Thelma Achilles is the epitome of the word trailblazer as she was part of sport when women’s inclusion was in its infancy. She has since become known as a vociferous advocate for women’s rights. She was inducted into the gsport Hall of Fame in 2018, and it’s safe to say she hasn’t stopped fighting for the cause.
She has always been a voice for the voiceless, and now in her late 70s, Achilles is not taking a back seat when it comes to ensuring that gender parity becomes the norm in sport. The stalwart says her biggest hope is that women are given more opportunities to be leaders in various sporting codes. She feels the number of women who are in these roles is far too low.
“My dearest wish today is for women to get back the control to be at the helm of our codes and not allow our male counterparts to mess up our sport. Too few women are serving on the top or district structures.”
Achilles shares the opinion of most when it comes to women’s sports and funding. It’s no secret that greater financial support is needed, and she feels this is something that needs to change.
“It would be of great benefit if the funding can be increased, and that women and girls can administer the funds.”
She believes that international competition is also lacking when it comes to women’s sport, and this is something that needs to happen if players are to develop their skills.
“Too few opportunities for women for international competition and skills development. I can only speak for my code, who needs international competition at school, tertiary club, and national level.”
While she was pleased to receive the honour of being a Hall of Fame inductee, Achilles highlighted how this type of acknowledgment isn’t the norm for women in softball.
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“I loved the recognition but did not get the support for my code of sport to reach its maximum potential, in a world where we are ignored and suffocated by selfish male administrators. To date, very few, if any, females have received national accolades in softball; it is just males.”
She will be remembered as a fierce advocate for women in sport and is still part of the sport that she loves dearly. Her playing days might be over, but she still remains close to softball as an umpire and will be officiating at the National Masters tournament in September in Ekhuruleni.
When we look back at Achilles’ career, it’s one that will see her enshrined in the history books of softball in South Africa, but just how did she get the ball rolling in what can be termed an illustrious vocation? She explains that throughout her youth, she only participated in girl/women’s sports like netball in winter and tennis in summer, but then she discovered softball.
“It was at a multi-coded sports venue that when I collected a tennis ball, I witnessed women and young girls, mothers, daughters, aunts, and nieces playing this exciting game. I soon started hanging around the softball grounds and changed from tennis to softball.”
Once Achilles was bitten by the softball bug, she then made a move to become an umpire due to her extensive knowledge of the game.
“Soon I was interested not just in playing but also in the technical side of umpiring and scoring. The saying then was, ‘She knows the rules of the game’, and I soon administered that part of the game until the present day, presenting and doing workshops for young aspirants and the not-so-young on the rules of the game.”
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She says her focus was always ensuring women and girls are included in softball.
“As a physical education teacher, softball was my favourite sporting code to administer at schools and club level. As a group, we worked hard for females to administer women’s and girls’ sports in a multi-coded structure. We made great progress to administer the codes of sport as women, but unfortunately, we allowed the baton to be taken away from us, women.”
Main Photo Caption: Thelma Achilles is the epitome of the word trailblazer as she was part of sport when women’s inclusion was in its infancy. All Photos: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: The iconic player and match official has since become known as a vociferous advocate for women’s rights.
Photo 3 Caption: Achilles was inducted into the gsport Hall of Fame in 2018, and it’s clear to see that she hasn’t stopped fighting for the cause.
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