Wits star fencer aiming for Ghana tournament in need of fundraising assistance
- Tshepiso Mametela
Already flying the Wits Fencing flag high and hoping to fly the South African flag even higher, is Ayanda Tuku, a Bachelor of Science undergrad at Wits University who has amassed quite the reputation as a slick and feisty fencer.
The promising talent and perhaps the friendliest swordsman around, has made quite the name for himself in University fencing circles locally, and is now eyeing the prospect of representing his country at the 2020 Junior African Fencing Championships which will be staged in Ghana.
Since qualifying for the upcoming tournament – as part of a satisfying criteria which required him to be in the top four University fencers in the country for the duration of the 2018/19 fencing season – Tuku has been hard at raising funds towards realising his dream of making the cross-country trip. He ended the season in fourth despite the drawback of an injury-plagued USSA showing in Cape Town in July last year, having started the season as the national number two.
Ayanda Tuku wins silver at the 2019 USSA Fencing Championships in Cape Town
The tournament will be held from February 22 to 29 with the 19-year-old needing to have raised a total of R45 000, with the cut-off for all fundraising to be completed by January 20. It, however, hasn’t been all easy for Tuku in this regard, who as one of only two Wits fencers to have qualified, continues to extend a plea for potential sponsorship with only five per cent of the total amount raised so far.
“The opportunity to represent South Africa at a competition like this [would] mean a lot to me,” said Tuku, who in his sixth time of being selected for the championships, hopes to participate for the first time this year. “For me, it is more than just about competing; it is about giving hope to the young children and my peers in the ghetto, who think their dreams are not valid. I want to show people that they can do anything – they just need to put in the hard work.”
The national team manager with the Fencing Federation of South Africa, Patrick Collings, stressed the importance for a star athlete like Tuku to receive the necessary support on this endeavour. He said. “Fencing, like other smaller sporting codes, receives minimal government funding and fencers have to self-fund their international participation. Ayanda will be undertaking efforts to raise sponsorship for his participation in the championships. I would be grateful if you would support his efforts.”
Like most promising young athletes, who either just happened to be looking to have fun by taking up a sport or, who genuinely had interest in it from a young age, Tuku pursued fencing “for the fun of it”. After his first few competitions and the subsequent taste of glory which accompanied it as he started raking in the medals, Tuku has admittedly never looked back. Today, he is determined to raise the profile of the sport in South Africa, as it has gone relatively unnoticed.
“I think competing in a lot of international competitions and, of course, bringing back good results is one way to popularise the sport more. I think that would be a great motivation for a lot of people to actually join in on the sport and actually try it out,” pondered the top-ranked USSA fencer. Among a long list of accolades, Tuku ranked second for the Senior Men’s Épée at USSA 2019; second for the Junior Men’s Foil at the 2019 KZN Open; and second overall for the Senior Men’s Foil event at the 2018 Arnold Classic Africa competition.
Check out Ayanda's 2020 Junior African Champs Campaign here: https://gogetfunding.com/junior-african-champs-2020/
Ayanda Tuku in action in the 2019 Senior Nationals in Cape Town