In the wake of local cricket role model Masixole Mkrakra’s death by drowning late last year, St Andrew’s College has planned a series of swimming lessons for his former Tiger Titans team mates.
In the wake of local cricket role model Masixole Mkrakra’s death by drowning late last year, St Andrew’s College has planned a series of swimming lessons for his former Tiger Titans team mates.
The initiative, a group effort between the team, Grahamstown Kwikspar and The President’s Award for Youth Empowerment programme, started last Sunday at the St Andrew’s swimming pool.
The first group of soon-to-be-swimming cricketers each paired up with a volunteering St Andrew’s pupil and are learning a 10-step water safety programme.
Martin Scholtz from the President’s Award said, “it is wonderful to see Award participants from St Andrew’s – who are privileged to know how to swim – share their expertise with the Tiger Titans”.
The lessons will continue to take place every Sunday until each member of the various teams belonging to the Bathurst cricket club have received some swimming training and are safe in the water.
The lessons also cover what to do if someone else is in distress. St Andrew’s College community engagement officer Tim Barnard felt Sunday’s pilot session was very successful.
“Seven Tigers are water safe after one day and the other eight [in the team]will return to continue next week with some new players”. Mkrakra drowned in December after he and some friends swam in a disused quarry filled with water in Bathurst.
The young men who were unable to swim used two-litre cold drink bottles to try stay afloat.
Mkrakra drowned after he gave his floater to his distressed friend.
He was the first Tiger Titans cricketer to be selected for an Eastern Cape provincial team and was also invited to speak at a Lords Cricket Ground gala in London earlier last year.
