You must make a loud noise before entering...
These were the instructions I was given when we randomly
stopped in the middle of nowhere at a South African shop when I urgently needed
to pee. SNAKES. You must make a noise before entering the back guest hut where
the toilets are- it is one animal I think that scares me more than a 3 m long crocodile
that was also a bit too close to comfort at my last visit to a game park!
Last weekend I was in charge of taking our 2 Olympic track
hopefuls to some competitions across the border in SA. Our first stop was in
Pretoria, though once we arrived found out the meet had been cancelled earlier
on in the week. Doh. Pretoria itself was my first SA city I’d been too, and
what a difference it was to Swaziland. Though neighbouring countries, the vibe
of the city was eye opening. Each and every single house we saw was gated or
wired, or both. Compared to mountainous Swaziland our 4 our journey to Pretoria
was flat, and became hotter by the mile. The next day a further 3 hour journey, took us outside of Jo’burg to
a place called Potchefstroom, which was hosting what is known as Yellow Pages
competitions- a qualifying event for track athletes gearing up for London. It
reminded me of being on tour with the girls (I miss hockey oh so much), but the
experience for the athletes was still similar. Travel, hydrate, eat, sleep,
morning run and stretch, sleep and start mentally preparing for the event.
Their coach wasn’t on the trip, so felt as if I needed to manage and act on his
behalf. While I’d never attended a track meet (should have called my sister),
the starting heats were announced less than 20 minutes before the races started
which made for a very hectic warm-up and a bit of panic on my behalf. Though
the athletes were ready, and competed well- both improving their overall time,
they are still fighting for Olympic qualification. Both are incredibly
motivated and have the ability to compete with the best, so it’s only a matter
of a bit more experience in the 200m race, and they are well on their way for
an Olympic dream. I believe!
South Africa was very different than what I had expected,
though not sure what I had really expected. Integration seemed minimal, which
really surprised me, and many of the areas I was in, showed resemblance of
American small towns. It is obviously much more developed, similar to the malls
in Botswana, though of course, the 'slums; cannot be overlooked. I had my first
taste of some lovely South African wine and another glimpse at a private game
park - so overall, the experience was
yet another one to remember ;)
While I’m back home now and into office mode, there are a
few ongoing projects keeping me busy. Over the previous past two weekends, at the Olympafrica centre (which I'm hoping to revive), we held a camp, teaching kids fundamental athletics and gymnastics skills, rope skipping skills as well as art and introducing computer skills. Today I spoke in another school
about the Olympic movement and shared what the Games are all about. There is a
tremendous lack of knowledge of what sport actually is, yet alone the Olympic
Games. My mission will be to create some Olympic hype and get this country to
support its 3 Olympic hopefuls gearing up for this summer...121 days to go! The
teachers and students were super keen and very thankful for the sharing of
knowledge; these are the moments that are truly inspiring on this journey.
