Message from the President
February 2012
In this first message of 2012, I would like to take the opportunity to give our athletes and friends a bird’s eye view on developments within South African Deaf Sports Federation.
On international participation, it goes without saying that we are faced with many challenges. We have taken a decision to withdraw volleyball from the World Deaf Volleyball Championships as I have previously indicated in my last message of 2011. Although we have tried to assemble a competitive team capable of performing at international level, we simply did not achieve this objective. The team we have assembled is not good enough and we do not want to be embarrassed at international stage. We need to start afresh, look at the talent that is available at schools for the Deaf across the country and develop it. It is simply back to square one!
Although we have a very competitive football team selected from a variety of competitions as I have explained previously, we could not go pass Egypt in the Group B Deaflympic Games qualifiers. Egypt came to South Africa determined and in the process walloped South Africa 3-0 to qualify for the 2013 Deaflympic Games. A lot of factors contributed to our loss and none of them should be blamed on the players. The technical team assembled was disastrous, from the coach up to the management. We simply did not put much effort and did not instil hunger and discipline in the players. Another thing is that we lacked resources to prepare thoroughly. However, I am pleased to announce that a good relationship with South African Football Association (SAFA) has been forged and things will be different as we prepare for future international football competitions. SAFA has committed themselves to assist South African Deaf Football Association (SADFA) with its programmes going forward and this was confirmed at the Special General Meeting held on 28 January 2012 where SAFA was represented.
World Deaf Athletics Championships is taking place in a few months in Canada and yet we still do not have athletes that can represent the country there successfully. We are again caught between a rock and hard place as we decide whether to send a team or withdraw altogether and instead focus on development. It is a difficult decision to make, but again it is the image of the SADSF and the country that should come first. If it means withdrawing from the World Deaf Athletics Championships so as to save face, so be it. A decision on this will be taken very soon.
World Deaf Table Tennis Championships in Japan is just around the corner and again we do not have a competitive team. However, Yandani Mafanya has proved time and again that he is a player that can do the job for the country if given a chance. So far, he is the only player known to us who is playing competitive table tennis and it would do him an injustice if we do not give him a chance to go to Japan. We are backing him all the way and we know that he is doing all he can not to disappoint.
Question has been asked as to whether the 2013 Deaflympic Games will take place as planned. We, at SADSF, are not sure if this event will still take place or not. We are in the dark. However, what we know is that Bulgaria has not yet officially pronounced on their readiness or lack of despite the deadline to do so having long passed. Looking at the economic situation that is gripping European countries, Germany has moved swiftly and called for the 2013 Deaflympic Games to be cancelled and instead the focus be on the 2017 Deaflympic Games. Many countries support Germany’s proposal, including South Africa. Hungary has been given until the end of February 2012 to pronounce on their intention to host, failing which the event will be cancelled. South Africa, just like the United States, has adopted a wait-and-see approach. Even if Hungary does officially confirm their intention to host, SADSF cannot guarantee that we will participate mainly because this requires a lot of planning, including fundraising. It is simply a tall order to expect countries to be ready at such short notice. So, do not be surprised if we withdraw from the 2013 Deaflympic Games if Bulgaria does confirm intention to host.
Looking at all the above, it is clear that our international participation programmes are in disarray due to a variety of factors beyond our control.
On development, our Vice President, Derrick Peete, is working on a table tennis development project in partnership with South African Table Tennis Board (SATTB). To this effect, table tennis coaching course will take place from 16 to 18 March 2012 in Pretoria. A number of Deaf participants have been selected from all the 9 Provinces, including hearing educators. We are hoping that the course will equip our Deaf table tennis coaches with much-needed coaching knowledge and that they will use the knowledge acquired to help in the development of table tennis for Deaf children.
The Schools Sport Commission needs revival. To this effect, a workshop involving educators from around the country will be held on the 11th of March 2012 in Johannesburg to look at the issues affecting schools sport. We are working closely with Martin Pillay, a veteran of schools sport for the Deaf, to ensure successful conclusion of the workshop and we hope that a lot of positives will come out of this workshop for the benefit of Deaf learners. Development will take a centre stage at this workshop, especially now that the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) has kick-started the school sport programme. We dare not be left behind!
Provincial structures are in disarray in most of the Provinces and this year SADSF needs to take drastic measures to fix these. There are problems in Free State, Kwazulu/Natal and Northern Cape. Eastern Cape problems have resurfaced with people who are no longer leading the provincial structure bent on frustrating the work of the new executive committee and inciting athletes against the new leadership. Fixing provinces is a difficult challenge, one that requires resources and manpower and unfortunately SADSF currently does not have enough of these.
