Roger Adams, the manager of Sports Admin at Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网, and Andrew Matatu, Chair of the Rhodes Student Sport council, have been elected into the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 Sport South Africa’s (USSA) National Executive Committee for 2011/2012. Rhodes is the only institution to have more than one representative on the new USSA NEC.
Adams served as vice-chair of this organisation over the last two-year term, but decided to run for an Assessor position at a time when he wants to focus more on the growing number of sports programmes at Rhodes. New programmes have been introduced and consolidated by Sports Administration over the year to encourage students to take part in sport.
Adams and Matatu were among other strong nominees from various universities and got majority vote to be elected as Assessors. This is testimony as to how much Rhodes Sport’s leadership is valued within the USSA community.
The USSA office thanked both Adams and Matatu for accepting the appointments and are excited to see them play a part in promoting the values of student sport in South Africa. The USSA is confident that both Adams and Matatu will “advance the organisation and enable USSA to reach new milestones in the years to come”.
The period ahead is both exciting and challenging and their leadership will be testimony to the support and backing received from Rhodes. In closing the USSA requested that the members of the newly elected National Executive Committee be encouraged by the words of Cecil B. De Mille: “The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly.”
When asked how he felt about the election Adams said, “It is both exciting and challenging to be part of this national governance structure of student sport which is a highly contested area in terms of divergent philosophies. Leaders in student sport have to ensure that the principles of student life and development are preserved in good balance with high performance sport at a time when many are tempted by the lure of commercialised events which threatens the good values of amateur sport.”
Matatu also feels honoured and excited to serve 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 sport at this level. He added, “I look forward to working with my fellow Council members and aim to make a positive and lasting contribution. 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 Sport is about students and this requires student leaders to serve as its vanguard, it is my hope that the phrase adopted at the Student forum ’Not for us without us’ will define the student role in Sports Administration across all Institutions.