Western Cape sports pioneers honoured at Legends Awards ceremony | Western Cape Government

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Western Cape sports pioneers honoured at Legends Awards ceremony

14 December 2018

Some of the most important figures in Western Cape sports history were honoured for their contributions on Thursday, 13 December 2018 when they were officially named as Sport Legends by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS).

In an awards ceremony at the Kronenburg Estate in Paarl, 26 former sportspeople and administrators from across the province were capped by Minister Anroux Marais and thanked for making an impact in their communities.

The annual Legends Awards ceremony was the 14th of its kind, with the legends coming from various sports codes, including athletics, boxing, chess, cricket, cycling, dance, equestrian, karate, soccer, rugby and surfing.

Please click here for the 2018 Sport Legends.

Minister Marais thanked the Legends for using “sport as a tool to unite and empower our once divided communities”.

“Those honoured disrupted in a very difficult time of our South African story. They did so not for self-gratification, but understood the power sport had and continues to have in creating a positive sense of belonging at a time when most were made to feel less worthy and that South Africa was not for them,” Minister Marais said. 

This year, as in 2017, some of the legends were also given the opportunity to speak about the experiences and events that made them the sporting legends they are today. This included former boxer and legendary boxing trainer, Mazmo “Smoking Joe” Mandyu and former African and South African high jump record holder, Heidi de Kock, who built a sportsfield on her farm in the small town of Van Wyksdorp.

DCAS continues to promote an inclusive Western Cape. Let us celebrate our diversity and achievements BETTER TOGETHER.

Media Enquiries: 

Dr Tania Colyn
Head of Communication Service
Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport
Tel: 021 483 9877 / 076 093 4913
E-mail: Tania.Colyn@westerncape.gov.za