Following our successful meeting with the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation on the 20th of February 2012, we are pleased to announce that the 2012 National Deaf Games will be held in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga from 9 to 12 August 2012.
However, these games will be different from the previous as the emphasis will be on development and athletes under the age of 20 years old will need to be part of these games. Below I will outline criteria for participation in these games:
Based on the above, it is now incumbent upon Provincial Deaf Sports Federations to now include schools in the planning and educators in their management teams. To this effect, we urge all the Provinces to work closely with schools for the Deaf in preparation for these games.
Having outlined the criteria for the National Deaf Games, we therefore invite your province to participate at these important games and we are confident that the Provincial Department of Sport and Provincial Sport Councils will assist your teams financially and otherwise as was the case with the 2011 National Deaf Games successfully hosted by North West Department of Sport in Potchefstroom. This time, we are hopeful that we will have all the 9 Provinces at the Games, including Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
Arrival will be 8 August 2012 and departure will be 12 August 2012 and each Province is expected to pay for own accommodation, transport, meals and team attire.
In conclusion, I would like to appeal to our people to rely behind SADSF as we strive to successfully promote the development of sport for the Deaf in the country. Together we can make it happen.
Best wishes,
Julius Maxajwe
In this first message of 2012, I would like to take the opportunity to give our athletes and friends a bird’s eye view on developments within South African Deaf Sports Federation.
On international participation, it goes without saying that we are faced with many challenges. We have taken a decision to withdraw volleyball from the World Deaf Volleyball Championships as I have previously indicated in my last message of 2011. Although we have tried to assemble a competitive team capable of performing at international level, we simply did not achieve this objective. The team we have assembled is not good enough and we do not want to be embarrassed at international stage. We need to start afresh, look at the talent that is available at schools for the Deaf across the country and develop it. It is simply back to square one!
Although we have a very competitive football team selected from a variety of competitions as I have explained previously, we could not go pass Egypt in the Group B Deaflympic Games qualifiers. Egypt came to South Africa determined and in the process walloped South Africa 3-0 to qualify for the 2013 Deaflympic Games. A lot of factors contributed to our loss and none of them should be blamed on the players. The technical team assembled was disastrous, from the coach up to the management. We simply did not put much effort and did not instil hunger and discipline in the players. Another thing is that we lacked resources to prepare thoroughly. However, I am pleased to announce that a good relationship with South African Football Association (SAFA) has been forged and things will be different as we prepare for future international football competitions. SAFA has committed themselves to assist South African Deaf Football Association (SADFA) with its programmes going forward and this was confirmed at the Special General Meeting held on 28 January 2012 where SAFA was represented.
World Deaf Athletics Championships is taking place in a few months in Canada and yet we still do not have athletes that can represent the country there successfully. We are again caught between a rock and hard place as we decide whether to send a team or withdraw altogether and instead focus on development. It is a difficult decision to make, but again it is the image of the SADSF and the country that should come first. If it means withdrawing from the World Deaf Athletics Championships so as to save face, so be it. A decision on this will be taken very soon.
World Deaf Table Tennis Championships in Japan is just around the corner and again we do not have a competitive team. However, Yandani Mafanya has proved time and again that he is a player that can do the job for the country if given a chance. So far, he is the only player known to us who is playing competitive table tennis and it would do him an injustice if we do not give him a chance to go to Japan. We are backing him all the way and we know that he is doing all he can not to disappoint.
Question has been asked as to whether the 2013 Deaflympic Games will take place as planned. We, at SADSF, are not sure if this event will still take place or not. We are in the dark. However, what we know is that Bulgaria has not yet officially pronounced on their readiness or lack of despite the deadline to do so having long passed. Looking at the economic situation that is gripping European countries, Germany has moved swiftly and called for the 2013 Deaflympic Games to be cancelled and instead the focus be on the 2017 Deaflympic Games. Many countries support Germany’s proposal, including South Africa. Hungary has been given until the end of February 2012 to pronounce on their intention to host, failing which the event will be cancelled. South Africa, just like the United States, has adopted a wait-and-see approach. Even if Hungary does officially confirm their intention to host, SADSF cannot guarantee that we will participate mainly because this requires a lot of planning, including fundraising. It is simply a tall order to expect countries to be ready at such short notice. So, do not be surprised if we withdraw from the 2013 Deaflympic Games if Bulgaria does confirm intention to host.
