Dear Nedbank Club chairs, committees and members
I thank you all once again for a great and successful running year.
The Nedbank Running Club did exceptionally well again this year. Our top athletes' performances were excellent and, on the social front, all our Nedbank Running Clubs across South Africa must be applauded in the way they look after the interests of our club members.
The Nedbank Running Club members, under the leadership of our chairs and club committees, deserve the credit for the success that the clubs achieved this year.
We have grown our membership total to 4 005 at the end of November 2016, an increase on 2015 of 10% and for which we are grateful. Our athletes excelled in all the major road races across the country as well as in international road races and trail runs.
Charné Bosman won the Comrades Marathon in outstanding style. She was well supported with top performances from her Nedbank Green Dream Teammates such as Kajsa Berg, Sarah Bard and Fikile Mbuthuma, who all finished in the top 10.
Our Nedbank Men's Green Dream Team also impressed, with Ludwick Mamabolo as runnerup in the Comrades Marathon followed by Mike Fokoroni, Claude Moshiywa, Simphiwe Ndlela and Max King who kept the green flag flying by placing 4th,6th, 7th and 8th respectively.
An outstanding performance was seen at the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon when Mike Fokoroni won the race against strong national and international competition
There were a host of other great performances in 2016 to add to the Nedbank Running Club's achievements: Sintayehu Legese Yinesu won the Soweto Marathon (men), Selam Abere Alebachew won the Mandela Day Marathon (women) as well as the Soweto Marathon (women), Asefa Mengistu Negewo won the Cape Town Marathon, Chelitu Bogale Asefa won the Durban City Marathon (women), Rutendo Nyahora won the Ladies SPAR Race in Pretoria and Irvette van Zyl the SPAR Ladies races in Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth, Durban and the Grand Prix title at the SPAR race in Johannesburg. Lucas Jani impressed us all with his victory in the South African Marathon Championships and Eric Ngubane was unbeatable at a host of major trail races in South Africa.
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Great performances also from David Manja, Philemon Mathiba, Namakoe Nkhasi, Lloyd Bosman, Joel Mmone, Sibusiso Nzima, Xolisa Tyali, Mthandazo Qhina, Thabang Mosiako, Africa Mailola, Lungile Gongqa, Thabang Masihleho, Onneile Dintwe, Gerda Steyn, Ntombesintu Mfunsi and Fortunate Chidzivo.
Nedbank Green Dream Team athlete Irvette van Zyl was unbeaten in all the important short-distance races that she competed in on South African soil and a special mention must be made of her overall Grand Prix win in the SPAR series of races. This athlete is worldclass and we expect a great 2017 season from her.
The Nedbank Running Club did have five athletes that were chosen to compete in the Olympics Games in August in Brazil. Lungile Gongqa with his qualifying time of 2:11:59 in the Cape Town Marathon, Sibusiso Nzima with his 2:15 in the Cape Town Marathon, and Irvette van Zyl with her 2:32 marathon time were all included in the South African team. Our Nedbank Running Club stalwart Rutenda Nyahora represented Zimbabwe and Namakoe Nkhasi, the Two Oceans 21 km winner, competed in the 5 000 m for Lesotho.
On the track we also have several athletes, such as Liza Kellerman, Folavio Sehohle, Theodore Nothling and Sibusiso Nzima, who performed very well.
The Nedbank Green gazebos and feather flags were all over South Africa and our runners packed the roads in the major races in South Africa, with one of the highlights being in excess of 1 060 runners competing in Nedbank colours in the Comrades Marathon and 900 in the Two Oceans Marathon. Our Nedbank athletes formed the backbone of all the provincial road-running teams that competed in the SA championship events in road running, cross-country, and track and field events.
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The Nedbank Running Club development programmes across the country are very well-managed and have been producing solid and promising results. Former marathon star, Pio Mpolokeng, is the manager and coach of the Nedbank Running Club Klerksdorp in Central North West is one of the best in South Africa, with several development athletes performing at the highest level in major races in the country as well as representing their country in the Southern Region Championships. One of his athletes is David Manja, who is currently unbeaten in the past 12 races he did in South Africa.
We are delighted that the Development Nedbank Running Club in Soweto under the chairmanship of Siyaya Khoza is doing superb work. Siyaya grew the club to more than 220 members and his development runners are dominating the road races and cross-country scene in Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA), with a couple of South African champions in his stall too.
The newly added development initiative to the Nedbank Running Club family in Gauteng North is also moving forward. This club is under the management of athlete Enoch Skosana, who represented South Africa multiple times. His athletes are ruling the cross-country and track scene in Pretoria.
We also established development clubs in Bloemfontein and East London in the border province and things are hotting up with an interesting 2017 on the cards for them.
