ALTUS SPORT is a locally registered NGO-NPO based in Pretoria and has 21 years of experience in the sport for development field and works with global partners such as Streetfootballworld, FIFA FFH, NIKE ‘Designed-to-Move, GIZ and the Women Win / Standard Charter’s ‘Goal’ project.

Altus Sport is recognized and supported by local government authorities such as the Department of Education, Health, Gauteng Province Department of Sport and Local Metro Municipality. It focusses on disadvantaged township and rural communities where poverty levels, crime, HIV/AIDS prevalence, teenage pregnancy, rape, violence, bullying, drugs, alcohol and unemployment are high.

ALTUS SPORT is a locally registered NGO-NPO based in Pretoria

In response to these issues Altus Sport implements a sustainable sport educational programme which aims to assist kids and coaches in these developing communities to expand their sporting environment and equip them in making positive choices in life.

Unemployed youth in the township areas are identified and trained in the “Life’s a ball” programme on a monthly basis in basic coaching, leadership, life skills, innovation, project management, gender equality, Olympism, employability and social entrepreneurship. These trained coaches then offer sport-based lessons to disadvantaged kids addressing health, environment, basic financial literacy, read & write sessions and chess which are combined with everyday life skill values.

Sessions are implemented at selected schools, community grounds and disabled centres. Additionally, leagues, tournaments, fun days and leadership camps are regularly provided.

Altus Sport is a new addition to the Women Win (WW) portfolio. Their ‘Goal’ programme involves a sport skills education curriculum designed for girls aged 8-12 living in underserved communities. The programme builds on the leadership skills of 500 adolescent girls teaching them critical facts about health, violence, communication, rights and managing their personal finances.

Board Members

GERT POTGIETER is a former Olympian, elected SA men’s athlete of the century in 2000, former world record holder and provincial rugby center. In 2007 he was honoured by the South African Hall of Fame. Gert was founder and Director of the first Olympic Academy of South Africa. He wrote several sport coaching publications and lectured internationally. He holds sport and Olympic education in high esteem. He is a qualified and accredited sport facilitator, assessor and moderator at ETDP-SETA.

KGABO MATJANE served on the Women and Sport South Africa Advisory Committee to the Minister of Sport and Recreation, was a Sport Manager at the University of Pretoria and Project Coordinator of the UK/SA Sport Initiative. She acted as Project Manager in the establishment of the first Public Sports School in SA, Rosina Sedibane Sports School of Focus in Ladies. Kgabo is a Director at Sport and Recreation South Africa and a qualified Assessor.

LIANA LAUBSCHER travelled widely internationally concerning sport and recreation including Sessions on the Olympic idea and its values in Olympia, Greece. She is a professional tennis coach and wrote several publications on sport coaching and Olympic Education. Currently she is an Executive Member of the Tshwane Sport Council and a member of the Gauteng Coaches Commission. She is a qualified sport facilitator, assessor and moderator at ETDP-SETA.

RICHARD was the co-founder and first President of the Gauteng North Sport Council when it was founded in 1992. He was a sport administrator at Robben Island after which he became a pioneer in transforming sport, particularly Rugby, Table Tennis and Athletics in Gauteng North. He initiated the founding of several Local Sport Councils in the townships.

GEORGE LETSOALO George was an official at the Sport Bureau of the University of Pretoria for many years and still is the Chairperson of the Seabe Sport Development Association in Mpumalanga. He has implemented many sport development programs and founded Streetsoccer in the Seabe area.

George is a qualified Team Building Official through the Team Building Institute of South Africa and has a keen interest in the development of Rugby.

JAMES MOKOKA is an IAAF Level 1 coach and Technical official, founder and President of Athletics North West and former Board member of ASA.

He was the Manager and coach of ASA team to several international competitions including Olympic Games, Common Wealth Games and IAAF Championships since 1974.

He was Director of Sport at Medunsa, President of AGN and Mabopane Sport Council Chairperson. He is a Senior Athletic Developer (Technical Officials) for SASCOC and still active in helping schools and clubs in the planning of their athletics training programmes.

