NEWS
ESRIC YOU, BEAUTY YOU Shu.... Shu.... Shukuma Eswatini?
...over 15-year old relationship with sports true testimony of company's commitment
We have never hidden our desire to develop the nation through sport and quality recreation activities. We always pride ourselves in being there for our people. We are the umbrella body of sports in the land. We at the ESRC envision a well reg- ulated and coordinated sports indus- try that promotes a healthy, passionate, proud and winning nation in sport and recreation.
It is the mission of the ESRC to seek to regulate and develop all sports and recreation activities in the country respectively through regulation /policies and delivery of quality sport and recreation programmes and facilitating maximum access to resources and opportunities for our citizens. it is in that premise that we take the opportunity today to express our deepest appreciation and gratitude to one of the companies that make it possible for us to achieve our dreams as an organisation.
Of course, there are a lot of other companies that support local sports in one way or the other but allow us today to make a special mention of the Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC). For the uninitiated, yesterday at the SibaneSami Hotel, the Darts Association hosted their 2024 prize giving ceremony. Well, today is not just about yesterday's ceremony, no. Instead it is about the company's commitment and dedication to sports. Their vision for darts remains unmatched. This relationship has spanned for over 15 years with the first sponsorship worth E10 000 back in the day.
The company has stuck by sport even when it was still not popular and was mainly associated with people who frequent bars to enjoy alcoholic beverages. Today and thanks largely to the company, darts are in a league of their own. The sport is now played in schools. This brings us to our point. The youth as most will know, is the future of every sport. With the investment in schools, the company could not have taken a brighter route. The assurance by the ESRIC General Manager (GM), Zama Ngcobo that they will increase their sponsorship this year, indeed sounds like sweet melody to our ears. We are grateful to have a company that wants to invest in the youth. It shows that ESRIC wants to see the sport of darts grow in leaps and in bounds. Thank you ESRIC, you are a true friend.
Women National Sports Day on the cards
AS promised earlier in the year, the sports movement is headed for exciting times indeed. This is true. However, spare a thought for women's sports as well. It is now a known fact that our organisation is known mostly for one of our programmes, Shukuma Eswatini. This, of course, is our mass participation flagship programme that has evolved to become a premium platform for mass public engagement. Shukuma fulfills an important function in both social and sporting landscape in the kingdom. This programme primarily seeks to propagate the participation of all Emaswati in any form of sport or physical activity primarily for health benefits and other many intrinsic and extrinsic benefits inherent with participation in sport and recreation. The Women in Sports Eswatini programme seeks to foster gender equity in sports and recreation, particularly focusing on the inclusion of young girls and women.
The programme also seeks to dispel the negative myths associated with women's participation in sports and also emphasizes that our young girls and women are also deserving of enjoying the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits that are inherent with participation in sport. Our recognized national sports bodies are also required to deliver ongoing women's sports programmes which are epitomized by the hosting of the National Women's Sports Forum and the National Women's Sports Day. We will be hosting this day soon. We also roll out the Disability Sport Eswatini. This programme seeks to increase participation and engagement of people living with disabilities in sport, fitness and physical activity within Eswatini.
This, of course, is achieved through working in partnership with relevant statutory agencies, national sports bodies, schools or centers for the disabled and people with disabilities. Even with this one, recognized national sports bodies are required to deliver ongoing disability sports programmes, which are epitomized by the hosting of the National Disability Sports Day.