The divisional officer at Ramushwana Fire Station, Mmbangiseni Tshivhase, urged disadvantaged communities to take up angling as a sport and not as a source of food only. Tshivhase was telling Mirror about their team’s achievements after obtaining first position in a regional angling competition two weeks ago.

Tshivhase’s team caught the most fish during the South African Emergency Services Institute Greater Northern Region Angling Competition that was held at the Sterkrivier Dam outside Louis Trichardt. Five teams, three from Limpopo and the other two from outside the province, competed and Ramushwana Fire Station emerged triumphant.

Tshivhase said angling was regarded as the domain of a small section of the South African population. “This has to come to an end and we should all participate in it,” he said. He said the sport has the potential of breaking down cultural barriers. “When people meet during these events, a lot of friendships are formed,” he said. Tshivhase said besides being a sport, angling also teaches members tolerance, to endure and to wait patiently for results. “You do not just pick up your hook and take fish out of the water, you have to wait for the unknown, sometimes spending the whole day without catching anything,” he said.

“As firemen, we do not have to be temperamental, we have to be patient while doing our job and this is the ideal opportunity for us to practise it,” he said. He said fishing takes the boredom away. “Whiling away time at dams tends to have a healing effect on officers who are stressed because of the type of work they do. We tend to forget the bad things and nasty experiences we come across in our daily routine,” he said. He said fire-fighters had little time to rest as their job was to save lives and they could be called to duty at any given time.

SAESI Northern Region secretary Mr Ditaba Modise said the level of participation amongst the previously disadvantaged communities is still lacking. “We are still mobilizing more people to take part in this sport. It is a sport that builds a man and all should participate in it,” he said.