BH REPORTS is a sport administrator who showed great determination and perseverance for having started as an assistant secretary of a small municipality in Ekangala. He worked himself up as a former President of the Mpumalanga Sport Council and CEO of the Mpumalanga Sport Academy.

BH has a passion for the rural areas and is an outstanding sport facilitator who has travelled to various European countries through sport exchange programmes.

ENGELA VAN DER KLASHORST is a lecturer at the University of Pretoria, Department Sport and Leisure Studies where she was also an undergraduate as well as post-graduate student.

She has completed her B(Mus) UP; BA(HMS) UP; Sport Science honours (cum laude) UP; BA(Psychology) honours (cum laude) UNISA; MA(HMS) UP and obtained a D(Phil) degree in Specialization Sport and Recreation Management.

Angela has been the project leader for Fun Fit Fridays (an academic community engagement project) as well as for TEAM PLAY for the last 4 years and has a passion for community development.

Staff

GERT POTGIETER – DIRECTOR Although one of the world’s top hurdlers throughout his brief career Gert Potgieter is also remembered as an athlete whose attempts to win an Olympic title were thwarted by ill luck.

Potgieter emerged as a major talent in 1956 and reached the Olympic final whilst still a junior. In contention for the medals coming down the final straight he mistimed his leap at the final hurdle, lost momentum and slipped back to sixth. In the next four years he continued his improvement and, in addition to winning 440 y hurdles and relay gold medals at the 1958 British Empire Games. set three world records at 440 y hurdles.

A potential meeting between Potgieter and a trio of high class Americans led by [Glenn Davis] shaped up to be one of the highlights of the 1960 Olympic track and field programme but it was never to take place. A few weeks before the Games began Potgieter was involved in a serious car crash whilst in Germany.

He lost the use of an eye in the accident and the vision in the other was also damaged. On the day of the 400 m hurdles final he was still recuperating in a Heidelberg hospital. He recovered well enough to compete in the decathlon and won the 1966 South African title in the event but even if he could have resumed his career at the highest level South Africa had by then been barred from the Olympic Games.

Although from the Afrikaner heartland of Pietermaritzburg Potgieter became involved in attempts to desegregate sport in his country and in 1988 helped to found the South African Olympic Academy, a fully non-racial body. In 1995 he founded an organization called Altus Sport, devoted to “spreading knowledge in the true spirit of sport” throughout Africa., Potgieter was voted South Africa’s Athlete of the 20th Century.

LIANA LAUBSCHER – DIRECTOR travelled widely internationally concerning sport and recreation including Sessions on the Olympic idea and its values in Olympia, Greece. She is a professional tennis coach and wrote several publications on sport coaching and Olympic Education.

Currently she is an Executive Member of the Tshwane Sport Council and a member of the Gauteng Coaches Commission. She is a qualified sport facilitator, assessor and moderator at ETDP-SETA.

SAMANTHA PENNELLS – PROJECT MANAGER has always had a passion for children and working in the outdoors. Not only has she excelled in sports like athletics, netball and cricket but she has also represented South Africa numerous times in Clay Target Shooting from the age of 16 years old.

Through hard work and training she also received Tshwane University’s Sport Woman of the Year in 2009. Samantha has also had aspirations to compete and qualify for the Olympic Games but due to a shoulder injury, that put her back to only doing the sport as a hobby. She also currently holds the South African Ladies Champion.

Samantha is also a qualified ARA Facilitator (Outdoor & Recreation) and has focused a lot of her experience through leadership training, corporate teambuilding’s and workshops around Africa.

Youth Coaches

Youth Sport Coaches attend monthly training workshops which enable them to run sustainable literacy and sport programmes in primary schools and community sport grounds.

Currently, there are 42 Coaches running 60 Programmes in 12 communities across the Tshwane region

For more information about each project, please see the tabs under “Programmes”

Vision

To make a difference in someone’s life through sport

Mission

Through sport, promote personal development, values, physical activity and literacy among youth

Values

Respect, Excellence, Fair Play, Responsibility