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Countdown to SA Champs begins

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South Africa’s Lifesaving clubs are busy preparing for the coming warmer months with nipper training kicking off next weekend, while new lifeguards are qualifying, and retests are underway so that lifeguards are adequately prepared to fulfil their duties.

Lifesaving athletes have also been preparing hard during the cold winter for the DHL Lifesaving SA National Championships, which will be held for the first time since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic cancelling the various 2020 events.

As we begin the one-month countdown to one of our favourite sporting events, the Treble Team is looking forward to the highly anticipated DHL Lifesaving SA National Championships at the beginning of October (2-9th) in Gqberha – the home of action and adventure sports that showcases the very best of South Africa’s lifesaving talent.

As the exclusive commercial and marketing agency to Lifesaving South Africa, the Treble Group has worked tirelessly with the relevant authorities in the build-up to ensure the ‘Olympics’ of the lifesaving community goes ahead with strict Covid protocols and regulations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s an event that is close to our hearts and we look forward to delivering a world-class event where lifesaving’s finest talent will be able to compete nationally against their rival clubs.

DHL Partners with Lifesaving South Africa

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DHL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider, announced their exciting new title partnership with Lifesaving South Africa (LSA) earlier on Thursday.

Treble is thrilled to have facilitated this new partnership between LSA and DHL, which will see an elevated commitment to keeping South Africa’s beaches, swimming pools and inland waterways safe.

The partnership will cover three key areas, including Primary Partner to LSA’s voluntary duty lifeguards, Naming Rights to the National Championships and Presenting Partner rights for the national Watersmart water safety programme.

Treble’s valued relationship with LSA, as their exclusive commercial and marketing agency for several years, has seen immense growth within LSA’s voluntary community, while also taking LSA’s annual sporting event, the Lifesaving South Africa National Championships to greater heights.

DHL is no stranger to the greater lifesaving community, having sponsored Surf Lifesaving Australia and Surf Lifesaving New Zealand since 2003, where they feature prominently on the beaches, while working closely with them to deliver on their water safety objectives.

DHL Express’ VP Marketing for Sub Saharan Africa, Megan Collinicos, is excited by the prospect of this new partnership. “We are particularly delighted to be partnering with LSA, as this is a unique opportunity to demonstrate our organisational purpose of Connecting People & Improving Lives. DHL recognises the importance of LSA’s mission to save lives and build better communities, and we look forward to playing our part in delivering water safety for all,” Collinicos said.

LSA as a service and sporting organisation is committed to providing lifeguarding services and to promote and educate the development of water safety across all communities in South Africa. Every year, LSA equips thousands of lifeguards with the necessary skills to protect South African beaches and inland swimming areas, contributing to public and community safety.

DHL’s investment into LSA’s Watersmart Programme will ensure the drowning prevention programme reaches over 400 schools per annum while creating employment for 50 facilitator lifeguards. DHL will also be delivering an innovative Watersmart digital hub that will increase the reach dramatically, to ensure that the messaging of water safety is delivered to all.

The partnership will see DHL featured prominently on beaches, at swimming pools and inland waterways across South Africa, and over 4000 lifeguards across 86 clubs will receive new DHL LSA duty kit. All Lifesaving clubs will also receive duty area equipment including “Lifeguards on Duty” banners and for the beach clubs, new “Swim between the flags” patrol equipment to demarcate the safe swim zones on the beach.

LSA welcomes Treble as its official media partner

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The Treble Group and Lifesaving South Africa’s (LSA) long-standing commercial and marketing partnership has broken new ground with the announcement that Treble is now LSA’s official media partner going forward.

This new development will see Treble managing LSA’s social media platforms, while also implementing a communication strategy that will be to the benefit of all Lifesaving clubs across South Africa with the key objective to create a culture that will allow the clubs to work together.

The five areas of collective vision that Treble aim to communicate on LSA’s behalf through its various media channels are:

  • The promotion of the sport, including the LSA National Club and Provincial Championships, and a healthy active lifestyle.
  • Promoting the contribution of LSA to South Africa’s beaches, waterways and public swimming pools, while also focusing on young South Africans who sacrifice their weekends and holidays for their fellow citizens and play a crucial role in the prevention of drowning.
  • LSA’s important contribution to job creation in South Africa and the life skills development through its training programmes, which the lifeguards take with them for the rest of their lives.
  • The major contribution that LSA’s services bring to the hospitality and tourism sector, while also playing an integral role in maintaining a high standard of safety in the various municipalities around the country.
  • And most importantly, focusing on youth development initiatives such as Water Safety and the prevention of drowning through our Watersmart Programme.

