Mabaso relishes her role in rowing

Virginia Mabaso, SA Rowing’s development coordinator, grew up in Mandala village in Nzhelele, Limpopo, far away from any form of competitive rowing.

“No one in my village was exposed to rowing,” says the 2015 Sports Administrator of the Year.

“When I went to my first regatta at Roodeplaat Dam near Pretoria in 2007, after landing an administrative job at Rowing SA, I was lost. I had never seen a rowing boat before.”

Mabaso wasn’t lost for long, although she did struggle to explain the sport to her parents. Her mandate was to bring both indoor and outdoor rowing to all nine provinces, with her first intervention taking place at Phayizane High School in Limpopo.

The school’s programme has blossomed from 25 rowers in 2010 to 35 boys and 37 girls working hard
on the ergometers.

Mabaso says that there are 1 154 development rowers countrywide from which future Olympics medalists will hopefully emerge.

The South African men’s lightweight coxless fours’ victory at the London Olympics in 2012 gave the sport a huge boost in the country, especially because Sizwe Ndlovu was part of the team.

“We often host Ndlovu at our development camps so that the youngsters can put a face to the name,” says Mabaso.

“The kids always say: ‘I want to be like Sizwe.’ He’s done an incredible amount for the sport.”

It isn’t always smooth sailing for Mabaso. She’s often away from home, alone and in daunting and unfamiliar surroundings.

However, her work paid off in 2015 when she took the Administrator of the Year honours at the annual SA Sports Awards.

“I was so proud. The award came at a good time and encouraged me to do even more.”