This month the country's top bodyboarders will compete in one of South Africa's highly contested bobyboarding events, the Kumba West Coast Classic. The event will take place over a four day period from 3-6 April 2015 in Lambert's Bay, Western Cape.
Now in its sixth year, the Kumba West Coast Classic attracts over 110 enthusiasts who eagerly compete for a spot in the national championship and prize money of R20 000. It is the biggest event on the South African Bodyboarding Association (SABA) circuit.
Kumba Iron Ore, a business unit of Anglo American, has made a meaningful contribution to this development initiative which is led by the Boland Bodyboarding Association (BBA). Kumba's involvement not only entails financial support but also comprises a skills transfer and social development platform aimed at upskilling community members.
This partnership forms part of Kumba's ongoing commitment to developing the local communities in which we operate. In 2014, Kumba committed R202 million for community engagement and development.
Commenting on this Yvonne Mfolo executive head of public affairs at Kumba said: "We are proud and privileged to be associated with such an event which is rooted in the development and upliftment of previously disadvantaged communities. Sport plays a vital role in bringing communities together and by participating we are encouraging members of the communities to adopt a healthy lifestyle."
The BBA has been partnering with Kumba since 2009 and is highly passionate about the sport and has produced 3 riders representing South Africa at the ISA World Games, one of them is the current junior world champion. BBA's Frans Lombard said: "The development kids look up to these sportsmen as mentors and are always very excited when they interact and work with them. The Boland team members are proud to be associated with Kumba and the development programmes and making a difference in these kids' lives."
"We are very fortunate to have the support of Kumba Iron Ore, which enables us to make a difference in these communities through a sport that we all love and partake in on a weekly basis" according to Lombard.
The first development project started in 2009 when BBA hosted the SA Bodyboarding Championships in Lambert's Bay. This project expanded to include the Diazville community in Saldanha during 2010. High school kids have now picked up valuable life skills from the Boland Bodyboarding team trainers. Kids from the primary school at Diasville will receive new bodyboarding equipment this year.
In 2014, 20 primary school kids from Eland's Bay received new equipment. The 2015 programme kicked off at Eland's Bay in the middle of March; combined with the first and second BBA provincial trials. During this year's continuous development period the Elands Bay kids showed a remarkable improvement. The development included the new batch of grom's from Lambert's Bay. The Lambert's Bay kids from 2009 have now gone full circle and currently participate in the BBA trial series and some of them will make the Boland team on merit this year.
Kids from Lambert's Bay, Eland's Bay and Saldanha will compete in the main event which shows the BBA's commitment to transformation with the help of Kumba."Kumba aims to continue sponsoring this event as it positively contributes to the growth of the local economy and job creation," Mfolo concluded