The annual KeNako Academy awards took place on Saturday 29th October 2011. Many parents travelled down to George to join the students for this special evening function, including Rajeev Mediratta, who travelled all the way from Kenya. It was excellent having all of the parents at KeNako and their effort in travelling down to George is much appreciated. In years to come the Awards Evening will become one of KeNako’s major annual events and the academy looks forward to having ex-students join us at this annual event. The KeNako Annual Awards are in recognition of performance, improvement and diligence in the KeNako Golf, Skills for Life, Academic and English programs. The evening started with some welcome drinks for the adults followed by the awards ceremony in the auditorium.
Ron Boon, KeNako’s Chairman, opened the awards with a welcome address and then gave an overview of the Academy, now and moving into the future. There can be little doubt that exciting times lie ahead for KeNako!
The year 2011 has seen many good golf performances. Mohit Mediratta, Lydon Charnley, Daniel Abraham and Garen Niemand represented the Southern Cape in different age group provincial teams whilst Jodie Duminy, David Park and Kyle Barker each won prizes in their respective divisions during the course of the year. Part time academy students Aidan Boon and Caylum Boon also gained provincial colours whilst the students from the development program that KeNako assists with also showed excellent improvement and some of them too were awarded provincial colours and won individual honours at the local junior tournaments.
The standout player for 2011 was without doubt Garen Niemand and his progress has been excellent. Garen lost two Junior Foundation Strokeplay events in a playoff before finally making his breakthrough and winning his first tournament. He then went on to win the Southern Cape Junior Matchplay event. This is Garen’s second year at KeNako and it has been wonderful for all the staff at the Academy to watch his game progress over the past 2 years. If he is able to maintain his dedication and his focus he has a very bright future.
David Park is a young South Korean who joined the Academy this year. David has shown fantastic application to the program and has been the most improved player in the program this year. The local students can learn a lot from David’s work ethic and commitment to the program. Kyle Barker, who became KeNako’s youngest student when he joined the academy program as a Grade 7 student at the beginning of 2011, showed his talent and potential. Add this to his tremendous enthusiasm for the game and his work ethic and it has seen his handicap improve from 16 to 9. Kyle also managed to win the Southern Cape Primary Schools Championship with an excellent 79 gross score at the excellent Oubaai Golf Course, winning by 5 clear shots. Kyle’s handicap will reduce rapidly in the coming months!
Jodie Duminy joined the academy program early 2011 with a few technical difficulties but she showed great determination and perseverance. Her ball striking ability has improved dramatically and her game is showing some real improvement.
KeNako Golf Academy is not just about golf. The academy prides itself on the “Skills for Life” program which was put in place to assist the students become well rounded young adults. Congratulations go to Daniel Abraham and Kyle Barker who won the Life Skills Awards.
Full Awards List
KeNako Most Improved Player David Park
KeNako Best Golf Mental Skills Award Kyle Barker
KeNako Best Spirit Award Garen Niemand
KeNako Recognition for Hard Work Kyle Barker
KeNako Perseverance Award Jodie Duminy
KeNako Most Competitive Competition Player Garen Niemand
KeNako Best Overall Student (incl. Life skills) Garen Niemand
KeNako Best Overall Player of the Year Garen Niemand
KeNako Best Technical Improvement Award Kyle Barker
Academic Award Daniel Abraham
KeNako Fitness Award Garen Niemand
Etiquette Award Daniel Abraham
Positive Attitude Kyle Barker
Best English and Positive Student (Korean) Sarah Kim
Most improved Adaption to Western Culture & English Language (Korean) Daniel Shin
Korean Adapting the best in South Africa Sarah Jinyoung
Best Korean Student in English Sarah Jinyoung
Best Korean Student in Academics Jane Lee
Most Diligent Korean Student in KeNako English Programme Jane Lee
Most Improved Korean Student in English Daniel Shin
Most Improved Korean Student Socially Daniel Shin
Good progress in Korean Student Programme John Bang
Korean Adapting the Best in Hostel John Bang
Focus and Precision Award Daniel Abraham
Indoor Spinning Karoo Challenge Award Jane Lee
Strongest Core Award Garen Niemand
Most Improved Student Lydon Charnley