Most importantly is the faith that our sponsor, Nedbank, has in our clubs. Nedbank reassures us that it will continue to support the Nedbank Running Clubs countrywide. The Nedbank Running Clubs and athletes can approach the future with confidence.
Please remember that our members are our biggest assets and we must make sure we are ready for them to join our clubs without any problems in 2017. Please ensure that there won't be a shortage of running gear and take note that the 2017 licence numbers are not ready yet. Please see that your administration is in place to ensure a smooth joining process by the first week of January 2017.
Comrades sendoff and fun run at Nedbank headoffice
The Comrades sendoff and fun run held at the Nedbank headoffice in Sandton was a huge success and generated a lot of publicity and exposure for both the Nedbank Running Club as well as Nedbank
Nedbank employees supported this initiative and we had more than 500 runners, top athletes and staff who competed in the early-morning fun run in the streets of Sandton in peak traffic.
This event will be repeated in 2017 and we are planning another one in Cape Town for the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon.
We will also establish a weekly run and time trial from Nedbank at the clocktower in the waterfront.
Nedbank
We are very pleased to announce that Nedbank renewed the current sponsorship contract that was due to expire at the end of 2016 for another three years till 31 December 2019.
There were a number of changes at Nedbank at the Nedbank headoffice in Sandton.
We congratulate Tobie Badenhorst, who was promoted to Head of Sponsorships in September 2015. Well done, Tobie!
By the same token, we have full confidence in Kelly Thompson, who was appointed this year as Sponsorship Manager, and believe that she will take this initiative and partnership to the next level during our next three-year partnership up to 2019.
Nedbank Running Club partners and sponsors
We are very fortunate to have such important partners and sponsors that contribute towards the success of our athletes, as well as the add-on benefits that our members receive during the year from them.
We want to thank our cosponsors Nike SA, BIOGEN and FUTURELIFE for their contribution to the Nedbank Running Clubs and towards our success this year.
The next batch of Nike gear will be available by the end of January, although we still have all men's vests and shorts in stock as well as ladies' vests.
There are also ladies' golf shirts and warmup tops available immediately.
With our Nike gear the Nedbank Green Team stands out on the roads in South Africa.
2017 season – note to committees
Please make arrangements and get yourself in gear with all the necessary tools to be able to handle the rush in the new season.
My suggestion is that all clubs must make arrangements to attend the very first race in their respective provinces with a full set of licence numbers, joining and registration forms and club kit. The club gazebo and representatives of your respective clubs have to be at all the races in your province for at least January and February as this time is crucial to recruit new Nedbank Running Club members.
We are eagerly waiting to know when the 2017 licence numbers will be available, but the 2016 licences will be allowed to be used until at least 31 January 2017.
We advise you to distribute advertising pamphlets with your club's contact details and joining procedures at all the races during January and February 2017.
Please try to plan your AGM long in advance to ensure everyone at the club is aware of the AGM in order for you to have as high an attendance as possible. This will allow the election of a strong committee to look after the needs of the members.
Other sporting activities under the IAAF and ASA constitution
Historically the Nedbank Running Club has concentrated on road running events and that will continue to be our main focus, but we ask you to pay special attention to the needs of your members regarding IAAF/ASA standards, namely cross-country, race walking and track and field.
Trail running is becoming very popular. It would be a good idea to start catering for these athletes, especially now that they fall directly under the ASA constitution as from October 2016.
By being open to this, we could attract many (junior) members as school kids are restricted from running long-distance road races and they are mostly involved in cross-country and track events.
Consider an annual junior trophy or two in your annual awards ceremonies.
Nedbank Running Club/Nike kit
The Nedbank running attire has undergone a corporate identity change as from 2014.
We thank all Nedbank Running Clubs who clothed all their runners in the new Nike/Nedbank kit. We subsidised you in 2014 with an extra sponsorship amount; please make sure to get all your runners into the new kit in 2017. It will now be compulsory to wear the new kit at all races and official appearances in 2017.
Podium or casual wear, such as tracksuits, golf shirts, T-shirts, full tights and warmup jackets, will still be manufactured locally but there are a few new Nike designs for sale in the new style; see the website for details.
Sponsorship allowance to Nedbank Running Clubs for the 2017 season
We realised that the incentive scheme that we tested in the past three running seasons worked well and we will continue with this incentivised sponsorship structure for the 2017 season. Clubs will be incentivised for efficiency and performance by their committees and runners. Nedbank Clubs that do well will benefit financially, measured by their performance over the year.
Keep up the good work. We wish you a happy festive season.
Regards
Nick Bester
National Manager: Nedbank Running Club |