Bestmed consolidates sports sponsorship to drive preventative healthcare

Alan Fritz, Executive Head of Sales, Marketing and Distribution, announced that Bestmed will support eight cycling races, cycling development in the Eastern Cape and women in sport through the sponsorship of the Bestmed Pro-Cycling ladies team. The sponsorship will also extend to the Bestmed TuksRace, the Eersterust Marathon, TuksAthletics, and the TuksSport Emergency unit. The funding also makes provision for the University of Pretoria’s Medical Science Unit situated at the High Performance Centre, the Bestmed Cycling team; the AmaTuks Football Club ; and Olympian, LJ van Zyl brand ambassador for Bestmed.

"We are particularly proud to support the 400m Olympic hurdler in his preparation for international competitions and the Rio Games 2016,” comments Fritz. "Our ongoing sponsorship for the entire TuksAthletics family is designed to produce top quality athletes for the local and international arena.” He adds that Bestmed has a fifty-year association with the University of Pretoria and that the relationship has grown from strength to strength.

"This sponsorship deal is for a period of three years and sponsorships of this nature are vital in order to up the bar in the South African sporting arena,” says Fritz.

He explains, "The sponsorships are geared towards supporting the athletes in a two-fold manner: firstly, by enabling them to train professionally full-time and secondly, to ensure that all their healthcare needs are met.”

Fritz says, as a corporate sponsor of TuksSport, AmaTuks and Cycling, Bestmed has been acknowledged by sports organisations for its participation in developing and supporting local sports. "Corporate partnerships with educational institutions, such as the University of Pretoria, can go a long way to uplifting not only the sporting fraternity, but influencing the adopting of a healthy lifestyle in the greater community.”

He adds, "To witness the development and progression of young talented athletes in cycling, road running, athletics and soccer is extremely unifying and rewarding for the nation. As South Africans, we have a heritage of producing world-class athletes and it is our role as a business to support this talent. It is also a wonderful opportunity to give back to the community in which we do business.”

Fritz says that forming a partnership with a non-profit organisation such as the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) further reinforces preventative healthcare principles and provides the much needed awareness and funding that is required..

Director of TuksSport, Kobus van der Walt says, "Bestmed’s commitment to developing sporting excellence and its contribution over the years has assisted to build a pool of talent that will make South Africa proud on the world stage.”