UDUBS UDUBS SPORT WRAP SPORTWRA
Debut issue • December 2016
HARD WORK PAYS OFF – Cassiem –
UDUBS ARE CHAMPIONS! 1
THE YEAR THAT WAS Udubs Sports Wrap caught up with Mandla Gagayi, Director of Sports Administration,and asked him how UWC Sports has performed in 2016 Udubs Sports Wrap: Would you describe 2016 as a successful year for UWC Sport? And if yes, how so? Mandla Gagayi: Our teams played in nine finals between January and October and won six. This is a huge achievement considering the opposition we faced, and with very limited resources.
USW: What can you list as highlights of the year? MG: The big highlights were when the netball team won USSA and qualified for the Varsity Netball competition; and the women’s football winning the Sasol Western Cape League, Coca Cola Cup and playing in the Varsity Football final for the second consecutive year. Also, the opening of the new UWC Sport Gym and the positivity with which it was received by students and staff, as well as UWC Sports hosting the inaugural Western Cape Intervarsity games were some of the high points.
USW: What would prospective students have to look forward to about the sporting opportunities on campus when they make Udubs their university of choice?
MG: At UWC Sports we pride ourselves on working for student athletes. We don’t look at our student athletes as just athletes; we look at them as future leaders. As such, we always value their feedback in how we operate and their ideas on how things can be done differently. All our sports are affordable and accessible. We put academics before sport because we want our student athletes to be successful in life after sport.
High-performance sport seems to be doing well on campus.Can we say the same about recreational sport? MG: The recreation programme, unlike high performance, does not require full commitment from participants. Hence it is not easy to co-ordinate. Recreation is not results-driven; it is aimed at students who do not play sport regularly. As such, it competes with other social activities on campus.
USW: At the beginning of your tenure you mentioned the importance of Sports Administration sourcing its own funding. How are you doing in that regard?
MG: We are still engaged in endeavours to put structures in place, structures that will give us access to contacts in the corporate world. As such, we have re-launched the Sport Board. This Board consists of staff, students, alumni and business people, and its mandate is to strategically position UWC Sport in a way that will attract investments. So far we have been successful in securing a couple of sponsors (Lion of Africa for football, BestMed for athletics, Peninsula Beverages for UWC Sport), and we are also in negotiations with other potential sponsors. Hopefully there will be big announcements in 2017.
COMMENT
RODWELL NDLOVU,
OUTGOING CHAIRPERSON OF UWC SPORTS COUNCIL
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t’s been a tough year for UWC Sports, especially considering the honeymoon we had over the past two years when we enjoyed great success on the sports fields. Some of the highlights that stood out this year were the successes of ladies football, ladies volleyball and men’s cricket, rewarded for the consistency these clubs have shown over the years. As hard as it is to stay up and compete against the best that the country has to offer, these sporting codes have managed to maintain top-quality performances. The biggest highlight has to be the netball team’s qualification for the Varsity Netball Competition, which reflects the hard work and investment that has been put into the sport. It would be wrong if I do not mention our Olympians and Paralympian who represented us in Rio. Hilton Langenhoven from UWC Athletics
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brought home gold and silver medals, while the Banyana ladies fell out in the group stages. This, I believe, shows that even with little financial resources, UWC sport still manages to perform with the best in the world. From a Sports Council view, I would say we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Our athletes and staff, however, are putting in lots of hard miles. Finally, I will be stepping down as Chairperson of UWC Sports Council, although I will remain involved in UWC sport. The past two Sports Council Executives that I have been part of have introduced a different style of leadership, and have implemented some good projects like the campus recreation programme, which has proven that sport is for everyone.
UDUBS ARE CHAMPIONS!!! Success in sport is largely measured by the number of trophies and medals athletes win,as well as by their selection to represent their countries on international duty. By that standard, the UWC Ladies Football Club has been a raging success in 2016.
