Venus and Serena Williams visit Argentina

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The Williams sisters, United Through Sport Argentina and the Blind Tennis Social Project put on a clinic during an exhibition match held at Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club on 30th November. Serena Williams, world number 1, and her sister Venus worked with children suffering from blindness with the aim to promote more participation in the sport regardless of disability.

With the public asked to remain silent, the sisters used a specially designed ball that would give off a sound that could be heard by the blind children. To everyone’s astonishment the balls were being regularly returned proving what a success this new technology has been.

Over 250 children from disadvantaged communities turned up, along with kids from the Blind Tennis Social Project, to take part in this exciting opportunity. Working alongside two of the worlds most well know tennis players was a great priviledge for all involved.

Serena even posted out the following Twitter message:
“I did something I have never done before today. I played tennis in Argentina with blind kids. The ball made noise. They listened and hit it back. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Tennis opens doors to so many different people and things. These kids taught me a powerful lesson today. Anything is possible”

Ghana Boys Play in the Accra Senior Open Tennis Championship

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Monday 2nd December was an exciting day for two of our Tennis Academy Boys, George Nyarko and Emmanuel Wettey, as they competed in the Accra Senior Open Tennis Championships at the Accra Lawn Tennis Club.

Both George and Emmanuel entered the Singles tournament and joined forces in the Doubles tournament to fly the United Through Sport flag. The Accra Senior Open Tennis Championships attracts players of a high standard and this year was certainly no different, as there were Davis Cup players and former Ghana number 1’s among the entrants. Volunteers and staff attended the tournament to cheer the boys on and show their support.

George and Emmanuel, who are both 14 years of age, played their Singles matches on the first day of the tournament, their opponents were all at least 20 years of age, showing just how talented our United Through Sport boys are already. They each played four Singles matches and won one match each; a fantastic achievement for both boys. On the second day the boys played in the Doubles tournament, although there were no victories for them they both played incredibly well and showed off just how much talent they have. Throughout both the Singles and Doubles tournament, Emmanuel and George did themselves proud, they played their hearts out and fought every single point down to the wire; they both really are big Tennis stars in the making!

Ghana U11’s and U13’s Football Tournament

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Friday 29th November saw the United Through Sport under 11’s and under 13’s teams compete in a Football Tournament held at Lizzy’s Complex in East Legon, Accra. The boys were accompanied by United Through Sport staff, volunteers and special guests who cheered them on as they took on their opposition teams. To add some extra importance to the day, a crew from TV Africa came along to film the boys playing and interview some of the UTS team.

The United Through Sport under 11’s team (green shirts) played first, the match was fast paced and action packed from the first whistle. The boys played extremely well and showed off their skill to those who had come along to support them, lots of great attempts at goals were played and the our United Through Sport boys scored two goals during the match. Unfortunately at the final whistle the boys were defeated 4 – 2, but they played a fantastic game and really did themselves and United Through Sport proud.

Next up, the United Through Sport under 13’s team (orange and black shirts) took to the pitch, the boys played really well and showed just how far they have come through their training over the past few months. The match was action packed with lots of great balls played and goals scored, the light faded as things got into full swing but this didn’t affect the match as the flood lights came on to ensure the match was played to full time. The match finished at 3 – 2 to the opposition team, another great effort from the United Through Sport boys.

After the match, United Through Sport staff were interviewed by the TV Africa crew, this was a great opportunity to promote United Through Sport Ghana and raise the profile of the work that is being in done in Accra. It was a great afternoon for everyone and the atmosphere amongst the boys and United Through Sport staff was fantastic as the day came to a close.

South Africa Sustainability for Feeding Scheme

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This October brought around the 4th annual visit from Wellington College’s Social Apprentices. Each year for the past four years has seen Wellington send a group of young socially conscious pupils to work within the United Through Sport South Africa programmes, with a focus on creating a legacy from each trip through providing useful facilities and lasting relationships with their South African peers.

