One of South Africa’s most talented track and field athletes, Rosina Sedibane Modiba, joined Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi to launch a sports-focused school named after her in Laudium, Pretoria, on Tuesday.
This is yet another school of specialisation launched by the Gauteng Education MEC.
The Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School of Specialisation is a boarding school that aims to nurture sports talent in South Africa and develop the country’s future sports generations.
It was named after Modiba, a pioneer as a black African woman athlete who competed in multi-racial championships in 1976. She made history by becoming the first black South African woman athlete to win a gold medal, in the 1500m, during the multi-racial provincial championships at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria in March 1977.
Modiba, who is also an educator, said she grew up in a family that loved and participated in sport.
The facility is a fully functional sports school. Among many other sporting codes, it offers chess, soccer, tennis and basketball.
Future sports stars and dieticians in training while still in class at Rosina Sedibane Modiba School of Specialization in Sports @EducationGP1 pic.twitter.com/PhFHLKHyjo
— Panyaza Lesufi (@Lesufi) August 23, 2022
Taking to the stage, Lesufi told pupils that sport and education should be balanced.
He thanked distinguished sports guests, including the former Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane and other sport stars, for helping launch the school of sports in Tshwane.
“Good things start now and, with this approach, we’ll get it right. When you need an Olympic team, you must select from this school,” Lesufi said.
“If we can’t change things now, we will be accused that we had an opportunity to change but we failed,” he added.
He urged learners to protect the school and make sure that they pushed to be the best, including in their studies, “because talent alone is not enough”.
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