DRIVING FORCE
Former Director of Sport Ilhaam Groenewald shares her story of leadership and change that has helped catapult UWC Sport to where it is today
“I
am a non-negotiator when it comes to results and I expect the same to be expected from me. While this may well be in my nature, it is something that was nurtured to maturity by my many mentors during my time at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). And for this, I am forever grateful. “My memories of Udubs Sport are rich — not just because I met my husband, Yusuf, through volleyball in 1991 but as I was given the opportunity to grow personally and professionally, and was supported by many to realise my vision for a credible sports department at the University with outstanding facilities to match.
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“I came from Keimoes in the Northern Cape to Cape Town to study Business Administration at PenTech (now the Cape Peninsula University of Technology or CPUT) in 1988. I was here to study what would form the foundation of my career in sports and to realise my passion: societal transformation through sports. Being active in student politics and serving on the Student Representative Council (SRC) fuelled my learning and, in 1991, I took my first (initially unpaid) job as an administrator in the UWC Political Science department under Dr Vincent Maphai (who persuaded the late Prof Jakes Gerwel to finally give me a paid contract after a few months!). “The world of sport is changing
constantly and my business studies and continued learning — I later received my Master’s Degree in Sports Management at Udubs — have benefited me greatly in sports leadership. That leadership began as a member of the Udubs volleyball club on the executive committee. It was an entry into Sports Council meetings, which I chaired for a period. “I joined UWC Sport as a sports administrator in 1999, thanks to former Registrar Dr Julian Smith who recognised my passion and talent, before being promoted to Senior Sports Administrator within two years. Two years later, I was appointed as head — the youngest and only black woman head of sports within the higher education sports environment. “At that time, the performance of codes was poor and it was time to implement a change that would take care of staff, student-athletes, coaches, facilities and programmes. The people who continued to inspire me during tough times were then-Vice-Chancellor Prof Brian O’Connell and Institutional Planner Larry Pokpas, simply because of their rich sports history and their belief in the role of sports. “Prof Lullu Tshiwula, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development and Support, and Khaya Magopeni (office management) were a pair who believed in the importance of holistic development of studentathletes and persuaded UWC to invest in student-athletes through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), headed by Mr Mike Kwatsha. In fact, the
