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July

2018

July

2018

Cycle Academy Invests in Youth Education

Two riders from the GO!Durban Cycle Academy have been awarded full scholarships to attend Northwood High School as part of the academy’s long term plan to invest more heavily in education, backed by GO!Durban and the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA).

Mcendisi Mkhize (Grade 8) and Lungani Mbambo (Grade 11) started participating in the cycling activities at the first GO!Durban Cycle Academy bike park in Inanda, managed by Mr. Nhlanhla Sibiya and Mrs. Nomonde Magwa, in 2016, and quickly became members of the racing team after showing much promise on the bike.

The young men have now taken a giant leap forward in their sporting and academic journeys, enrolling as learners and full time boarders at Northwood High School, in Broadway, Durban North.

They will be following in the footsteps of Northwood Alumni, Cayde Muldoon, who was instrumental in the success of the Northwood Cycling Team during his tenure at the school and continues to achieve top 10 race results in the province as an ambassador of the academy.

To assist in this journey, the two have started an elite athlete training and development programme with Peschl Sports.

“It is very important for the boys to be in close proximity to gym facilities and their coaches, and to have consistent nutrition in order to improve their natural talent. Thanks to our partnership with Northwood we are now able to offer them this,” says Shaun Peschl, Director of Peschl Sports and manager of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy sports programme.

“Education is also a critical component of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy and we apply a strict ‘no pass, no race’ rule. Therefore it was imperative for us to make sure that our top riders have access to the best available basic education so that they are well-rounded and well-educated athletes,” explains Peschl.

“Mcendisi and Lungani are the pioneers of this programme, and we believe that they will serve as beacons of hope to their peers as we strive to enhance the academic support offered to all members of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy.”

The boys are adjusting well to their new school and are eagerly preparing for the start of the national Spur MTB Schools Series this weekend (Sunday 29 July 2018), with the hopes of adding to Northwood’s already prestigious trophy cabinet.

“This is an opportunity for Mcendisi and Lungani to take their lives to another level,” says Mr. Paul Viljoen, headmaster of Northwood High School. “We are very excited about their talent and will do our best to develop this, as we do with every other boy in our school. We uphold very high academic and sporting standards at Northwood and we look forward to seeing these two young men thriving in our environment and achieving great results.”

July

2018

Hoopers VW spends Mandela Day with GO!Durban Cycle Academy

Hoopers VW and the GO!Durban Cycle Academy spent Mandela Day empowering youth and celebrating the value of education.

The activities included a handover of 40 school bags and stationery donated by the 80 members of staff at the Hoopers VW dealership. 10 volunteers from the dealership, including the Managing Director Mr. Dave Hooper, spent their 67 minutes for Mandela Day with the children on site, playing fun games led by the coaches and nurturing their creativity with colouring books and “playdough”.

Education is a key pillar of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy with academic support provided to learners by tutors every Saturday morning before riding commences. At the end of every term, learners are required to share their school reports with the site managers, and a strict “no pass, no race” rule is applied to riders in the race team.

“In the first term this year, our site had a 61% pass rate,” says Brightson Dldadla, KwaMashu Site Manager. “The kids are very dedicated to the extra classes and we have seen improvement in their marks. We are expecting the overall pass rate for Term 2 to be higher.”

“In line with the National Development Plan, we believe that access to quality basic education is the foundation of a successful future for our youth,” explains Shaun Peschl, Sports Director of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy.

“We use sports as a means to empower the youth, and in addition to the life skills that they learn on the bike, we simultaneously provide academic support to ensure that they have multiple avenues of opportunities available to them once they matriculate and thus increase their chances of employability as active citizens in their communities.”

“We are grateful to our partners, Hoopers VW, for their investment which has greatly motivated, inspired and enabled members of the academy to keep working hard in school and pursuing academic excellence,” Peschl concludes.

June

2018

YOUTH DAY CELEBRATIONS AT THE GO!DURBAN CYCLE ACADEMY

Youth Run @ Inanda

The Inanda trail runners celebrated Youth Day through sports with a day of running! They competed in distances of 5km and 10km with stellar results.

The event was a partnership between Blaeque Amyoli Events and Inanda Quadi AC, and sponsored by the KZN Department of Sports and Recreation.

5km

Boys:

3^rd: Msizi Msomi

Girls:

1^st : Sisanda Skhakhane
2^nd : Lusanda Luthuli
3^rd : Asanda Ngubane
4^th : Thobeka Khuzwayo

10km

The ladies dominated again in the 10km, taking all three podium spots:

1^st : Sphumelele Gumede
2^nd : Mandisa Mkhunya
3^rd : Nokbonga Zungu

Boys:

1^st : Mbuleli Mathanga
3^rd : Nkosinathi Mndaba

On Sunday, the Youth Day celebrations continued with the Qaphe Eqolo Road Race where our own Mbuleli Mathanga placed 4th overall in the competitive 21km (half marathon).

