Share this
Mister Wong
Digg
Del.icio.us
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Googlize this
Blinklist
Facebook
Wikio
Hear this text
Print
E-mail
Tags
School tournaments into the plattelandWhat impact will the Fifa Soccer World Cup in 2010 have on traditional school sports tournaments in South Africa? Will it be a logistical nightmare for the organisers of events such as the Craven Week rugby tournament – or will it be another challenge for the Arrive Alive campaign, as South African roads take a heavy toll of casualties annually, with 14 000 fatalities every year?
During the Fifa Soccer World Cup, there will be 32 teams, 43 days of non-stop soccer action, 2.7 million local spectators, 487 000 visitors, 64 matches and an estimated contribution of R21.3 billion contribution to the gross domestic product.
But what impact will all this have on the availability of flights to school sports tournaments?
Generally, 39.7% of South Africans utilise public transport, while 36.2% are private transport users. During June/July this year, a good slice of that 39.7% would be school rugby players, as the Craven Week for under-18 players will be hosted in Welkom from 27 June to 3 July.
The Craven Week for primary schools will be a Karoo festival, with Graaff-Reinet hosting the tournament from 13 to 18 June, while the under-16 week, called the Grant Khomo Week, will take place in Kimberley from 13 to 17 June.
According to Theo Kleynhans, general manager of Youth Rugby of the Western Province Rugby Union, the planning involved taking the Craven Week tournaments away from the big city centres to areas where there would be no conflict with the World Cup.
“Originally, the Academy week was scheduled to take place between 20 and 24 June in Pietermaritzburg, but because of the frenetic soccer activity close to Pietermaritzburg, we moved the venue to Vryheid,” said Kleynhans.
“I’m not sure what the other big provinces would do, but Western Province has submitted a tender to a bus company and might take the road to Welkom if we finalise an agreement with that company,” he added.
"Leadership Intelligence Bulletin" spoke to a number of other provinces, who all indicated they would transport players by bus to Welkom, Graaff-Reinet and Vryheid.
Teams would stay over in school hostels halfway, for a day or two, have a training camp and then travel the remainder of the route.
Kleynhans said that in previous years, Western Province was accustomed to staying over for two nights halfway and then having a training camp before completing its trip.
School holidays
The Department of Basic Education has said that although the June school holidays have been extended by seven days to accommodate the 2010 World Cup, the school year has not been shortened in any way.
Basic Education spokesperson Dr Granville Whittle said: "The June holiday has been extended to allow those in the education system, especially our learners and teachers, to enjoy the first-ever Soccer World Cup on African soil.
"According to national policy, a school year must have between 195 and 200 school days, and 2010 will have 195 school days."
The department was working closely with a range of non-governmental organisations, including the United Nations Children's Fund, to develop a range of programmes to be offered at schools during the period of the World Cup to engage learners and keep them off the streets.
"Our high schools will continue to offer winter schools like they normally do during the winter holidays," he said.
Soccer development
Meanwhile, an organiser of the FNB/Grey College Soccer Tournament, Ludwig Koekemoer, said the Fifa World Cup is set to accelerate the interest in soccer at schools level in areas that traditionally excel in rugby.
"It is about inviting schools from the broader community. It is all about developing soccer at the grassroots level and helping to build a culture of soccer at school level here," said Koekemoer, who has ensured that underprivileged schools can also take part in the tournament by providing transport and accommodation.
Andrew Gifford, the coach of Johannesburg-based Norkem Park School, which took part in the tournament in 2009, says the successful development of school-level football is closely related to the 2010 World Cup.
"The success of rugby in South Africa came through from the school system and with the 2010 World Cup on the horizon, we are really going in the right direction in terms of developing school soccer further.
“People in South Africa are embracing soccer more and more and I think people were amazed by the Confederations Cup. Now everyone is talking about the World Cup and with this, more and more kids are starting to play at a younger age," he adds. (Source: Sport24.com)
Many of the other coaches who took part in the four-day tournament agree with Gifford that the hosting of the Fifa World Cup will have positive repercussions for football development long after the final whistle has blown in 2010.
For the players themselves, it is school tournaments such as these, and indeed the Fifa World Cup, which will go a long way in ensuring a steady stream of football talent from South African schools.
"These tournaments are helping to develop the game. There is not a lot of club activity at school level, so these tournaments are very important for us," said 17-year-old Ricco Sutil, a midfielder for the Grey College team, who believes the World Cup is important for him and his fellow players.
"Because of the World Cup, more people want to play and I think more tournaments will come out of this. After the World Cup, South African soccer will be in a much better position," he adds.
