COVERSATION STARTER: SPORT AND POLITICS
The first of two new books explores the paradox of sports and politics on the University campus By Winston Kloppers
B
lowing Against the Wind is a set of two books, which gives an account of sports and politics on a university campus, that became connected to much larger forces in the community and, with time, became a groundswell of opposition to apartheid. Volume 1 is presently with the publishers, while Volume 2 is still in the research phase. The paradox of playing sports and protesting apartheid lies at the heart of Blowing Against the Wind. Using a combination of
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narrative, photography, first-person interviews and published writings, the research draws together a powerful collage that tells the story of sports and politics on a university campus during apartheid. It is a kind of social history that locates the evolution of sports and politics within the context of the times or, more specifically, in three very different decades: the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The 1960s were a period of acquiescence. To understand
this period, one has to consider the broader political context of the era that includes Sharpville, the Rivonia trial and other events. Nonetheless, it was a decade in which the signs of political restlessness on the campus were already in evidence. Students found solace and unity in sport, which played an important role in uniting the student body. The annual inter-college sport festivals (1969 –1971), in particular, were the first mass gatherings of students, organised by the Student Representative Council (SRC) and sports bodies. It set the stage for them to work together and gave them a sense of pride, belonging and the courage — as well as the skills — to later confront the administration. The 1970s were a time of student rebellion against the University administration as a representative of the apartheid government. This was largely the result of the rapid growth of the Black Consciousness Movement through, for example, the South African Black Intervarsity Council (SABIC) at all the ethnic universities. In the context of sports, this period also accounts for the rapid growth at UWC of organised sport in the early Seventies. The 1980s. Heyta! Ta! Heyta! TaTa! Political violence reached
