Celebrating the former heroes of South African primary school sports: A tribute to unsung administrators

Some yesteryear sports administrators who did yeoman’s work keeping primary schools sports fluid and functional, especially in the days when resources and appropriate facilities were non-existent, received commendation for their endeavours recently.

A “Recognition Function” to honour the sports stalwarts who impacted the lives of thousands of children, was held at Trubel Primary School in Tongaat, last month.

Family of officials who passed away and some high school sports administrators were among the attendees at the event put together by the Natal Primary Schools Sports Board Trust.

The trust can be best described as a conglomeration of various school sports bodies that were responsible for organising and administering sporting events in the past, with non-racialism being their non-negotiable standpoint.

Bala Kamal, a long-serving sports administrator and chairman of the trust, stated that it was overdue to appreciate their loyal and dutiful administrators for the work they did under difficult circumstances, especially during the apartheid era.

“It's our first time to host an event such as this where we recognise the efforts of our members. They were overwhelmed and appreciated the recognition.

“We realised many of them were passing on, so the trust decided to stage the event.”

Kamal said that some stalwarts were also honoured posthumously at the event.

He explained that school teachers doubled as administrators previously and played a pivotal role in providing sporting opportunities for pupils, amid many sacrifices they had to make.

The history of providing a platform for budding sports enthusiasts dates back to the 1940s.

The flag-bearing organisations of the era were the Natal Indian Primary Schools Sports Association (NIPSSA) and the Natal Coloured Primary Schools Sports Association (NCPSSA), which served their respective communities from 1943 to 1961.

Both bodies merged in 1961 to form the Natal Primary Schools Sports Board (NPSSB), tasked with the core function of organising inter-school activities on a non-racial basis.

The board had 23 councils comprising a number of schools, participating in 16 codes of sport on offer.

In 1965 the board aligned with similar organisations operating in Gauteng (Transvaal) and Western Province and together they formed the South African Primary Schools Sports Association (SAPSSA).

SAPSSA was an affiliate of the South African Council of Sports (SACOS).

Due to SACOS’ and its affiliates' firm non-racial stance, it inevitably deprived them of government and corporate backing. 

It was through the resourceful and unrelenting efforts of SACOS and its membership that marginalised communities were afforded the opportunity to participate meaningfully in various codes of sport.

“In spite of the challenges, the schools’ sports scene was vibrant, and many outstanding athletes emerged,” Kamal recalled.

Among the outstanding sports stars to have emerged from the Natal Primary Sports Board’s ranks was Eugene Dharmalingam, who excelled in athletics.

The sprint events and long jump were Dharmalingam’s forte. He represented Natal at various national games both at primary and high school levels and was crowned a national champion sprinter in his heyday.

Dharmalingam had the opportunity to address the audience at the event and gave insight into his experiences as an athlete.

Other outstanding sports stars that Kamal recalled included footballer Clinton Larsen, Ryan Moodley (swimming) and Alicia Pillay for her exploits on the tennis court.

According to Kamal, some of the administrators who made their mark in the past included KT Maistry, the chairman of NIPSSA and GK Naidoo.

He said they played influential roles in the merger with the NCPSSA to form the NPSSB.

Archie Rose, Andrew Geduld, Rajesh Salig, Neermal Harase and VV Gounden were among the many outstanding administrators in their circles.

Kamal said that they had good relations with their counterparts from high school sports, including Maya Singh, who delivered the keynote address at last month’s event.

“We worked well with Maya Singh, who was a prominent leader in high school sports. He was the ideal person to speak at our event.”

Kamal got involved in school sports in 1979, and was moved into the position of secretary of the Natal Primary School Sports Board (NPSSB), at a time when respected cricket administrator SK Reddy chaired the organisation.

“I served until 1996 when we dissolved.”

Kamal has remained involved with the activities of the trust over the years, which included partnering with the Durban University of Technology in the past and handing bursaries to deserving students.

“The trust is considering other initiatives to get involved with and contribute to the development of sport,” said Kamal.

DAILY NEWS