done as we work towards achieving our strategic priorities to bring about the desired growth and development of the sport. Significant opportunities exist within the sport and the Egolisquash team is excited to pursue those opportunities. The next 12 months will see us:

· Growing our Mass Participation Programme to attract more youth from around the country.

· Building on the Colts Future Champions Programme by providing the best structured support and training environment that produces a strong pool of competitive Colts players capable of performing successfully both at national and international competitions.

· Continue to provide opportunities for academic excellence for as many children as possible and empower them to become competent, confident and responsible South African citizens.

· Strengthen our Homework Support programme to include partnerships with like- minded organizations such as The Link, ASSA Maths and Science and others.

· Leverage our Life Skills programme and ensure our youth are empowered to make wise decisions and live normal healthy lives.

· Commit to building organizational capacity that improves and enhances Egolisquash’s ability to achieve its mission and sustain itself over time.

· Continue to place emphasis on sport, especially to meet the socio-economic challenges presented by a rapidly increasing and youthful population, cultural change and more affluent lifestyles.

· Ensure that the physical and psychological benefits of sports are also experienced by persons with special needs

CONCLUSION

The Egolisquash program is a specialized program run under the management committee of Central Gauteng Squash and a governing body to ensure the continuity and sound financial structures.

This is a program run by the community for the community.

We aim to grow and develop great citizens and world champions on the squash court.

In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else can. Sports can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.”

This programme is a living example of the statement by one of our greatest statesmen and we are truly inspired by it. We hope to inspire many more people to use sport as medium for social change.

Egolisquash is a registered and Non Profit and Public Benefit Organization.

We are proud of our 100% Socio Economic Development (SED) BEE accreditation proving that the work we do benefits the community our programs are aimed at while providing you our sponsors with valuable BEE points towards your scorecard.

Visit our website: www.egolisquash.co.za OR www.facebook.com/egolisquash

Tel 011 886 1740 Mobile contact Sharon 06050302096

Great Milestone: Gazankulu Squash Court centre- building of new additional court and computer centre in 2015