Absa Jewish Achiever Awards supports SA rugby

The Absa Jewish Achiever Awards and the SA Jewish Report have shown their commitment to supporting South African rugby by rescheduling the annual awards ceremony to accommodate the World Cup semi-finals.

“We’re backing the Boks in the Rugby World Cup, so we’ve moved the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards to 22 October so that it doesn’t coincide with the rugby on the 21st, our original date,” says Howard Sackstein, the chairperson of the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards and the SA Jewish Report.

“We understand how passionate South Africans are about rugby and the Springboks, and we understand how special the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards is to the community,” says Sackstein. “So, we’ve made sure there’s no conflict between the semi-finals, which we are sure the Springboks will be playing in, and the awards.”

Sackstein says the change was necessary because “it’s what good, patriotic South Africans do. We support the Springboks, and we want to ensure that everyone has a chance to support the team and join us in supporting the extraordinary people in our community.

“We’ve always joined the rest of South Africa in supporting our national teams – Bafana Bafana, Banyana Banyana, the Proteas, and the Springboks,” he said. “Sport brings us together as a nation and when we’re on the international stage, we all come together to support our own.”

There’s also a clear benefit to the awards ceremony being held on Sunday, he says, as it can start at 16:00 as we don’t have to wait until Shabbat ends. This also means that the ceremony won’t go into the wee hours, and those attending will be able to get a good night’s sleep to start the week afresh.

This year’s ceremony introduces a new award celebrating the new age of Jewish leadership in our community – those under 25 years old. “We’re honouring the rising stars in our community, and we have been astonished at the calibre of our young people,” says Sackstein. “In fact, the calibre of all our nominees has been truly inspirational and something so positive to be able to celebrate.”

So, while the community might have to wait one more day to celebrate the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards, “We’ll be able to do so in the knowledge that we’re not missing out on watching the Bokke triumphing in the semi-finals,” Sackstein says.