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n 2016 the Udubs women’s soccer team won four of the six competitions they have competed in, and six of their members were selected for various national squads.
the Western Cape Sasol League for the first time. They also won the SAFA Cape Town Coca-Cola Cup and the District Knockout Cup of the Northern Suburbs Local Football Association.
The team out classed all other universities in South Africa to win the University Sport South Africa club championships early in the year. After narrowly missing out on the chance to add the Varsity Ladies Football title to their collection – losing in the final for the second consecutive year – the team bounced back to bring home
Then there’s the string of international caps. UWC captain Amogelang Motau and teammates Thembi Kgatlana and Leandra Smeda were called up to represent the senior national women’s team, Banyana Banyana, at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon in November. Other UWC players Drishana Pillay, Thalea Smidt and Charmel Wiltshire were selected for the SASCOC Team South Africa that participated in the 2016 Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Games in Angola in December.
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It took patience, focus and continuous hard work to achieve what we have as a team this year”.
Team coach, Nathan Peskin, believes that these accomplishments have made the
Udubs team one of the top football clubs in the country, “if not the top institution given this year’s outstanding achievements in all competitions”. According to Peskin, who has been at the helm of the team for six years, the achievements didn’t come by luck or chance. Instead, they are the rewards for a consistent scouting programme, hard work, a greater focus on over-performance, and promoting belief in team effort and a winning culture. “Our achievements this year are the fruition of very long-term goals,” he says. “It took patience, focus and continuous hard work to achieve what we have as a team this year. This has not been a success story of one season. It has been a work in progress and everyone who contributed over the past six years needs to be saluted.”
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HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR CASSIEM Meet Uzair Cassiem, UWC’s first Springbok cap.
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a South African President’s XV team that played in and won the 2013 World Rugby Tbilisi Cup. With two tries over the team’s three matches, Cassiem finished joint top try scorer in the tournament.
ut he also describes himself as, first and foremost,“a father and a husband”. In fact, he regularly credits his young family for a rugby career that has already been successful but still promises so much more. “The support I get from my wife, day in and day out, has been exceptional,” he says.“Especially in the dark times when I would be upset, come home tired and upset. She is the one who fixes me and lifts my spirit.” For those who are not familiar with Cassiem, the loose forward announced his arrival in the Springbok team in the most noticeable fashion, touching down for the Boks’ first try on his debut against Wales in November. (Alas, the side still went down 13-27 in Cardiff that day.) Coincidentally, Cassiem also scored the first try on his UWC debut, that time in a Varsity Shield match at UWC Sports Stadium in 2011. But for the 26-year-old father of one (a boy), scoring the first try of a match is not that big a deal, as the match against Wales illustrated. “As a player you just want to contribute to the team for the whole 80 minutes,” he says. “It only kicked in after the game that I had scored a try. The first try on my Springbok debut! It was just delightful to contribute to the team.” Cassiem was born and bred in Strand, as he puts it, matriculating from Strand High School. He joined the UWC Rugby Club in 2011 as part of the University’s Varsity Shield team. He remembers that the Varsity Shield was still a new tournament at the time. “It was overwhelming to play in the competition and I really enjoyed it,” he recalls. “In fact, it was another stepping stone for me towards my end goal now.” At the time, Cassiem says, he was just enjoying being part of the rugby setup, and had no immediate or big goals in mind. But the big time soon came knocking when the Golden Lions (formerly the Gauteng Lions) franchise beckoned him north.
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Now signed with the Cheetahs until 2018, Cassiem is playing Super Rugby.
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Among the lessons that he took home from his time at UWC and other clubs, is
For the young guys, the best advice I can give is to keep on believing, work hard and follow the process day in, day out, 24/7.”
