South African reflection: It's not all doom and gloom in sport

Source: Jesuit Institute South Africa

My father was an amateur golfer; he took my sister and I to practice. We acted as his caddy and did not have a golf cart. My sister and I would wait to catch his golf balls on the other side of the golf course. This was our school holiday activity, and we loved it at times. When not his caddy, we would be at home watching sports.

During the winter holidays, we would watch Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament, and other sports during the school holidays. We would watch the Olympics as well when they were held. I always felt like we were watching celebrities, great sportsmen and women who were mostly not from my country and far removed from my everyday life.

On the weekends, in townships around South Africa, local sports grounds are filled with activity. The most popular sport is soccer. Local teams will challenge each other, and community members will fill the sports grounds to support their favourite teams. Selectors from established soccer teams will be present, scouting the next talented players for their teams, motivating them to bring out their star game in the hopes that they will be selected for one of the popular teams in the premier league. In other communities in South Africa, other sporting codes would be included.

There has been a rise in the involvement of black people in other sporting codes reserved for a few in our society. Rugby, for example, is popular among young women in universities and schools, hence the rise of black women's participation in rugby, though still in its development stage in some areas of our society. Cricket is another sporting code that has seen many initiatives; they are trying to address the lack of black South African cricketers active in domestic and international cricket structures. Some famous and great cricketers have benefited from these significant initiatives.

People with disabilities in South Africa are often excluded from participating in many sectors of the economy, and they have been excluded in sport, too. Recently, there's been a shift. I am aware of para-sport or paralympics, not just as something mentioned on the news, but I know of people from my community living with disabilities who play sports. This is good progress. The first black woman in South Africa to win at Wimbledon is wheelchair tennis player Kgothatso Montjane. She won in the women's doubles in July 2024. South Africa also participates in the Paralympics, as a squad of 26 people will represent us in the 2024 Paralympic Games to be held in Paris in August.

It is not all paradise; loads of work still needs to be done to develop sport in South Africa. However, progress has been made. Today, I know friends who have participated in the Comrades Marathon. In my family, two people have been or are rugby players; a fellow church member used to play wheelchair basketball, and two of my classmates in high school were selected to play for two big teams in the premier league.

The City of Joburg is currently installing a swimming pool in Ivory Park, Midrand. When we are despondent and feel like things in our country are worsening, it might be helpful to look around and reflect on those things from which we can draw positivity. For me, it is the development of sport over the years. What could be yours?

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