Subaru Southern Africa is the new official vehicle partner of the South African Sport Hall of Fame (SASHoF), and will be supplying this Proudly South African, Section 21 (non-profit) company with a number of vehicles to assist them in doing their valuable work.
While active for a number of years, this initiative has undergone significant changes in recent months and will lay out its goals and objectives on July 12 at Sun City. This event will be built around the induction of Springbok legend Joost van der Westhuizen into the Hall of Fame. The choice of Sun City is significant: Sun International is a SASHoF partner, and the objective is to open a bricks and mortar facility by early 2017 – at the famous resort which has played host to many high-profile sporting events.
An involvement with the Hall of Fame is a natural fit for Subaru. According to Subaru Southern Africa’s Brand and Marketing Manager, Ashley Lazarus: “Sport and adventure go hand-in-hand and we’re a brand with an adventurous spirit. Owners of our cars tend to love sport in all its shapes and forms. We’re proud of our long legacy of supporting events and disciplines, many of which reflect our brand values of enjoyment, capability and quality.
“Apart from that, individual sportsmen and women – past and present — play an important role in society. They illustrate what the combination of talent and commitment can achieve and they act as role models. They stand out from the crowd because of this, and they deserve to be remembered, acknowledged and honoured – they’re often beacons of hope for young people! We’re particularly excited about this aspect of being associated with SASHoF.”
Subaru is a brand which has always done things differently, and appreciates that same quality, so often found in top sportsmen and women. In the case of the lifestyle-orientated car brand it is found in the use of permanent all-wheel-drive across the board (with the exception of the BRZ) and Boxer horizontally-opposed engines – whether they be petrol or diesel, four- or six-cylinder.
“We’re very excited about the rebirth of the SA Sport Hall of Fame, and Subaru’s eagerness to get behind it,” says the Hall’s Managing Director Johnny Burger. “We support and endorse the 32 sporting disciplines recognized by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee – SASCOC – so we have a lot of ground to cover, both literally and figuratively! The fleet of Subarus will enable us to do this in safety and in style.”
The specific objective of the Hall of Fame is to acknowledge and preserve South Africa’s rich and diverse sporting heritage. They’ll do this by:
- Creating a permanent legacy to our ‘greats’ and honour their achievements
- Launching community-based projects that tell the story of how sport has played a role in uniting the nation
- Promoting the positive values that sport can instil in society as a whole
- Ensuring the safekeeping of historical documents and artefacts – the actual ‘hardware’ of our sporting legacy
- Identifying and nurturing talent – specifically amongst those South Africans who don’t have the means to realise their dreams
This final objective will be achieved through coaching clinics, bursaries, scholarships and mentorships, supported by a campaign to raise awareness of these initiatives. Hopefully, this will create future “Hall of Famers” of the calibre of Joost van der Westhuizen, Kaizer Motaung, Irvin Khoza, Zola Budd and Danie Gerber and another 125 great South African sportspeople.
