National Drum Majorette Championships Heading to Roodepoort: Ebenezer Drummies Need Your Help!

Paarl | Carlo Small | 30 June 2026

The big national stage is calling! From 5 to 11 July 2026, the absolute best drum majorette teams from all across South Africa will gather in Roodepoort for the official National Championships. This is the biggest and most important competition of the year, where the country’s top athletes compete against one another for gold medals. For hundreds of young people, this is the chance of a lifetime to show what they are made of.

Among these top teams, the proud Boland Cheerleading and Majorettes Association is ready to fly their region’s flag high. The Boland team has been training hard and is ready for the big stage. Joining them are our local heroes, the Ebenezer Senior Drummies Majorettes (ESD) from Paarl, who also qualified to take part in this massive national tournament after recently bagging a brilliant second place out of six teams at the Boland Championships in Somerset West.

Behind this massive success stands a true angel of the Drakenstein community: Magdalene "Dalene" Tembanie. Dalene grew up in Franschhoek and currently lives in Klippiesdal, Paarl. She is a hardworking Clinical Nurse Practitioner who helps heal people every day at a local clinic in Paarl. But when her shift ends, she pours her whole heart into the youth.

Dalene wears many hats to keep children from the Drakenstein community on the right path. At the Boland Association, she works as the Safeguarding Officer (which means she looks after the children's safety), offers counseling, gives motivational talks, and handles health and safety. She is also the chairperson, creator, and head coach of the Ebenezer Senior Drummies (ESD). This team started in 2013 with high school girls from various schools across the Drakenstein Valley. Today, it includes learners from schools such as Klein Nederberg High School, New Orleans Secondary, Noorder Paarl High School, Wellington High School, Charlston Hill, La Rochelle High School, and LK Zeeman Academy. The team practice takes place at Ebenezer Primary and LK Zeeman Academy. ESD is also currently finalizing their official registration as a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO).

Boland Drummies and Majorettes

ACHIEVEMENTS THAT MAKE US PROUD:

9 Star Athletes: A total of 9 local ladies received official Boland provincial colors in recent years and will now represent the provincial team in Roodepoort.
National Stars: In 2020 and again in 2022, two of ESD’s girls received their official South African national colors!
Everyone is Welcome: Since 2025, boys are also welcome, and this year the team boasts a talented young man from New Orleans High.
Success From the Start: Way back in 2014, during their very first National Championships, the team finished in the Top 8 in the country.

Most of these children come from underprivileged areas where there are many daily challenges. This sport is a vital lifeline for them. It keeps them off the streets and teaches them leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, and strict discipline. The entire coaching staff – including Dalene and her assistant coaches Bronwyn Francis and Keisha Januarie (both psychology students) – do this work completely free of charge and as volunteers, without receiving a single cent in payment.

But now, the team faces a massive problem: taking an entire team by bus to Roodepoort, finding accommodation, and providing food for a whole week costs a lot of money. Many of the parents are unemployed or struggling as working-class families just to put food on the table.

HOW THE COMMUNITY CAN HELP:

ESD is making an urgent appeal to every local business, shop, factory, or citizen who can spare a bit of money:

"Please become a sponsor for these children! No amount is too small. Your donation will ensure that these hardworking youth do not have to sit at home when they have earned the right to go and shine in Roodepoort."

Please feel free to contact Dalene Thembani directly before 5 July to help make this dream a reality!