Local sponsors rally to send grommets off to PE
The Ilembe Surf Riders was established this year and became the first district to be added to the Surfing South Africa (SSA) body in 25 years
It was tense for a moment – money was tight, the new kit had not arrived and the Ilembe Surf Riders were not sure they would make it to the Grommet Games.
But good things are worth waiting for, as it all came together the night before they were due to leave.
“We were worried that we were not going to be able to afford to get all the kids down for the games but we got awesome donations from the public and at the last minute KwaDukuza municipality came to the party with a massive donation,” said the man behind the Surf Riders, Darren Sykes.
The team was also waiting for their new kit.
A few delays meant that Sykes’s son, Justin came flying in with the kit the night of the big farewell – just in time for the groms to get into their gear and show off the equivalent of Ilembe Colours.
“I know that mayor Ricardo Mthembu was a supporter of the Ilembe Surf Riders initiative from day one, and the wonderful donation from KDM just goes to show that he is serious about developing surfing talent in his municipality.
“Of course, we could not have done it with only that donation and many others also opened their wallets to get these talented youngsters to the games.”
The Ilembe Surf Riders was established this year and became the first district to be added to the Surfing South Africa (SSA) body in 25 years and have nearly 100 children of all ages learning how to surf under their tutelage.
The Ilembe Surf Riders thanked all those who made donations to help them get to PE: KwaDukuza Municipality, the Findlay family, Marcus Theron of Precision Piling, Ricky Sykes, Chris Morris, Keith Goor of Green Ladder, Hanno Schubel of Blinds – All Of Them, Brett Michielin of Mo-Zam-Bik, Bruce Stephenson of The North Coast Courier, James Westoby of 007 Plant Hire, the Van Den Berg Family, Tiffany’s Spar, the Blacklaw family, Paul Naidoo of Ballito Lions Club and Unifoam.
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