Initiated by the then 13-year old William Mills as an outreach programme for disadvantaged boys from inner city Johannesburg, the St Johns College and Academy Cycling Group is, six years later, developing a new skillset, this time learning to how become officials in the sport of cycling, formally known as Commissaires.
Many of these boys had never previously enjoyed the opportunity to ride a bike. At school, they were given a chance to develop their skills, soon competing in numerous track cycling as well as mountain bike events.
Now they are making another, important contribution to the sport that they have grown to love.
UCI Commissaires Course
Eight have achieved status as Probationers, and are well on their way to becoming Regional Commissaires. This qualification, which is verified by the UCI (Union Cyclists Internationale), requires candidates to write an exam as well as accumulating sufficient hours of experience. Once qualified, they could progress to becoming a National or even an International Commissaire.
Starting at the Gauteng Track Cycling Omnium in 2023, they have gone on to serve at the South African Time Trial and Road Cycling Championships in both 2024 and 2025, accumulating up to 80 hours of experience each.
Impressed by Performance
Using the knowledge and experience that they had gained through racing bikes, they quickly grasped the responsibilities required of an official. Janet Oosthuysen, Sport and Technical Commissioner at Cycling South Africa, who is conducting their training, had this to say,
“They are brilliant! They impress me more every day.”
Rooney Motama described the experience more eloquently:
“Commissaires training is something quite stressful and tricky but thats is exactly what brings in the fun. We get to learn about everything that happens behind track and road races while developing new skills along the way. High levels of concentration balanced with patience, critical thinking and an attention to detail are all required. We have a cool trainer who takes us on challenging practicals to learn skills such as timekeeping and the recording of points all of which we are still managing to endure.”
The progress of the group has not gone unnoticed. As JP van Zyl, Director of the UCI World Cycling Centre satellite in Paarl (South Africa), and an Olympian in his own right, has written:
“True legacy encompasses continuity from opportunities that are self sustained. People like William are much needed in this world of today. He is going to have a massive positive impact in this world.”
