Programme Director;
Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr Fikile Mbalula;
The leadership of Athletics South Africa;
Administrators of Athletics South Africa and Support Personnel;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is an absolute honour and privilege to bid you farewell as you embark on your sojourn to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Sport has proven time-and-time again that for our country sporting codes serve as an invaluable pillar for social cohesion, our common nationhood and to promote social cohesion.
Sport is a unifying factor amongst all South Africans, from all walks of life. We are united in our diversity as we all share a common love for sport.
Sporting activities also provide us with the opportunity to promote national symbols, which are central to the redefinition of a new era and identity that expresses the hopes and aspirations of our nation.
This holds true for international sport as well, it allows people-to-people contact and cultural exchanges across borders.
Sport can also be used as a tool for uniting humanity through the promotion of human rights, peace-building, humanitarian relief, economic development and anti-racism.
Programme Director;
You travel to represent your country at a time when we are preparing for Nelson Mandela International Day.
I hope that you will seize this opportunity to contribute to Madiba's struggle to build a united nation of which you as sports people are an embodiment.
By simply looking at you as a team, one can only but marvel at the diversity that is reflected in your team.
Ladies and gentlemen;
I have been informed by the President of South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) that the country is targeting about 43 medals for these games.
This will be a great improvement on the 33 medallions achieved at the last Commonwealth games in India. South Africa expects you to achieve a minimum of 43 is a minimum and it is my view that we can go beyond that.
We have some of the highest ranked athletes amongst you today and some of the up and coming ones who can upstage the other countries and bring in more medals from Glasgow. With 155 of you participating in these games, I will say it is indeed possible.
When it comes to Athletics we appear to be punching above our perceived weight and have many world renowned athletes. We know you will fly our flag ever high.
The nation is totally behind you and we know our support will embolden your fighting spirit, encourage you and shield you from misfortune.
We know you will bring back with you bags of silver and gold . Should you bring with you some bronze and lesser you will still find us waiting here warmly to welcome you because "he who dares already wins”.
Remember too that it matters not how well you fare but whether you dared to fight against the odds. So as you enter the field you must rest easy in the knowledge that what we expect of you is to do your best and nothing less.
We also encourage you to work as a high performance team— teams work hard, they encourage one another and when one performs badly they let down the entire team. Working as a team also means that the team will know and emphasise to support those that may be facing challenges.
A team should work like a pride of hunting lions; for all to eat every individual has a role to accomplish and if one falters all will fail.
Programme Director;
Allow me to conclude by saying on behalf of President Jacob Zuma, and indeed all South Africans, that we wish you well.
I am convinced that I am in the company of honourable men and women who place the highest premium on national and civic duty.
As John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you but rather what you can do for your country.”
By arriving at this point you have already earned a place in the hearts and minds of all South Africans.
On your shoulders rests our country's hopes that you will do well to fashion us as a winning nation.
As you depart please be assured that we are with you all the way.
To you we say:
- Dance on the world stage, own it and show the world who we are;
- Remind them as our national anthem says that:
- You are the children of a blessed and united nation;
- That you come from courageous men and women who have fought a titanic struggle for liberation and won;
- Display to the world that you are from a diverse nation united in its diversity;
- That from the depths of our seas and heights of our mountain ranges— our nation cheers and stands steadfast behind you; and:
- That you will strive to honour their support so that through celebrating your achievements they will be bonded all the more closer.
Fair thee well, Mooi loop, Hambani Kahle, Tsela Tshweu.
I thank you.