Past trips have seen the group build a kitchen, a gym facility and a computer room for the United Through Sport School of Excellence Programme. This year’s focus was creating a vegetable garden that would supply the United Through Sport kitchen with enough vegetables on an on-going basis to feed the 90 Junior School of Excellence (JSE) Programme participants on a daily basis, thus providing further sustainability to the programme.

The 40 Wellington College pupils and four teachers along with their 40 JSE buddies worked tirelessly for four days to turn an unused patch of land into a huge vegetable garden capable of producing 10kg of vegetables per week, including carrots, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, beans and lettuce. The garden was also fitted with four 5000 litre water tanks and irrigation network to use the water collected from the school roof to keep the plants watered.

Apart from the success of the vegetable garden, the Wellington group also formed lasting relationships with their ‘buddies’. This programme saw them spending the week interacting with kids from the JSE programme who have been put forward for the Senior School of Excellence (SSE) scholarships for next year, with the aim of improving their communication skills and broadening their horizons. The week’s activities saw them spending time coaching sports at Emzomcane Primary School, visiting Langbos crèche near Addo, visiting Kayalethu Boys Haven and bowling with their buddies, before ending the week with an overnight trip to the Shamwari Conservation Experience.

This year’s Wellington group were so successful with their fundraising that they far surpassed the total needed for the Vegetable garden and were able to sponsor a further 5 children in the SSE programme for next year. This is added to the two currently being sponsored all the way through high school by Stanley House from the College.

“This year’s group from Wellington added such a valuable contribution through the garden, through the buddy relationships and through the funds raised for scholarships! Their annual trip has become an integral part of our programmes!” – Nosipho ‘Spakes’ Xapile – Program Manager, Junior School of Excellence Programme.

South Africa Netball Girls Visit UK

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At this moment ten pupils from the Junior School of Excellence (JSE) program are in the UK for a sports and cultural exchange tour sponsored by touraid. The under-13 girls are taking part in netball and touch rugby tournaments and will experience some cultural activities during their time in England.

The girls, along with the Junior School of Excellence netball head coach, Miss Cadala, and United Through Sport director, Nick Mould, left Port Elizabeth on Tuesday the 1st October; where they were seen off at the airport by overly-excited parents and teachers. The send-off was very emotional as all the ladies were travelling outside South Africa for the first time, with the experience of flying on a plane… a first for the young stars.

During their time overseas, the team will have an opportunity of mixing with a group of girls from Kenya who are visiting England at the same time. Visits to Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street have been arranged and the group will also go on the famous London Eye and go and watch their first ever live English rugby match.

We are extremely grateful to be working with touraid to afford such a life time experience to the youth in our programs. This is the second sponsored tour that we have been granted by touraid, with the first one in 2009 where a group of rugby boys travelled to England for the same period of time. We hope the relationship between United Through Sport and touraid has even bigger prospects in the future.

The touch rugby team captain, Tasneem Webb, said she was excited to play in the UK. “I want to be famous, I want to be seen playing for the school”.

Eagerly waiting their return on the 13th October to hear all about the tour, we trust the girls will have fun, represent the organisation well and fly high the South African flag in the UK!

Scholarship Awards Ceremony in Ghana

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Thursday 26th September 2013 was a very special day for United Through Sport Ghana as the first ever Scholarship Awards Ceremony was held in Teshie, Accra and the very first intake of talented young football and tennis players received their Scholarships to the School of Excellence.

For the last 6 months the Ghana Team have travelled the length and breadth of the country in search of the country’s most talented young Tennis and Football players. Over 1000 boys were originally selected and this has now been whittled down to just 26 lucky boys who were awarded a scholarship for the United Through Sport School of Excellence. The scholarship will provide these boys with a good quality basic education and training in their chosen sport of either Tennis or Football. For those boys who do not live in close proximity to the United Through Sport Ghana office in Teshie, they will also receive food, accommodation and support during term times.