“I was surprised when the Lions wanted me.” He spent two seasons with the team before he joined the Falcons and, later, the Pumas.There he played all ten games for the Pumas in their triumphant Vodacom Cup campaign of 2015. But before then there were other highlights. In 2013, he was included in
that hard work, team work, self-discipline and aiming to be a complete sportsperson are essential. “I didn’t have such a big rugby background at age group level to play for provincial teams and all that stuff,” Cassiem says.“I always had to work hard. For the young guys, the best advice I can give is to keep on believing, work hard and follow the process day in, day out, 24/7.”
THEMBI KGATLANA
JERMAINE SEOPOSENGWE
HILTON LANGENHOVEN
KAYLIN SWART
CHESTER WILLIAMS
LEANDRA SMEDA
THE OLYMPIC STARS
Whether you are an athlete, an administrator, a technical staff member or even a fan, going to the Olympic Games is every sportsperson’s dream. That dream was realised by six current and former members of the UWC community when they took part in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic and Paraplegic Games. Here we look at these high-flying stars: HILTON LANGENHOVEN: The Somerset West-born champion won gold in the long jump and silver in the 200m, contributing to South Africa’s 17 medals in the Paralympics. Having joined the UWC Athletics Club in 2014, he also took part in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens and at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
LEANDRA SMEDA: Hailing from Velddrif in the West Coast, the versatile Smeda was part of the Banyana team that competed in the Rio Games. She was registered for the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport, Development and Peace in 2014, and has been central to the successes of the UWC Ladies football club.
CHESTER WILLIAMS: During the countdown to the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, the Paarl-born Williams, head coach of the UWC Rugby Club, participated in the Olympic Torch Relay. Williams was one of the torch bearers, selected for their heroic and inspirational contributions to their communities.
JERMAINE SEOPOSENGWE: Born in Mitchell’s Plain, the striker was, shortly after completing the first year of her BCom Accounting degree at UWC, awarded a four-year scholarship to Stamford University in Alabama, US, to play for the Bulldogs while pursuing an undergraduate degree in business studies.
KAYLIN SWART: Originally from Port Elizabeth, Swart was doing a BA degree at UWC in 2013 when she won a four-year scholarship to the AIB College of Business in Des Moines, US, starting a degree in sport and event management in 2014. THEMBI KGATLANA: The Johannesburg-born striker was doing a BA in tourism management in 2015, but took a break to focus on a demanding football career as Banyana Banyana held long camps in preparation for the Olympic Games. She was initially on standby but was included in the team as a replacement for an injured teammate.
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NOSIPHO POSWA
AVIWE MGIJIMA
UWC SPORTS MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE How does UWC Sports Administration ensure the University has the top talent necessary to achieve nationally and internationally? Simple: innovative recruitment and training strategies that attract talented young people and help them to successfully develop their sporting and academic careers.
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n line with the University’s strategic goal of developing holistic students, and in partnership with the Student Enrolment Management Unit and other departments and faculties, Sports Admin takes great athletes and helps them attain their full potential.
The Sport Skills for Life Skills bursary and mentoring programme, for instance, helps both men and women to become successful cricketers while excelling in their studies. Since its inception about 15 years ago, the programme has produced a number of players who have turned out for provincial, professional and national teams. For instance, in men’s cricket the programme has produced 29 first-class cricketers, of whom nine played franchise cricket, two represented the South African A Side, two played for Zimbabwe and one has donned the national cricket colours of Italy. The female component of the programme has yielded three Proteas and 12 provincial players – including Shandre Fritz, who scored the first-ever international T20 century in women’s cricket with an unbeaten 116 runs against the Netherlands in 2010.
