Sportsman's Warehouse - Couldn't Care Less. Winning doesn't start there... it dies there.

If it was possible to give negative stars, I would. Their reckless care for following safety guidelines on store setups took our son from winning to suffering... Winning doesn't start there, it dies there. Seeing our 12 year old son's name on the preliminary list to represent SA for karate in Sweden in July 2025, was such a celebration, the little guy works so blinking hard. We were told though, that it is critical for him to remain at his best in all competitions to stay on the team selection. Come 30 January 2025, and all of that changed in Sportsmans Warehouse Port Elizabeth when he saw the risk of a weight rack setup and pushed back a 20kg weight on an overloaded weight rack in the store to prevent others from getting hurt. Except...the weight waddled off the 'off-balance' rack, and from above his hip height, fell and broke his foot, also creating a laceration between his toes so deep that the Drs struggled to stitch it closed as the foot had physically 'burst' open. What did the store do? Sent him home with the au pair with no contact form or without even so much as a follow up to check if he is ok.

The day after the incident I watched in horror in the manager's office as he replayed the situation on the store camera and when I walked to the area in the store, there was no effort made to prevent it from happening again, I still have the footage on my phone that I replayed for Anton, the store manager, as I pushed back the very same weight and watched it wobble to the floor with a clang. The level of concern was nowhere to be found. He sent me a Brytes form which I completed and I am yet to hear back, 5 months later.

3 Hospital visits and 8 weeks later, our son started training his heart out again. He was already entered into the Grahamstown World Union Karate Federation Nationals in Feb 2025 and we had to withdraw him, not that Sportsman's Warehouse gave a damn. That was the Provincial team selection competition.

We listened to the drs every instruction and worked tirelessly with physios and even hyperbaric chamber sessions to get it healed as quickly as possible. He still competed in WUKF Afro-Asia in April. Still, he couldn't compete in all of the items because we couldn't afford an accident during a kumite battle, as it would make the possibility of Sweden impossible, and we could only pray that the points he would accumulate could still get him into the SA team. Well, the dream of making the SA 2025 team is officially at an end today as the team is announced and it is final that he not only missed out on provincial colours in Grahamstown, but now will not represent South Africa officially in July. He will still, however, represent his federation. The hope of getting the cost of the trip sponsored as an SA athlete is officially in the wind.... And what happened with the Brytes' accident report? Nothing. What follow-ups were done by Sportsman's Warehouse to check in on the 12-year-old who was injured by their reckless store setup? Nothing. How often did the PE Store manager follow up to find out if he was ok? Are you kidding? The level of care from Sportsman's Warehouse is less than the number of stars I am able to give them.