The ceremony was attended by the boys receiving their scholarships, their parents and family members, volunteers, coaches, staff and other boys who are still going through the selection process and hope to receive a scholarship of their own in the future. The ceremony began with a warm welcome and speech from James Dzandza, Director of United Through Sport Ghana, and an opportunity for parents to ask questions about their sons futures with United Through Sport. The presentation of scholarship certificates to the lucky final 26 boys followed, each certificate was presented by a representative of United Through Sport Ghana and the boys were accompanied by their parents for individual photos as they were presented.

After all of the formalities it was time to celebrate the boys achievement and this huge milestone for United Through Sport Ghana… big smiles were seen all around, not only from the boys but from their parents, family, volunteers and of course the United Through Sport team.

Impromptu entertainment was laid on by an older brother of one of the boys receiving their scholarship who showed off his impressive football skills to parents.

The afternoon was a huge success on all accounts and we wish the lucky scholarship recipients the very best of luck in their studies and training with United Through Sport.

The Happiest 5km on the Planet

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“The happiest day of my life”! This is how Tazneem, one of our Junior School of Excellence Netball players described taking part in The Color Run, held in Port Elizabeth yesterday. Tazneem was one of 25 children and 17 volunteers from United Through Sport lucky enough to take part in the first ever Color Run on the African continent.

The Color Run, billed as “The happiest 5km on the planet”, is a paint race that celebrates health, happiness, individuality and giving back to the community. So for us it was extremely fitting that we were identified as the Charity partner for the event in Port Elizabeth, as it encompasses many of the values we instill into our sports programmes.

As charity partner to The Color Run Port Elizabeth we have experienced nothing but fun and happiness since beginning work with the organizers. The Color Run team from Portugal, encompass the attitude of the race with their warm, kind and cheerful nature which made the experience for over 50 volunteers from United Through Sport working with them in the build up and on the day of the race almost as enjoyable as the race itself.

On race day, it was an early start for all the volunteers and 25 children from our Junior School of Excellence programme to get to The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University by 5h:30am to prepare for the days events. Our children enjoyed the race with over 9000 other participants who were all desperate to be a part of this inaugural event in Africa. The race itself was out of this world for the kids, with bursts of color continually filling the air as they ran around the 5km course. Each individual had bags of color powder to throw at each other as well as various ‘Color Stations’ of volunteers shooting color at runners as they passed by. There was more entertainment on the way around with cheerleaders, drummers and fitness instructors all part of the carnival atmosphere willing the runners on.

At the end of the race the festival continued for several hours with music and big screens showing the festivities. One of the highlights for our kids was being called up on stage in front of thousands of other runners to throw more colored powder packets to the cheering participants.

It was a hugely successful day and one that we, and the lucky 25 children from our Junior School of Excellence will never forget. It was a real pleasure to work with The Color Run team and be a part of the event all the way through. As part of the legacy, The Color Run organisers have donated funds to ensure that some of those children who took part in the race yesterday will receive a scholarship to go to a top level high school in 2014. What an amazing day and what an amazing experience!!!

Tough Mudders Support United Through Sport

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Last weekend saw a group of super hard United Through Sport supporters take part in Tough Mudder… a challenge involving a run through a 12 mile SAS designed course battling through mud, fire, ice-water and 10,000 volts of electricity.

The event was a great way to build camaraderie and encourage team involvement, an objective central to the vision of United Through Sport. It took approx 3hrs to do the event with a well earned pint of Strongbow waiting for the team at the finish line.

A massive thanks goes out to the Caravan and Motorhome company Bailey of Bristol (follow them on Twitter @baileyofbristol) for lending the team a state-of-the-art motorhome. This provided much needed comfort after a tough day out on the battle field!

Thanks also to the 9 Tough Mudders who raised money for our charity work in Africa and South America, helping us bring more important messages and support to thousands of kids.

