The seed that was planted at Roedean School (SA) to promote and develop aquatic sports, as well as water safety, still grows.
This is proved by their annual Old Mutual Roedean School Water Polo Prestige Cup on September 30 at the school in Parktown.
Sponsorship and events manager at Old Mutual, Bandile Mngoma said he was there 12 years ago when the prestige cup idea was born and was so grateful to see the seed that was planted blossoming. “Old Mutual has invested over R460m in education initiatives over the past 10 years. Quite recently, we have visited over 85 high schools, sharing and imparting online tools to help matriculants in previously disadvantaged schools, in preparation for matric exams and not forgetting to offer them psychosocial support.
“Roedean welcomed us and thank you for opening your doors. Without an investment in the youth, I think we are a doomed country and Roedean enables us that opportunity to focus on the youth.”
Executive director at Roedean School, Lindi Dlamini, said the purpose of the day transcended the boundaries of competition. “The core objective is to foster camaraderie among water polo teams, uniting them in a common purpose; to promote and develop aquatic sports and water safety in under-resourced communities. It is a shocking statistic when we look at the fact that high drowning rates persist in South Africa. So this talks to the significance of this initiative and this mission,” added Dlamini.
She said it was important to ensure that children were water-safe and swimming skills were accessible to all as these were lasting skills which could save lives. “To strengthen our impact, we’ve forged partnerships with several entities, one of which is the Gauteng Department of Education, Department of Sport, Art and Recreation as well as Gauteng Aquatics. Together we work tirelessly to ensure that all under-resourced schools can provide their learners with access to the learn to swim programme.”
St Stithians Girls’ College won the Old Mutual Roedean School Water Polo Prestige Cup after beating Roedean School in the final. St Mary’s came in third place.
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