Road to London 2012 Presented to the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation by President of SASCOC 02 February 2010

Introduction South Africa’s participation at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was the worst since our re- admission to the international sporting arena. The ranking moved down to 71, as compared to 43 in the Athens Summer Olympics. Various factors were sighted as reasons for failure, with finances being the top of the list. The other main factor was the inadequate systems that currently exist to fully support the elite athletes.

Preparation for Road to London 2012 Vision for London 2012 SA to return with 12 medals from the Olympic Games and to improve on the 6 th position at the Paralympic Games

Strategy for realizing the Vision Looked at the past four years existence of SASCOC –Mainly to ensure there was transition from various structures such as SASC, NOCSA, DISSA, USSASA and SASSU. –Those years were mainly to consolidate and map way forward for SA sport in the new dispensation of a Confederation and Olympic Committee. –Ensuring that the MTT recommendations were taken into cognisance.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Focus on the current quadrennial (2009 –2012) –SASCOC Structure –Opening up Communication –Co-ordination of all resources –Athlete identification and preparation

Strategy for realizing the Vision SASCOC Structure –Presence of SASCOC at provincial levels. Revived the Sports Councils as also guided by the 2008 National Sports Indaba. –The Sports Councils will contribute meaningfully to the Transformation of sport. –Provincial Academies – attempts have been made to ensure that the academies are in line with the national preparation strategies, however, some have been resisting. New recommendation to have sport specific Academies driven by NFs was supported by member NFs at the General Meeting of 14 November 2009.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Opening up Communication –Informing the public on preparations through constant update via print and electronic media –Launched a quarterly magazine –Press conferences held quarterly –Interactive website updated on a daily basis –All member NF’s were invited to utilize the website to highlight their events and activities.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Co-ordination of all resources –Forged partnership with the SANDF. –Forged partnership with the Institutes/ Tertiary Inst. –International Institute for Sport Science and Fitness (IIFT) main focus to co-ordinate Strength training and conditioning for the NF’s. –SAIDS -Anti –doping programme – All OPEX athletes on the Registered Testing Pool (RTP). –SASMA – (SA Sports Medicine Association) – finalising talks on their role in preparation of teams and sports science and medicine research. –CSIR – Sports Technology Centre – finalized meetings with the key NF’s on their sports technology requirements and interventions. –SETAs – Services Seta – Education and Training of Coaches and Administrators- for implementation from March 2010.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Co-ordination of all resources –Bursary Scheme SASCOC has started a bursary scheme for athletes to further relieve them of financial pressures. This bursary scheme will, ensure that athletes at tertiary institutions are afforded an opportunity to train and compete through special arrangements by SASCOC with the relevant institutions. This is also intended to ensure that athletes have careers post their elite competition days. Allocations for 2010 completed and will be made public in due course.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Athlete identification and preparation –Key NF’s identified for L2012. Based on past performances in previous Games since 1992 –Meetings held with the NF’s in May 2009 to interrogate their 4- year preparation plans and nominated athletes –Athletes who met criteria (top 16 in the World for Olympics and top 8 for Paralympics) were included in the Operation Excellence Programme (OPEX). –One-on-one meetings with athletes, NF’s reps and their coaches. –OPEX programme started in June 2009 with 42 athletes having signed their contracts. –Evaluation of plans for Olympic sports and intake of new athletes completed in Dec One-on-one meetings currently underway for the 2010 season.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Athlete identification and preparation –Athletes accepted onto OPEX get support grants for: Living expenses Medical cover Scientific support services Coaching Access to training facilities and gyms National and international competitions National and international camps Equipment and training/competition apparel R7.5m has been allocated to the athletes till end March 2010.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Athlete identification and preparation –2016 squads to currently being finalized. –Specific programme being finalized for these squads- initial thinking was the use of the Provincial Academies systems, this may change. –These squads will be monitored and we will ensure that most of the athletes are part of the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games and 2014 Youth Olympic Games to ensure continuity through to –UJ already started process the 2024 Talent identification plan through research and collaboration with all tertiary institutions. Finer details of the process being finalized with Project Manager.

Olympian Ranking Analysis

Paralympian Ranking Analysis

Additional Athletes for 2010

Strategy for realizing the Vision Transformation –2014 is upon us, which implies that we need to have proper monitoring and evaluation tools for transformation progress within member NF’s and SASCOC. –Internally, we have commenced with the process through staff appointments and the various Commissions of SASCOC. –As the Board we have decided to bring back a Committee that will look specifically at transformation, gender and ethics. –The 2010 Youth Olympic Games will also present an opportunity for us to start making meaningful transformation progress if we build on the youth squads. The policy agreed to with the NF’s is 50/50 for these Games. –All the coaching systems/ structures should focus on developing local expertise from entry levels to elite, with specific focus on women, PDI, and the disabled.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Key Milestones Achieved – 2009 –Financial support for elite athletes 3 years prior to the next Olympics and Paralympics (additional funds required). –Co-ordinated with the identified NF’s 3.5 years in advance in preparation for Olympic/ Paralympic Games. –Secured, 3 years in advance Pre-Games Training Camp venues for 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. –Appointed Chefs de Missions for all the Games till –Forged partnerships with UJ to conduct a study and finalise a Talent Identification Plan – Towards 2024 Olympics. –Secured funding through lottery for a 3 year period for preparation and delivery of Team SA. More funding is still required though. –Forged partnerships with UJ and SU to co-ordinate a coach education programme, from community to high performance level. –Through the SANDF partnership, 107 aspiring boxers are already at the base in Oudtsroon as a result of a Talent Search roadshow.

Strategy for realizing the Vision Key priorities for 2010 : To deliver a well prepared team to the Commonwealth Games, Delhi- key target to retain 5 th position. To deliver a representative team to the Youth Olympic Games, Singapore. Coaches Conference in November, Free State. Presidents Council – Strategic meeting for all Presidents of the NFs to map way forward for SA Sport and agree on key strategic imperatives. To commission research on the status of all NFs in the country – do they all need to be regarded as NFs if they do not have structures on the ground?

Strategy for realizing the Vision Support required from Portfolio Committee : To work side by side with SASCOC to achieve the 2012 Vision and objectives. To find a mechanism where the Portfolio Committee constantly assists in the monitoring and evaluation of governance of sport in SA. To assist in finding a proper funding mechanism for sport in SA.

CONCLUSION It is believed that when all the athlete identification and preparation systems are fully supported and proper tracking and monitoring is done, we will be able to realize our Vision 2012.