Text: Rina Smit Image: morquefile.com
Sports In sport there is no such thing as luck, just a lot of practice. One who lacks courage to start has already finished. Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. 123
Hannspree World Superbikes
Text & Images: Marcell van Aswegen
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always look forward to big sporting weekends in South Africa, but this one was slightly different. When I got the news that me and fellow photographer Andrew Aveley was granted media accreditation for HANNspree World Superbikes I was very excited. It was announced earlier the year that Gauteng Motorsport have restructured their budgets, and that this year’s event held at Kyalami GP circuit in Midrand, Gauteng will be the last one in a while.
The weekend kicked off with the press conference on Thursday at the new Soccer City stadium in Soweto. They thought it good to introduce the impressive new stadium, built specifically for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, to the international riders, most of whom are also eager soccer enthusiasts. Most of the superbike teams had one of their riders present at the conference. Also present was South African wild card entry Sheridan Morais, which got offered a Factory ride on one of the Aprillia RSV’s. It started out with a brief interview session with all the riders present. Shaun Bartlett, retired SA football striker was also present, and motivated the guys a bit before the weekends racing. After the interviews, Shaun took the riders for a tour of the Stadium. The South African FIFA World Cup 2010 mascot Zakumi also made his appearance on the pitch and posed with Shaun and the riders for the media. The guys were issued with a few official soccer balls, and they had a 10 minute free play session. The awesome new stadium holds 90,000 fans and is referred to as the Calabash as it resembles the local form of water carrier of the same name. We took to Kyalami early on Friday morning. We started off with a stroll through the pits, having our first look of the new 2010
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machines. Some of the better known riders had no less than 4 race bikes, all of which are carbon copies of the other. All the teams were working frantically on the bikes, doing last setup adjustments etc. We took the opportunity to get some of last year’s photos signed before we dispersed to different corners to catch the best superbike riders in the world in action. The weather worked out well for the remainder of the weekend, and the light was good for sport photography throughout. It was 3 long days, but the images were worth the effort. Race One Michel Fabrizio took an early lead in the first race of the day at Kyalami and the factory Ducati Xerox rider did not put a wheel wrong as he dominated throughout the race. Second was Carlos Checa, on an Ducati privateer machine, while third went to a patient Haslam, who extended his championship lead over fourth place rider Biaggi. Jonathan Rea, from HANNspree Ten Kate Honda, made an amazing charge towards the end of the race, taking fifth place for his efforts.
Race Two Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) wrapped up the race two win as five riders were covered by 1.479 seconds at the flag and any one of three were in with a real chance of winning even in the final lap. Second was long-time leader Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) and Max Biaggi went third for the Aprilia Alitalia team. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) and Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) completed the top five, all with different manufacturers.
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Grassroot Soccer Using the power of soccer in the fight Against HIV / AIDS
Text: Grassroot Soccer Images: Santjie Viljoen
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“rassroot Soccer’s work is a refreshing and highly promising effort that can help turn the tide against HIV. Soccer is like a universal language…Grassroot Soccer thus reaches large numbers of young people with HIV education, and bases its programs on the best available evidence.” Helen Epstein, author, The Invisible Cure
Founded by former professional soccer players in 2002, Grassroot Soccer (GRS) trains African soccer stars, coaches, teachers, and peer educators in the world’s most HIV-affected countries to deliver an interactive HIV prevention and life skills curriculum to youth. Translating research into action and leveraging the excitement around the 2010 World Cup, GRS attracts and engages young people through schools, community outreach, and social multimedia (e.g. magazines and TV). GRS has educated more
than 270,000 kids via its ‘Skillz’ curriculum, and is a leader in the sport for development movement. Mission: Using the power of soccer in the fight against HIV and AIDS, Grassroot Soccer (GRS) provides African youth with the knowledge, life-skills and support to live HIV-free. Vision: To achieve our mission, we continuously improve our innovative HIV prevention and life-skills curriculum, share our program and concept effectively, and utilize the popularity of soccer to increase our impact. OUR ‘SKILLZ’ CURRICULUM Grassroot Soccer’s ‘Skillz’ curriculum focuses on building basic life skills that help boys and girls adopt healthy behaviors and live risk-free. Through a series of interactive activities and discussions
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students gain a tangible understanding of HIV and AIDS and get a chance to practice the skills necessary for sustainable behaviour change. Key curricular topics include making healthy decisions, avoiding risks, building support networks, reducing stigma and discrimination, increasing knowledge about testing and treatment, addressing gender issues, and assessing values.