Treble MD Kyle Nel welcomes the new agreement: “We have always been proud to be associated with Lifesaving South Africa and look forward to building on our strong relationship as we look ahead to a more inclusive digital solution that creates more awareness around water safety and showcases every aspect of LSA as an organisation that massively contributes to saving lives in South Africa.”

Mr Dhaya Sewduth, President (voluntary) of Lifesaving South Africa, added: ”It would be great to showcase the contribution that young members of the movement make by sacrificing their time in a humanitarian effort. The role of our members in service to fellow humanity distinguishes our sports federation from any other sports code. We are about service to our communities before we play sport.

“Furthermore , we endeavour to leverage all social media platforms to mobilize awareness to the recently adopted United Nations (UN) resolution on Drowning Prevention, which will be officially recognised for the first time ever on 25 July 2021,” Sewduth concluded.

Highlighting the Importance of Water Safety in SA

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*Featured column in the editorial section of the Cape Times, published on 24 January 2020

Very little has stirred my emotions this week quite like reading eye-witness accounts about Parktown Boys High pupil Enoch Mpianzi’s final moments before he drowned during a water activity at the Nyati Bush and River Break lodge as part of the school’s Grade 8 orientation camp.

I don’t have an adjective that could describe that there was no school teacher present observing the exercise and ensuring each pupil’s safety.

The Mpianzi family will act against the school, but it won’t bring back their son. This was a fatality that should never have happened and it also highlighted the importance of Drowning Prevention Programmes and the #WaterSmart Programme introduced by Lifesaving South Africa a few years ago.

Enoch’s tragedy was a combination of so many things, with gross negligence from the school’s leadership top of the list.

If every school is forced to follow the #Watersmart Programme and also be accountable to the basic principles of water safety, such as the wearing of life jackets when in dangerous river waters, then we would not be in tears and engulfed with such sadness about a youngster like Enoch Mpianzi.

I have been fortunate to report on Lifesaving South Africa, as a sporting federation and also as a service provider to the safety of people when it comes to water activity at public pools, rivers and the sea.

I know just how much effort goes into the social dynamic of Lifesaving South Africa and I also know just what a battle it has been to source sponsorships for the federation. The Treble Group, as the commercial partner, facilitated a first ever three-year sponsorship for Lifesaving South Africa, through its Managing Director Kyle Nel.

It was history-making in South African sport because of just how much emphasis was placed on water safety and drowning prevention.

The Treble Group and Lifesaving South Africa’s leadership, in partnership with General Tire, committed to making South Africa’s waters a safer place, but it needs constant investment from sponsors and government to fund the federation, whose lifesaving volunteers total in excess of 7000.

The sponsorship is finished this year, with General Tire having taken another sponsorship direction and I can only implore corporate South Africa to invest in a federation that is so much greater than a sporting one.

Lifesaving South Africa has some wonderful athletes, but the essence of the federation is that it is the leading authority on water education and water safety.

The recently elected president of Lifesaving South Africa Dhaya Sewduth detailed that the federation’s volunteers contributed over 130 000 hours annually, which translates into R11.9 million rand when calculated at a standard hourly rate of R80.75. This is a service that local governments, tourism industries and hospitality don’t pay for. Surely, they should, as this would allow for the federation to do so much more in increasing lifesavers, rewarding them financially and also creating ongoing school water-safety education programmes and practical education workshops.

Lifesaving South Africa has performed over 129 000 rescues to date and certifies over 1000 potential trained lifeguards annually. These should be translated into jobs and not just a volunteer service.

Lifesaving South Africa’s Watersmart programmer, presented to Grade 4-6 students as part of the Life Skills Orientation in the National Curriculum needs funding to be expanded. To date it has reached 85 000 learners in 250 schools. Sponsors General Tire, Wimpy SA and the Princess Charlene Foundation SA have contributed to the costs, but it requires so much more financial support from local governments.

The city of Durban, in October 2019, hosted the World Conference on Drowning Prevention, which was attended by 600 delegates from 64 countries. In summary the message was that drownings are preventable, and this has never been more illustrated than with young Enoch Mpianzi.

Had the proper water safety guidelines been in place, Enoch and his school colleagues would not have been in danger. Drownings are the cause of the greatest number of deaths among our youth.

It requires on-going education, practical implementation and financial resource for Lifesaving South Africa to get to every youngster in this country. My plea is for corporate South Africa and local government to put their money where their hearts surely have to be when it comes to the water safety of our children.