Looking at all the above, it is clear that our international participation programmes are in disarray due to a variety of factors beyond our control.
On development, our Vice President, Derrick Peete, is working on a table tennis development project in partnership with South African Table Tennis Board (SATTB). To this effect, table tennis coaching course will take place from 16 to 18 March 2012 in Pretoria. A number of Deaf participants have been selected from all the 9 Provinces, including hearing educators. We are hoping that the course will equip our Deaf table tennis coaches with much-needed coaching knowledge and that they will use the knowledge acquired to help in the development of table tennis for Deaf children.
The Schools Sport Commission needs revival. To this effect, a workshop involving educators from around the country will be held on the 11th of March 2012 in Johannesburg to look at the issues affecting schools sport. We are working closely with Martin Pillay, a veteran of schools sport for the Deaf, to ensure successful conclusion of the workshop and we hope that a lot of positives will come out of this workshop for the benefit of Deaf learners. Development will take a centre stage at this workshop, especially now that the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) has kick-started the school sport programme. We dare not be left behind!
Provincial structures are in disarray in most of the Provinces and this year SADSF needs to take drastic measures to fix these. There are problems in Free State, Kwazulu/Natal and Northern Cape. Eastern Cape problems have resurfaced with people who are no longer leading the provincial structure bent on frustrating the work of the new executive committee and inciting athletes against the new leadership. Fixing provinces is a difficult challenge, one that requires resources and manpower and unfortunately SADSF currently does not have enough of these.
Following our successful meeting with the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation on the 20th of February 2012, we are pleased to announce that the 2012 National Deaf Games will be held in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga from 9 to 12 August 2012.
However, these games will be different from the previous as the emphasis will be on development and athletes under the age of 20 years old will need to be part of these games. Below I will outline criteria for participation in these games:
- Soccer (men): each province will be required to register 17 players. Of the 17 players, a minimum of 5 will be expected to be players under the age of 20 years old. Apart from the 17 players, only one coach and a team manager will be accepted;
- Netball: each province is required to register 13 players. Of the 13 players, a minimum of 5 will be expected to players under the age of 20 years old. Apart from the 13 players, only one coach and a team manager will be accepted;
- Volleyball (men): each province will be required to register 12 players. Of the 12 players, a minimum of 5 will be expected to be players under the age of 20 years old. Apart from the 12 players, only one coach and a team manager will be accepted;
- Volleyball (women): each province will be required to register 12 players. Of the 12 players, a minimum of 5 will be expected to be players of the age of 20 years old. Apart from the 12 players, only one coach and a team manager will be accepted;
- Athletics (women): participating disciplines are: 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m. Four athletes (a minimum 2 of which must be under 20) to compete in both 100m and 200m and the other four (a minimum of 2 of which must be under 20) to compete in 400m and 800m. This totals 8 athletes.
- Athletics (men): participating disciplines are: 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m. Four athletes (a minimum of 2 of which must be under 20) to compete in both 100m and 200m and the other four athletes (a minimum of 2 of which must be under 20) to compete in both 400m and 800m;
- There will be only one coach for both men and women and not separate coaches for each. Same applies to the team manager;
- Table Tennis (women): 4 players and a coach. A minimum of 2 of the 4 players must be under the age of 20 years of age;
- Table tennis (men): 4 players and a coach. A minimum of 2 of the 4 players must be under the age of 20 years of age.
- A Chef de Mission who will lead the Province at the games.
- In total, the number of team members per Province, including coaches, team managers and a Chef de Mission should be 91.
Based on the above, it is now incumbent upon Provincial Deaf Sports Federations to now include schools in the planning and educators in their management teams. To this effect, we urge all the Provinces to work closely with schools for the Deaf in preparation for these games.
Having outlined the criteria for the National Deaf Games, we therefore invite your province to participate at these important games and we are confident that the Provincial Department of Sport and Provincial Sport Councils will assist your teams financially and otherwise as was the case with the 2011 National Deaf Games successfully hosted by North West Department of Sport in Potchefstroom. This time, we are hopeful that we will have all the 9 Provinces at the Games, including Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
Arrival will be 8 August 2012 and departure will be 12 August 2012 and each Province is expected to pay for own accommodation, transport, meals and team attire.
In conclusion, I would like to appeal to our people to rely behind SADSF as we strive to successfully promote the development of sport for the Deaf in the country. Together we can make it happen.
Best wishes,
Julius Maxajwe