Touched by the Tide

SADSAA All Stars show how it’s done

By Neil Coetzer

THE 2022 SADSAA All Stars event started off humbly with a proud dad,Protea angler Colin Barris,sharing a video of his special needs son catching a wonderful kob.As SADSAA’s development officer it struck me that it would be incredible to host a gathering for other eager special needs anglers (children and young adults living with difficulties and disabilities) so they could experience time on the water at sea.

SADSAA’s PR Officer,Justin Paynter has worked with people from Reach for a Dream and with his background as a teacher he was an obvious choice to coopt onto the organising committee.After a discussion with Chris Schorn, SADSAA’s President,Chris was eager for the event to be a SADSAA initiative.We approached SASSAC to see if any funding would be available,dangling the carrot that SADSAA would match any funding obtained fro SASSAC.

Budgets were submitted and to our delight SASSAC came to the party and so began the planning and budgeting for this new venture,thanks to the support of num erous other individuals.

The next step was gathering the anglers themselves,and letters were sent to all the provinces asking for them to put forward names of children and young adults who would be keen to take part.Word spread quickly,and before long our 15 teams were set.Each team consisted of a skipper who also supplied the boat,a mentor (Provincial/SADSAA/Protea angler) who would also act as gillie,some of the child’s family members and,most importantly,the child themselves.

The event was fully sponsored and the only cost to the parents was the transport to Durban.All accommodation, boats,fuel,food etc was taken care of by our amazing sponsors.

The weekend was intended to give these youngsters the opportunity to experience what we as fishermen get to do on a regular basis.It also shows anglers that the sea is open to anyone,and with guidance and assistance,anybody can enjoy a day out on the big blue.

Who better to tell the real story,though,than a parent of one of the All Stars...

By Alan Smith

UNEXPECTED blessings were the order of the day throughout the SADSAA All Stars weekend that took place at Durban Ski-Boat Club in Durban,from 13 to 15 May 2022.

Guests and organisers arrived with limited expectations and a dose of apprehension at the opening evening on Friday, but the nerves soon dissipated,and the connections began to unfold.Proud anglers and boat skippers were humbled,many times holding back tears and other times roaring with laughter,as the nervous All Star youngsters were made to feel loved and welcome,and their personalities began to shine through.

The organisers’attention to detail,was evident from beginning to end — they had thought of everything! This included having a special needs teacher involved throughout, safety and security being seen to,parking,event club cards, goodie bags packed with generosity,and top class food and hospitality — absolutely no effort was spared.

Unlike any other fishing event,this was all about special needs awareness coupled with a fishing experience wrapped in fun.

The boats were all lined up and ready to launch by 5am on Saturday morning,thanks to the diligent Durban Ski-Boat Club tractor drivers.

Once they were out on the water the boats hung out together,with plenty of banter and laughter between the anglers while catching some livebait before we hit the big blue.

Day one was the ice breaker and every All Star returned with a catch.No matter the size,their smiles were all the same width at the weigh-in that afternoon.

Day two topped the scales with great results on every boat.In his closing speech on Sunday,Justin Paynter noted that the 13 All Stars had hauled in more fish than the entire catch seen at the recent Durban Ski-Boat Club Festival that had in excess of 600 entries.

We arrived as strangers and by Sunday evening we parted as family.The friendships and memories that were forged will grow and last for a lifetime.

An unexpected result for all of us was to see the personal growth and boost in confidence of each of our All Stars.This was more than evident at the final dinner as we watched each of them strut up to the trophy table with broad shoulders amidst a large audience to collect their personalised, hand-crafted Sox trophies.Each of them was bursting with pride.

All in all,the weekend was a huge success and most of all an emotional blessing to those who were involved.

Lucas and Douette Landman’s WhatsApp message sums it up perfectly:“As parents we were humbled and amazed by the love,attention and genuine interest shown towards our kids throughout the weekend.We were truly surprised.We know how challenging it can be to manage just one day in the life of a special needs child,so for SADSAA and the organisers to arrange a full weekend for so many entirely unique kids was no mean feat.You passed this enormous challenge with flying colours! To everyone involved,a heartfelt thank you.This event exceeded our wildest expectations.God’s favour definitely rested on these boats,not just evident in the number of fish they caught,but especially seen on the shining faces at the prize giving afternoon.”

Friedel Kirstein shared the emotions many of us felt:“I have never been so humbled by an event yet so happy to see the smiles of others less fortunate than me catching fish, some big,some small.There were many tears shed today, many by grown men,mine included.I salute SADSAA,Chris Schorn Neil Coetzer,Justin Paynter,Anton Van der Berg and others plus all the sponsors for making this a truly memorable event for these kids.”

Carmen and Miggz’s message perfectly encapsulated just what it meant to the participants:“From the very bottom of my heart I want to thank each and every one of you for putting the biggest smile on my little boy’s face,one I haven’t seen in a very long time.He has this weekend to remember for the rest of his life.Thank you to his incredible skipper, Uncle Ralphy Jones,and his gillie,Uncle Robby Shepard,SADSAA and every single human being involved! The special needs life can be a lonely one but with people like yourselves and being surrounded by so much support and love was just incredible and soul-fuel to move forward with.”

Thank you all for making the impossible, possible. Your passion has made the world of difference to us all!