And my sincerest condolences to the Mpianzi family at this most awful of time.

Busy Month for Treble

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It was a busy month for the Treble Group as the annual General Tire Lifesaving South Africa National Club Championships took place at Kings Beach for the second year running in Port Elizabeth during late-March.

The event, which has seen some encouraging changes over the past few years, brings together 1 700 athletes from more than 40 clubs and saw them compete in 528 events over seven days to make it the biggest competitive carnival of its kind in the history of South African lifesaving.

As the exclusive commercial and marketing agency to Lifesaving South Africa, while also being the brand activation agency for title sponsors, General Tire SA, Treble worked tirelessly to deliver a world-class event that has a strong family-orientated element. And with Wimpy South Africa joining this year’s event as associate sponsor, Lifesaving South Africa has added even more value to the competitors and fans.

With increased media exposure through Independent Media and Sport24’s online platform, the flagship event has become a major fixture on the South African sporting calendar. Treble’s senior account manager for Lifesaving South Africa, Carmen Taylor, has the seen the annual event go from strength to strength in just a couple of years and is encouraged by its growth.

“Watching the growth of this prestigious event has been a pleasure to witness. Lifesaving South Africa is a voluntary institution built on community and family sharing in a healthy and outdoor lifestyle. The competitive spirit matches the goodwill and sportsmanship that resonates during the championships. Having Wimpy SA on board, has enhanced these values going forward.

“What’s also been encouraging to see is how successful the centralisation of the entire event has been. Last year saw Lifesaving South Africa and General Tire South Africa initiate the very first consolidation of the full spectrum of its national championship events into one extended platform in Port Elizabeth, with the Pool events held at Newton Park and the Surf events at King’s Beach.

“This has been a masterstroke in ensuring competitors [and families] all participate under one event. Nippers, Juniors and Seniors, plus the Pool event, compete in a single competition structure, making the organisation and logistics behind the scenes a streamlined exercise that fulfills every aspect of Lifesaving South Africa’s vision.”

The second year since the reintroduction of surf boat racing, known as the Surf Boat Shootout, has become one of the more popular and spectacular events at the General Tire Lifesaving South Africa National Club Championships. It’s one of the iconic lifesaving events with a rich heritage that has been in the wilderness for many decades.

The surf boat race involves a five-person team and an eight-metre fibreglass oar-driven surf boat. Four members of the team (rowers or crew) row and one member steers the boat (sweep). The crew rows out through the break and around a buoy approximately 500-metres out to sea and returns to the beach.

Surf boat veteran of over 30 years and the 2019 Shootout winning captain, Dave Clements, has been overawed by the interest in the event and is happy to see its regeneration.

“Last Champs was a new era in surf-boating. Thanks to Treble, it was the first time in many decades that we had any form of TV and media coverage, and prize money. Besides that, the coverage on SuperSport was priceless for the sport. The whole lead-up and execution of the event sparked new interest among all the top clubs across SA and we look forward to the coming years.”

 

Treble Group congratulates Lifesaving South Africa on achieving Federation of the Year at the 2017 SA Sport Awards

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Johannesburg – Lifesaving South Africa walked away with the prestigious title of Federation of the Year at the 2017 SA Sport Awards on November 12, 2017. Treble Group is extremely proud of LSA’s accomplishment and of what the hard work that our partnership has achieved.

LSA has been the national association for lifesaving and lifesaving sport since 1913, and has saved over 120,000 people from drowning in that time. Today, they are leading the fight against drowning with over 7,000 volunteer lifeguard patrolling beaches, lakes and pools across South Africa.

In December 2016, Treble began their exciting journey as the exclusive commercial and marketing partner to LSA by igniting General Tire’s sponsorship of the organisation. General Tire, a brand of Continental Tyre SA, has agreed to an initial three-year commitment to LSA with an initial budget of R5.2 million. As LSA’s primary sponsor, General Tire has assisted lifesaving clubs and members with duty kit and duty area equipment. General Tire has committed a media investment to elevate the profile of the organisation as well as the sport in South Africa. The media exposure delivered by Treble and General Tire has helped the sport of lifesaving to grow and compete with other national sporting codes.

Treble has also been integral in confirming HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco as Patron to Lifesaving South Africa and the initiation of an ongoing partnership with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA. The partnership launched with a donation of 200 rescue craft to LSA, worth R2 million. Her involvement has added another dimension to a significant year for LSA.

