The newly established Gladness Athletics Club in Nzhelele has invited athletes from across the region to join the club and to start preparing for upcoming events.
The club's founder, Mr Tendani Phunyuku, said that they were not making the progress he had hoped for yet in terms of growing the club, with their main challenges being financing and sponsorships. He said that, as most of their members came from disadvantaged communities, they could hardly afford training kits and registration fees. But despite these challenges, he said, people still had faith in the club.
"This region has a lot of talent that goes to waste at the end of the day because it cannot be nurtured due to a lack of funds. Athletics is a rewarding sport and many people from this area could be making a well-paid career from it if properly guided and trained," he said.
Phunyuku himself had run with different teams for many years. He said that the aim of the club was to identify young boys and girls from the Vhembe region and give them an opportunity to learn life skills and receive athletics training. They already have more than 20 members registered with the club, who will participate in marathons around South Africa and 21km races around the province.
"I had this dream of using new ways to empower young people and turn them into great sportsmen and -women, so I had to detach myself from the other clubs where I had been a member of and focus on implementing my ideas. Those ideas are coming to life; all we need is a little support. We need sponsorships for transport, registration and licences for the club," he said.