connections that it creates between people. Using footballers as role models, and using the popularity of soccer to engage hard to reach young people, GRS has combined social theory, public health methodologies, rigorous evaluation and a huge dose of passion. Our curriculum is based on the Social Learning Theory. The program combines three powerful principles of education:
WHY SOCCER?
Kids learn best from people they respect. Role models have a unique power to influence young minds. Young people listen to and emulate their heroes. Grassroot Soccer uses professional players and other role models as HIV educators and spokespeople.
Soccer is an integral part of local cultures across the world. It is something so positive that it brings smiles to children’s faces even in the worst of circumstances. In most places simply arriving at a field with a soccer ball will win you instant friendships and immediate access into a local community. Soccer teams and leagues are ubiquitous structures in even the most impoverished areas. And professional soccer players are heroes to the kids who watch them play- imagine Michael Jordan, if basketball was all anybody watched! By working within this existing structure and by training role models – pro players, coaches and youth players themselves – to get the message out about healthy behaviour and the risks of HIV, we have shown that we can break stigmas, dramatically increase awareness, change behaviors, and turn the tide against HIV / AIDS. THEORETICAL APPROACH GRS realized that the true power of soccer has always been
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Learning is not a spectator sport. Adolescents retain knowledge best when they are active participants in the learning process, teaching others what they themselves have learned. Grassroot Soccer graduates are trained to become peer educators and advocates in their communities. It takes a village. Role models can change what young people think about, but lifelong learning requires lifelong community support. Grassroot Soccer fosters community involvement through youth outreach, long-term partnerships and special events like graduation ceremonies for graduates. Initially developed in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Zimbabwean Ministry of Education, medical professional, and educational and public health experts, the GRS curriculum uses activities and games to provide youth with comprehensive HIV prevention and life
skills education. As GRS has grown, several well-respected HIV prevention experts have served in an advisory capacity including Albert Bandura, Martha Brady, Douglas Kirby, Thomas Coates, and Helen Epstein. The GRS curriculum fits WHO criteria on which school-based interventions should be brought to scale (see WHO Technical Series 938: Preventing HIV/AIDS in Young People), has been approved by a large network of stakeholders, and has been implemented on a wide scale through projects funded by (among others) USAID, AED, UNHCR, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K Kellogg Foundation, CARE International, and the Abbott Fund in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Namibia (among other countries). Implementing Partners of all sizes (including FHI, JHUCCP, IOM, and Mercy Corps) use GRS methodologies in their own programs across Africa. Thank you for your interest in Grassroot Soccer. Please contact us if you’d like to get involved with GRS. Together we can make a world of difference and educate our next generation. “My vision for Grassroot Soccer has grown from the initial concept of using professional African soccer players as HIV educators into mobilizing the global soccer community to fight the spread of HIV in a broad range of ways through an array of partnerships and programs. For me, GRS has been the culmination of my life’s experiences: part of a professional soccer family and a player myself, my experiences in Zimbabwe both before and after the devastation of HIV, and as a pediatrician dedicated to improving the health of children around the globe.” Tommy Clark, M.D. Founder and CEO CONTACT Please address all general inquiries to info@GrassrootSoccer.org and your email will be directed to the appropriate person. SOUTH AFRICA OFFICE 38 Hout St. 5th Floor Cape Town, South Africa 8000 Tel: +27 21 426 5154 Fax: +27 21 426 5175 Website: www.GrassrootSoccer.org
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