With just four weeks remaining, Stirling Primary School’s “Be a Sport” initiative is rallying support from East Londoners to provide essential sports equipment to under-resourced schools, where pupils are often forced to play sports in school shoes or barefoot because kit for one team costs almost R20,000.
The “Be a Sport” campaign was started in 2023 out of concern from the Stirling hockey community who realised that schools they were competing against from financially constrained communities did not have equipment to ensure player safety.
Stirling Primary’s Rozanne Moss said the coaches, parents and players sprang into action to procure donations for sports equipment for five identified schools in need in the city. The support was overwhelming and the Stirling Primary community was able to raise enough equipment to supply the five schools with hockey sticks, balls, shin pads, masks and goalie kits.
Moss explained that not only did this donation enable schools to play without fear of injury but also massively increased the level of competition in the sport because finally, under resourced schools were reaching towards a more equitable playing field.
Moss said: “The game of hockey’s safety requirements have advanced, requiring teams to wear masks at short corners and for goalies to be fully kitted out. This is an expensive exercise and one that some schools cannot afford.
“This means that players are not fully kitted out, making for risky and dangerous play and as the Stirling community, we decided something had to be done and through help of the schools ‘We Care Group’ we were able to supply the schools with the equipment they needed through donations.
“It was so special to see the equipment being used during the hockey season of that year and this year we want to get the whole of East London involved and try to raise donations for all sporting equipment, not just hockey.
“These schools have nothing and they need our support.”
The campaign started in December 2024 and will conclude on March 7, when the donations will be distributed in time for the 2025 hockey season at the Investec Stirling Primary Hockey Festival, which runs until March 8.
Moss added: “The success of this project lies in the hands of the coaches that receive the equipment to use these donations to encourage and inspire their players because school hockey improves in leaps and bounds when the coaches are committed.”
SA Schools Hockey Association’s Gary Dolley commended Stirling Primary’s commitment towards supporting other schools because this directly improved the standard of school hockey in the region.
The steep cost of kit coupled with decimation of astro turfs across the city means that Buffalo City hockey in financially constrained schools is under siege. Dolley said SA Schools Hockey is introducing a modified hockey format to schools.
Dolley said: “We must not let government off the hook in their responsibility to support and provide basic equipment and facilities within quintile 1-3 non-fee paying schools.
“We can only grow community youth sport if all stakeholders work and pool resources.
“Any community driven support for under resourced schools is highly appreciated as collaboration is important to drive junior, youth and school sport.”
To support Stirling Primary’s initiative please donate kit by dropping these items off at the school office or cash donations can be made through the Karri app using help@stirlingps.co.za, collection code: c-jomoedw. Please email the school for more information: office@stirlingps.co.za.