As the new sports ministry signed an agreement with the department of education to revive school sports across the country, institutions that cater for disabled athletes should be a priority together with grassroots development by federations.
This is to counter the decline of Team SA when it comes to the Paralympic medal count.
The class of 2024 in Paris registered only six medals, the lowest in two decades.
Out of more than 20 athletes sent to Paris, only Mpumelelo Mhlongo (T44 100m) and Simone Kruger (T38 discus) won gold, while Louzanne Coetzee (T11 1500m), Donald Ramphadi and Lucas Sithole (wheelchair tennis quad doubles), Pieter du Preez (H1 individual time-trial) and Mhlongo (T64 200m) won bronze.
Their achievements must be celebrated, but there is a difference of more than 214 medals between first-ranked China and SA who finished 46th.
This raises questions about the way forward as the 2024 results show the decline of a country that once ranked in the top 10 in the Paralympics.
In 2004 in Athens, SA managed to get 35 medals, Beijing 2008 it was 30, London 2012 produced 29 with Rio 2016 on 17 and in Tokyo we managed a mere seven medals.
Three-time Paralympic gold medallist in shot put, Michael Louwrens, was among the top brass mentoring the SA team in Paris, mainly in the field events.
He left Paris rather heartbroken by what transpired.
“What can you do as a coach when an athlete does their personal best and does not come back with a medal,” he said.
“Nothing is the answer, because the athlete has given their all and worked on what you have done in training, you can’t do otherwise,” he said.
SA sent 20-plus competitors in nine codes in Paris, while the yardstick in this case, China, sent 284 in 19 sports.
In those 19 codes, the Chinese had a competitor or two in every class and category.
This was something that SA needed to improve on but it all started with development at grassroots level, Louwrens said.
“You look at China, they have more than a billion people and SA has about 60-million and a quarter of them are people living with disabilities.
“We should be able to pump resources in and develop athletes living with disabilities into world-class athletes.
“It can be easily done because coaches will give their time to develop athletes because there is a low number of athletes.”
This is where Eastern Cape-born Louwrens bemoaned federations not fully catering for athletes.
“If we are to compete in 2028 in Los Angeles, the federations need to wake up because they are failing our competitors.
“There is a four-year period to prepare for the Paralympics, by the second year you should know half of your trusted team already and help them by any means.
“I have hope that Gayton McKenzie, the new minister, will have a word with the federations and map a way forward.
“Start from schools to the top, because we are struggling with equipment, facilities and financial resources,” he said.
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