New beginnings are in store for Sascoc (South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) in a productive new association with the North-West University. Sascoc’s annual strategy and leadership sessions took place at the NWU Sports Village last weekend, with Theo Venter facilitating the event. The NWU High-Performance Institute of Sports (HPI), NWU Sports and the NWU Centre for Health and Human Performance (CHHP) hosted the event. According to Dr Bertus le Roux, the business and operations manager at CHHP, this new proposed agreement will officially be finalised once the memorandum of understanding (MOU) is signed. 
The main idea is that the NWU and all its world-class sports facilities will act as a proverbial hub for Team South Africa’s Olympic athletes in preparation for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. “The feedback we received from Sascoc during the strategic planning session and the tour of the facilities was very positive. One of the important aspects is to get the Olympic squad ready on all levels (physically and mentally) ahead of the Olympic Games,” stated Le Roux.
One of the points of discussion was that Potchefstroom could host various athletes from sporting codes, based on the available facilities. For example, the newly-constructed Astroturf would be the perfect place for SA’s hockey players to get in peak condition for the Games. “We have some of the best training facilities, doctors, physios, biokineticists, dieticians and so forth in one central area in Potch. This is an essential factor in providing an all-in-one service for the athletes,” added Le Roux.
As a token of appreciation, Lwandile Simelane (Sascoc’s first vice- president), presented Venter, Le Roux and NWU sports’ director, Sheldon Rostron, with a special framed Madiba plaque to cap off the fruitful discussion. The new Sascoc board members are as follows: Mr Barry Hendricks, president; Ms Lwandile Simelane, first vice- president; Dr Debbie Alexander; Mr Anant Singh; Mr Alan Fritz; Ms Moekie Grobbelaar; Ms Ilhaam Groenewald; Ms Kim Pople; Mr Qondisa Ngwenya and Ms Natalie du Toit. 
