Breaking the ice: mom’s quest for Olympic glory

MEET the Cape Town mother who refuses to quit or take no for an answer.

For the past 15 years, Suzette Samuels from Summer Greens in Milnerton has put nearly every cent she has into the sporting dreams of her children, Matthew and Abigail. The siblings are professional figure skaters and competing is costly.

But Samuels said she truly believed they were destined for greatness.

Matthew, 23, is the South African senior men’s champion, a title he’s earned four times. He is in Europe, trying to secure qualification for next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Abigail, 20, is gearing up for the upcoming inter-provincial championships. Those take place October 10-13.

“They are talented, honestly. And hard working. And I may be a little biased, but their results have shown it over the years,” she said. “Matthew has gone to international competitions every year since 2016 because he qualified for those events. He’s been to South Korea, France, the Philippines, Poland, Estonia, Canada, Finland and Germany.

“It was never easy. We’ve had challenges through the years. Before 2016, there were a few international competitions we couldn’t afford to go to, even though Matthew and Abigail both qualified.”

Samuels has had to box clever to bankroll her children’s campaigns. From hosting karaoke and langarm dance nights to selling braai plates, Samuels has done what she could to raise money to keep her children in the game.

While the South African Olympic Committee (Sascoc) may be the umbrella body overseeing national figure skating, its chief executive Ravi Govender said his organisation did not give any money directly towards the sport, and put that responsibility entirely on the shoulders of the South African Figure Association (Safsa).

“All federations have access to national lottery funding,” he said. “In fact, Sascoc has facilitated a training programme, where we have invited all our members to be briefed by the NOC (National Olympic Committee) about applying for annual funding.”

Dawn van der Riet, chairperson of Safsa’s Western Province office, said: “The application for funding from Sascoc for Olympic hopefuls was made three years ago. At the time of applications, our national selection committee chose another male skater for this funding, and Matthew lost out, so (he) got nothing. He has proven to be much better than this other skater now, so (he was) chosen to participate in this (Olympic)

qualifier (in Germany).”

Van der Riet explained that the money for Olympic assistance was “very slow coming in”, saying “the athlete has to front the spend and then submit proof of payment before being refunded, which makes it very difficult. Sascoc funding is only channelled via our headquarters to the province.’”

Van der Riet said her organisation received funding from the Western Cape Department of Sport. “It is specific when applied for. It is spent mainly on development and capacity building. Overall, I think there should be more funding to figure skating to enable more participants to enjoy the sport, which is not only beautiful to watch but athletically challenging.”

Where ice skating’s governing bodies have come up short in terms of funding Matthew and Abigail’s careers, their mom has not only done the bulk of the heavy lifting, she’s plunged herself into debt to keep her children in the sport they both love so much.

“I’m still paying loans from 2016,” Samuels said. “Because I believe in these kids so much because of their work ethic and what they put into their performances, I feel it is worth even putting myself in debt. And I have over the years. I know what it is to take out a second bond, to call up Dialdirect and just take out a loan, and make these things possible for my kids.”

The Samuels children are full of praise for their mum’s incredible commitment.

“I don’t think I would have got this far, and I don’t think I would have kept going if it wasn’t for her support,” said Abigail.

“My mother has been one of the biggest influencers in my sporting career,” boasted Matthew. “She’s been with me every step of the way, through the most difficult and most intense times of my career to the happiest and highest points.”