Villiersdorp Open Rural Boxing Academy (Vora) continues to win medal upon medal even though they have no gym or boxing ring of their own.
Five young boxers – four boys and one girl – represented the club at the Du Noon Annual Council Tournament recently and brought home three gold and two silver medals. Hassan Ngom (Bantam weight) won on knock-out in the second round, Keketso Sekhemane (Light Fly) won on points and Thobile Mqambalala (Light weight) won by KO in the first round. Kgotsofalang Nkwali (Flyweight division) and Esona Plati (Mini Flyweight), lost on points.
Sidney Ntantiso, who established the boxing club more than 20 years ago, believes his boxers could do even better and reach even greater heights if they had somewhere to train. The lack of a place to train in, he says, has led to many of his boxers losing interest in the sport.Sad state of affairs
“I used to have 23 boxers, then the numbers steadily started declining. Now I only have seven boxers. They lose interest because we don’t have a nice space where we can train. It breaks my heart.”
Many years ago Vora used to have a well-equipped gym with hardwood floors, punchbags suspended from the ceiling and its own boxing ring. But the hall where they trained was targeted by vandals who stole equipment, ripped-up the wooden floors and left the premises in a deplorable state.
This, says Ntantiso, led to one of his star boxers, Sibusiso Mgubo, going off the tracks, hanging out with the wrong friends and becoming involved in fights. Mgubo, who had won many medals, was stabbed to death in one of these fights.
“I fear Brian May, who is our star boxer at the moment, will follow the same path as he has lost interest in boxing because we have nowhere to train,” Ntantiso said.
“We used to train in my yard, but since I started building we can no longer do that. We train at any open space we can find, sometimes we train at the taxi rank or we use the netball courts.”
The boxers have to carry their equipment to whatever spot they find to practice at.
Big dreams
An ideal solution, Ntantiso says, would be the use of the hall at Dennehof Resort a few kilometres outside Villiersdorp.
“If we can get this my boxers can run the 3 km there and back because this would form part of training,” he said.
Another option would be if a farmer within close proximity of the town would allow them the use of a warehouse for a few hours a couple of times per week.
“There is evidence that boxing keeps children away from the wrong elements,” Ntantiso explained.
“Boxing is not just about punching and staying fit, it teaches self-discipline and other important life skills. The children go on outings, they see more of the world and it opens them up to possibilities, it gives them hope of a better life.”
Kagiso “Demor” Mavela agrees, saying without boxing he would probably have ended up in jail or an early grave.
“Boxing taught me discipline, how to control my anger and how to defend myself,” he said. “Boxing took me to places outside Villiersdorp. I won regional tournaments and went as far as the National Championships in 2007 and 2008. I was chosen to box in the USA but unfortunately I didn’t have the funds to go.”
Demor adds that coach Ntantiso played the role of a father, ensuring that his boxers did their homework, he provided much need support and was a good role model.
“I believe if coach Sidney and his boxers get a place to train and more support, Villiersdorp can be a better place,” he emphasised.
Anyone who can assist the Villiersdorp Open Rural Boxing Academy can contact Ntantiso on 063 287 6591.