The public will be in for a rare treat when the country’s top athletes descend on Port Elizabeth for the first of six Yellow Pages Series athletics meetings on Friday, February 19.
This follows a recent statement by Athletics South Africa (ASA) that Yellow Pages has pledged R20-million over the next three years to get the sport back on track.
Last week Eastern Province Athletics (EPA) president Godfrey Goliath announced that 800m world champion, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, and national steeplechase champion and record-holder, Ruben Ramolefi, were the first high-profile names to be confirmed for the PE event.
“It is a huge honour for us to have athletes like Mbulaeni taking part. He is currently one of the biggest names in the sport and a huge crowd puller.”
Local and national coach Magda Botha says Mulaudzi, Ramolefi and Commonwealth Games medallist Geraldine Pillay will also engage in community work during their stay in Nelson Mandela Bay.
She says the three national stars and four local athletes – Leigh Julius, Cindy Stewart, Paul Gorries and Ntombi Ntshiliza – will hold motivational talks at the Sanctor (10am), Chubekile (11am) and Framesby (12pm) high schools on Thursday.
Mulaudzi, Ramolefi and Pillay will then host a coaching clinic for learners and coaches at the Westbourne Oval from 3pm to 4.30pm.
“All coaches and athletes are invited to attend this learning opportunity,” says Botha. “These stars have the experience of how to excel at international level and they will share this knowledge with us.”
The topics that will be covered include: new training methods, the training year, what it means to be a professional athlete, how to prepare for international events as well as motivational input.
The Yellow Pages Series meeting, which takes place at the Xerox NMMU Stadium, will kick off with a pre-programme consisting of school relays at 4pm. The main programme gets underway at 6pm and will conclude just before 9pm.
Tickets, which will be available at the gate at the Xerox NMMU Stadium before the start, cost R10 for adults. Scholars and students enter for free.
For more information, contact Le-Anne de Kock on 041 374 2818.
Issued by:
Full Stop Communications
Coetzee Gouws
041 368 4992
082 575 7991
coetzee@fullstopcom.com
www.fullstopcom.com
On behalf of:
EP Athletics