Curtain raised on 2020

 
 
The South African Disabled Golf Association ushered in the new year with the staging of a fruitful FSP Coaches Workshop which was made possible by the National Lotteries Commission.
 
The SADGA is privileged to have received R150 000 in funding from the NLC to aid skills development within the association.
 
The coaches workshop , held at King David Mowbray Golf Club, has been the traditional start of the year for disabled golf in South Africa for many years now and offers coaches from around the country the opportunity to share ideas and revel in the abundant success enjoyed by all over the past 12 months.
 
A noteworthy success was certainly the growth of the Canon Deaf Junior Interschools Tournament. Last year saw 28 golfers drawn from six regions and eight schools compete over three days at Magalies Park Golf Club – record numbers for the event in all respects.
 
 A high-spot of the weekend was the unveiling of the new application, Coaches Assist. Coaches Assist will help coaches monitor pupils’ attendance of practice sessions while simultaneously allowing SADGA management to keep track of the frequency of the coaching sessions. All concerned feel the app is a welcome addition to the FSP coaching process.
 
SADGA Operations manager Lily Reich deemed the two-day event a resounding success.
 
“We are privileged to have a team of coaches with a deep love for positively impacting the lives of each and every First Swing Program child they coach,” commented Reich.
 
Reich also heaped praise on the coaches for offering new ways of ensuring the continued expansion of the First Swing Program while maintaining the quality of the structures already in place.
 
“Though logistics mean that we only meet as a complete coaching unit once a year, when all of our coaches put their heads together on how best to take the Program forward, the results are truly remarkable,” commented Reich.
We were once again pleased to have facilitator Donny Jurgens running proceedings – Donny did a superb job of ensuring we covered a lot of ground in the limited time we had together.
 
The SADGA staff was privileged to be addressed by GolfRSA’s Greg De Doncker who spoke of the need to continue to integrate disabled golf into the larger South African golf community. De Donker believes that the quality of disabled golf in South Africa is on the rise and that it is not unfathomable that a disabled golfer may even earn provincial colours in the coming years.
 
A massive thank you to King David Mowbray Golf Club for hosting the event – the facilities made available were fantastic and the food as delicious as always. We as an association are delighted to have a home that values disabled golf so much. To Volkswagen for mobilising the SADGA’s members and staff – thank you for providing such safe and comfortable vehicles wherever and whenever needed.
 
To our long-serving interpreter Carmen Oostenbrink thank you for giving of your time to help our Deaf coaches be active participants in proceedings. Finally to the coaches for all that you do for us – we cannot wait to see all of your great ideas come to fruition this year.