In 2017, General Tire and LSA launched an active education program aimed at decreasing drowning-related tragedies among children and adults. The Watersmart programme is a classroom-based, educational water safety program developed to complement the current Grade 4 Life Orientation curriculum. The program, presented by LSA Watersmart facilitators, was delivered free-of-charge to 80 schools nationwide, reaching over 12,000 learners in its first year.

Treble has truly enjoyed the journey with Lifesaving South Africa so far. Congratulations to LSA on winning Federation of the Year. You truly deserve it and we are proud to have worked with you, General Tire and HSH Princess Charlene to showcase what you are made of! We look forward to creating many more memories like these in the future.

Watch LSA President, Dylan Tommy in an interview with Sport Federation TV, talking about what Treble has delivered this year: https://youtu.be/6siCQb29ZcA?t=632

For more information on Treble’s involvement with LSA, visit: https://www.treblegroup.com/tag/lifesaving-south-africa/

Treble announces Princess Charlene’s patronage of Lifesaving South Africa

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Umhlanga, Durban – It was a gathering of well-known local dignitaries and friends of Her Serene Highness, Princess Charlene of Monaco, who were present to witness the announcement of The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in South Africa’s patronage of General Tire Lifesaving South Africa. Treble was there to pull out all the stops and deliver a royal-standard event.

Treble staged the announcement at the luxurious Beverly Hills Hotel in Umhlanga and was attended we invited such dignitaries as former South African Rugby star John Smit and current Springbok Tendai The Beast Mtwarira. Numerous South African Surf Legends were also there to make their presence felt, including Shawn Thompson and Jason Ribbink. The host for the night was South African comedian and the official LSA brand ambassador, Siv Ngesi, who kept the crowd in giggles throughout the evening.

As the exclusive commercial partner to Lifesaving South Africa, Treble worked with LSA to secure HSH Princess Charlene to come on board as the official patron to the impactful organisation. Having a common goal and vision of promoting water safety, HSH Princess Charlene accepted this special call, which is close to her heart.

Mr Gavin Varejes, President of PCMFSA, also announced the distribution of two-hundred rescue boards, valued in excess of R 2 million, from PCMFSA to LSA, in conjunction Cell C and Richmark Holdings. This will see that every LSA-affiliated lifesaving club in South Africa receives rescue boards to carry on their critical service to the community. DHL came on board again to manage the delivery of the rescue boards to all clubs in the country.

The Treble team facilitated our usual world-class standard of event management, securing the venue, coordinating décor and catering, and delivering the dazzling branding solution. We are extremely grateful to Her Serene Highness, Princess Charlene of Monaco, for taking on this role and we look forward to working with her Foundation.

Treble delivers world-class branding and media solution for 2017 General Tire Lifesaving SA National Championships

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Camps Bay, Cape Town / Kings Beach, Port Elizabeth – Treble recently activated two outstanding events over two weeks for the General Tire Lifesaving South Africa National Championships, lifting the profile of the sport in the South African sporting sphere and giving the sport and organisation the recognition it deserves.

As the exclusive commercial agent for Lifesaving South Africa (LSA) and the marketing agency for the General Tire sponsorship of LSA, Treble was the official branding and communications agency for the Master and Junior & Senior National Championships held in Camps Bay, Cape Town from March 30 to April 1, and for the Nipper National Championships held at Kings Beach, Port Elizabeth from April 6 to April 8.

Treble Group Managing Director, Kyle Nel comments, “We are proud to have staged and facilitated this excellent, world-class sporting event, and ensuring our clients project their objectives accordingly. We are thrilled to associate ourselves with such a community, and to join the drive in growing awareness around water safety and drowning prevention.”

LSA’s mission is to be recognised as the world’s leading water safety organisation, which is accessible to all communities, and to be at the forefront in the development of aquatic skill, measured by competition, dynamic leadership and marketability. Treble secured General Tire as the official sponsor of Lifesaving South Africa, in a move that fitted perfectly with General Tire’s mission to be safe on the road, as well as in the water.

In addition, Treble was responsible for securing additional partners to the events. DHL was appointed as the official logistic partner for LSA and aQuellé came on board as the official water supplier.

A full branding solution, which included beach branding, inflatable competition arenas, stage and big screens, a VIP viewing tower and a public activation zone, Treble was the master mind behind the success of the events.