The juniors also put on yet another impressive performance with podium finishes for the boys and girls in the 5km and 10km.

10km

Male Juniors: Nkosinathi Mndaba 2^nd place
Female Juniors: Asanda Ngubane 3^rd place

5km

Males: Musawenkosi Zungu 1^st place
Females: Lusanda Luthuli 1^st place; Asanda Ngubane 2^nd place

EThekwini Skateboarding Club (ESC) puts kids on track to a brighter future

The ESC held their first official event at the GODurban Cycle Academy pump track at KwaDabeka on June 16. Founded in May 2017, the organisation aims to engage with and inspire township kids to reach their potential skills through skateboarding.

With 15 kids aged between 7 – 17 years in the programme, they first started training on a public road, but thanks to the partnership with the GO!Durban Cycle Academy they are now able to skate safely on the pump track on Sunday and Monday afternoons.

“We are excited for this partnership with the eThekwini Skateboarding Club which enables us to reach more kids with the positive impact of sport. We are proud to see multi-sport use of the pump track in the KwaDabeka community, says Shaun Peschl, Sports Director of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy.

“Having an event has significantly boosted the confidence of our kids,” says Musa, the founder of the organisation. “Thanks to Durban Green Corridors and GO!Durban for giving us a place we can call home; we appreciate their help in hosting our event!”.

The winners for the day were:

1^st place : Lindokuhle Mlitwa
2^nd place : Malusi Nzama
3^rd place : Ngcina Zuma
4^th place : Shaka Ngcongo

“By helping these youngsters we are trying to bring hope to the community and keep the kids away from the streets. By doing so we believe their future will look brighter for them,” concludes Musa.

March

2018

GO!Durban Cycle Academy to host qualifier for Pump Track World Championship

The 5^thleg of the inaugural Red Bull Pump Track World Championship series is set to take place in Durban, KwaZulu Natal on Saturday, 28 April 2018. The South African qualifier round will be hosted by the GO!Durban Cycle Academy and Durban Green Corridors at the KwaDabeka bike park, where they have recently built the first Velosolutions pump track in the province.

The circuit is designed to be “ridden” without the need for pedalling as riders create momentum around the track with their up and down “pumping” body movements.

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Velosolutions and Claudio Caluori to bring this exciting event to Durban and we are proud to be the South African representatives in the global series. The aim of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy is to inspire and motivate the youth through sport. Together with Durban Green Corridors, we are transforming previously disregarded or unusable areas into clean, accessible and safe spaces for the youth to engage in active learning through our youth development programme which includes sports, education, and life skills components,” says Thami Manyathi, Head of the eThekwini Transport Authority.

“When we first heard about Claudio Caluori’s concept for an international Pump Track series, we immediately knew that our sites would be the ideal place to build a track as we already had the space and basic infrastructure available. By bringing the track and the qualifying event to Durban, we hope to encourage more community participation in cycling and to further promote a lifestyle of active mobility amongst all ages,” says Shaun Peschl, Sports Director of the GO!Durban Cycle Academy.

With athletes coming from across the country to participate in the hopes of winning the coveted first prize including a trip to the Red Bull Pump Track World Championship Finals, it is sure to be a day of fast-paced, nail-biting competition. The racing line-up will also include riders and coaches from the GO!Durban Cycle Academy who are eager to display their skills on home-ground.

“It is important for us to not only host such events, but also to give our riders the opportunity to participate at an international level. We have no doubt that they will be competitive on the day and will make us proud.” Peschl concludes. Entertainment will be on offer for spectators including a food and drinks garden, and the racing will be followed by a line-up of hot local DJ’s on the Red Bull stage.

For more information and regular updates visit the GO!Durban Website or Facebook Page.

Cycle Academy Invests in Youth Education

Hoopers VW spends Mandela Day with GO!Durban Cycle Academy

Hoopers VW and the GO!Durban Cycle Academy spent Mandela Day empowering youth and celebrating the value of education.

YOUTH DAY CELEBRATIONS AT THE GO!DURBAN CYCLE ACADEMY

Youth Run @ Inanda

5km

10km

10km

5km

EThekwini Skateboarding Club (ESC) puts kids on track to a brighter future

GO!Durban Cycle Academy to host qualifier for Pump Track World Championship

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