If you would like to run Tough Mudder yourself and even better raise money for our work then check out the website here: www.ToughMudder.co.uk

Ghana School of Excellence Recruitment Day

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May 2013 saw the first part of the United Through Sport Ghana recruitment programme for over 1000 aspiring young football players who were all vying for their chance to receive a prestigious scholarship at the United Through Sport School of Excellence.
After weeks of scouring the country for Ghana’s budding young stars, the Ghana team and volunteers spent the day at a football ground in Teshie, as the young hopefuls were put through their paces. The day took the form of a football gala as the boys showcased their talent, technique and discipline to the team who would be deciding whether they would be going through to the next stage. Lots of people came along to support the players and cheer them on as they played their hearts out for a chance to move forward in the recruitment process.

To add to the occasion, the boys and the team were joined by former Ghana Black Stars Coach, Charles Akornor, who gave valuable input and feedback on the young players, as well as assisting with the final decision as to who would be selected to go through to the next stage of the process and move one step closer to receiving a scholarship for the United Through Sport School of Excellence.

After a long day, 22 exhausted young players were selected to go through to the next stage of the recruitment process which will include rigorous training schedules and aptitude tests over the course of the coming months.

A fantastic day was had by all, lots of celebrations from those who had made the grade and even those who were not lucky enough to get through to the next stage of the recruitment programme thoroughly enjoyed themselves and went home with a real sense of achievement.

Scholarship Numbers Elevate in South Africa

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We are pleased to report on the increasing number of scholarships we are facilitating for children in the townships to go to “former model c schools” where they get to inter-act with different races and receive top level education.

Pearson High School in Port Elizabeth was the first school we built this relationship with; in the year 2010, where we facilitated a rugby scholarship for three boys starting Grade 8. The three boys now only have one more year of school, and they’re all looking forward to life after school. Since we started this relationship, we have been sending an increasing number of boys and girls to Pearson year after year. This year, we sent a total of 9 children to start Grade 8; giving a total of fifteen children currently on a sport scholarship at this school. Some of the older boys take pride in playing for the school’s rugby first team.

The second school we built a relationship with was Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg, through the Theo Jackson Scholarship Fund. This Fund pays special attention to orphaned children who are highly motivated and have a drive to succeed in life. We currently have one boy at Jeppe, who has evolved into such a young gentleman over the three years he has been there.

The latest relationship is with St George’s Preparatory, in Port Elizabeth. The main difference between this school and the other two is that St George’s is a primary school; therefore accepts younger children for a year or two before they move on to high school. Children selected for this scholarship are at an advantage as they get moulded at an earlier age to adjust from a township school to a multi-racial one, which makes their chances of receiving a scholarship for high school even higher. We sent our first group of children to St George’s this year, two boys and two girls who are all high achievers in sport.

Despite all the talent there is in the townships, it is extremely difficult for parents to afford schools which can open up opportunities for their children. It is therefore our greatest pleasure to provide the platform for such opportunities. The difference in the quality of education in the township schools and the multi-racial ones is remarkably vast. This therefore means the children need to work extra hard to catch-up, giving extra hours in their days where we provide tutors to assist them with their academics.

It was a lovely reward and incentive for the children when we took all of them to a Super 15 Rugby game at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium between our local team, the Southern Kings and the Sharks, a team from Kwa-Zulu Natal. The children also got to socialise with their international tutors on a more casual environment, outside the classroom. The roles were reversed as the kids were teaching the tutors a thing or two about rugby.

“Being at St George’s is hard; we have a lot of work even after school. It’s nice because the teachers help us with our homework. I want to go to Pearson next year because they are good in a lot of sport and I will fit in well.”- Numaan de Maar, UTS Beneficiary, 12 yrs old.

“We, as a family were over the moon when we learnt that my son would attend a school as prestigious as St George’s Prep. As a parent, you always have big dreams for your children, but being unemployed limits those dreams. With school fees, transport and school uniform arranged for us, we are only left with providing support for him.” – Leonie de Maar, UTS Beneficiary Parent.

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