A well-crafted social media and communications content plan engaged with the clubs and lifesavers across all lifesaving platforms. A media partnership with media giant Independent Group included daily and weekly coverage in local newspapers (Weekend Argus, Cape Argus, Saturday Independent and Sunday Tribune) to promote and showcase the event across the country. The Treble Media video production team was responsible for shooting a range of inserts for SuperSport. This included a Showcase feature, five Catch Up inserts, two Blitz inserts and two dedicated 26 minutes highlights programmes, which featured on SuperSport in April. These televised showcases are a type of broadcast that LSA had not been exposed to previously.

The events were well supported by a host of local South African celebrities for the General Tire Lifesaving SA Celebrity Challenge. Springbok rugby legend Percy Montgomery, local comedian and Lifesaving SA brand ambassador Siv Ngesi, Paralympian swimmer Achmat Hassiem (himself a former lifeguard), and Expresso presenter Ewan Strydom, competed against each other over a series of lifesaving events. The grand prize of R20,000 donation to a charity of choice. The prize went to Percy Montgomery, who donated it to the SA Children’s Home, as well as the GT LSA Water Smart Programme.

Treble is proud to have facilitated this exciting partnership and to have delivered a professional sports event. The ability to leverage and maximise the various elements that the General Tire sponsorship provides has been an amazing experience and we are excited to deliver even more in the future.

For more information about General Tire and Lifesaving South Africa, visit: https://www.lifesaving.co.za/gtlsa/, or follow GT and LSA on social media:

General Tire: Facebook @GeneralTireSA   Twitter @generaltire_sa   Instagram @generaltire_sa

Lifesaving SA: Facebook @LifesavingSouthAfrica   Twitter @LifesavingSA   Instagram @lifesavingsouthafrica

General Tire and Lifesaving South Africa launch sponsorship & call-to-action to captivated media!

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CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The glamourous Grand Beach Café in sunny Cape Town was abuzz with media, lifeguards, City officials, industry executives, personalities and swimwear models on Wednesday afternoon for the grand announcement of General Tire as the official sponsor of Lifesaving South Africa.

The event opened with refreshing cocktails at the Grand’s opulent beach bar, before commencing with the business of the day.

Guests were ushered into the cool shade of the restaurant where the press conference began with Kyle Nel, MD of Treble Group, introducing the first speaker of the day, President of Lifesaving South Africa’s (LSA) Dylan Tommy.

Tommy touched on key points on preventative drowning, safe swimming zones and LSA’s commitment to reducing the number of drownings. He also schooled media on the Water Smart programme, whereby LSA had trained up 43 presenters to go into schools conveying their water safety mission statement in the form of an interactive lesson, which was heard by 9000 learners over a period of 6 months.

His speech was a perfect lead in to Dr Colleen Saunders’ talk on drowning statistics and the shocking statistics that there are roughly 1500 fatal drownings in South Africa every year, most drownings occur in children under the age of five years old and that for every female that drowns, there are four males that drown. Dr Saunders also mentioned how much of a positive impact the General Tire sponsorship could mean for research and statistics, which would mean more accurate reporting on annual drownings which in turn would protect the most vulnerable members of the populace.

Jamie Jacobson, lifeguard at Clifton Lifesaving Club, says he became a lifeguard, at first, for sport and because of the fun factor, but as he got older he enjoyed helping people, keeping the beach safe while learning new skills.

Spearheading the General Tire LSA sponsorship is Niel Langner, Marketing Manager of Continental Tyre South Africa (Conti), who also highlighted the importance of having fun on the beach, a dam, a home swimming pool, driving home General Tire’s pay off line ‘Anywhere Is Possible’. Langner expressed GT’s delight in getting involved in an initiative with ‘soul’ – ‘There is a good synergy in what we’re trying to achieve by reducing the amount of road related fatalities. It’s about facilitating the work of the 7000 volunteers of Lifesaving South Africa, multiplying their efficiency by providing funding and providing equipment.’

General Tire has come on board to support LSA across their three main areas of operations:

  1. Naming Rights Partner to both Senior and Nipper National Championships
  2. Primary Partner to LSA Duty Squads
  3. Presenting Partner to LSA Schools Water Safety Programme

The overall Call to Action was for parents, City officials, Lifesaving South Africa, General Tire executives and members of the media, to help reduce the number of drownings around the country.

Members of LSA then went on to simulate a rescue in the crisp waters of Granger Bay, to an astounded crowd, some whom have never seen a rescue take place before. All the action was captured on a Go-Pro which underlined the importance of LSA’ work and punctuated the event with an actuality aspect.

The launch ended with members of the media and invited guests schmoozing, networking and being treated to delicious ‘beach lunch’ and drinks which rounded off an informative launch in a beautiful setting in the Summer sun.