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In rugby, the Udubs recruitment strategy has helped many deserving candidates realise their dreams. Take Nosipho Poswa, whose future looked bleak when she could not pass matric – until she met UWC recruiters while playing for her Port Elizabeth rugby team – as case in point. She was put on a bridging course on campus and played for the University’s female rugby team, where her outstanding performance caught the eyes of the national selectors – and soon she was part of the women’s Springbok team that took part in the 2010 Rugby World Cup and in the Six Nations Cup. She played for the senior national women’s rugby team until she sustained a career-threatening injury and was forced to quit. But thanks to the holistic support she’d received at UWC, Poswa obtained her degree in education, and she now works as an educator and is also coaching young women rugby. The success of UWC’s Women’s football team has also been attributed to a consistent scouting programme from the High Performance Centre in Pretoria and other communities throughout the country. This has made UWC a breeding ground for national selectors in all Under 17, Under 20 and senior teams, with at least six UWC players selected to play
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In line with UWC’s strategic goal of developing holistic students, and in partnership with other departments and faculties, Sport Admin takes great athletes and helps them attain their full potential.” for both Banyana Banyana and SASCOC teams towards the end of the year. This has also been the case in volleyball and beach volleyball – a significant number of players who have helped the University’s women team to excel in national competitions have been scouted from the Western Cape Schools for Sport. The Udubs team were selected to represent South Africa in the Zone Five games in Namibia in December.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS Keanu Silent hardly finishes a sentence without mentioning his big brother Josh as a key motivator behind his sporting and academic ambitions.“Josh has passed all his modules and is doing third year of a challenging course[law], works on Fridays and Saturdays, and still performs well in sport,” lauds Keanu, a second-year BSc Physics student.
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model. He keeps me grounded, and I have a good structure around me who keeps me in check.”
any would remember Josh for scoring UWC’s winning goal in the 2015 Varsity Football final. Although Udubs couldn’t defend their title this year, his good showing earned him a spot in the Varsity Football XI team. Although Keanu is no slouch at football himself (he says he is better than Josh in indoor soccer), his focus is on swimming. He swims for the University, holds Western Province colours, and was part of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) team that took part in the 2016 Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Games in Angola in December. But where did these Klerksdorp-born brothers get their talents? It appears the apples did not fall far from the tree. Josh is following in the career and sporting footsteps of their father, Selwyn Silent, a UWC law alumnus who played as a striker for the University team in the late 1970s
And while younger brother Keanu may be the swimming star right now, Josh also did himself proud in the water while at high school, and in other codes. He was an SA youth swimmer, and earned provincial colours in a range of sports. But football was always his first love, he says. “As good as I was in other sports, football has always been number one in my heart.” and early 80s. (He encouraged his sons to study at UWC). The football bug runs deeper in the family, however. The brothers’ uncle, Brendon Silent, was a popular professional footballer for Orlando Pirates. Their grandfather also played the sport. But it is his father who, for him, sets the standard, says Josh. “My father is my role
One advantage of having a sports sibling on campus is the encouragement they offer each other, agree the brothers.“We always support, motivate and push each other to do well,” Keanu says. “When I go to his room I always check the food he eats, whether he sleeps properly, etc. I must say he is a good example and doesn’t stray from his programme. For him life is about God, family, studies and soccer.”
IT’S A GOD-GIVEN TALENT
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sport.“Not my father, my mother or even our sister has this talent,” says Tamlyn. “I think it’s a talent God gave us.”
he countless medals hanging wall to wall and the myriad trophies smartly decorating the lounge of twin sisters Tamlyn and Tamzin Thomas’ Mitchell’s Plain home say it all. This is a house of champions.
The twins’ love for sport started in primary school, although then it was just for fun. Like her sister, Tamlyn was also a sprinter. But UWC volleyball coach, Elmien Cloete, convinced her to switch to volleyball. Tamzin remained in athletics but also joined the UWC team.
“Only three trophies are mine, most of them belong to Tamzin,” the soft-spoken Tamlyn is quick to clarify when praise is offered. At just 19 years of age, the Thomas sisters, who completed their certificates in economic development at UWC this year, have achieved a lot over their sporting careers. Not only have they flown the UWC flag high, but also that of South Africa. Tamlyn’s stellar performances in both volleyball and beach volleyball earned her a spot in the University Sport South Africa team early in 2016. She was then part of the UWC team that went to represent South Africa at the Zone VI Volleyball Club Championships in Namibia in December, following on an outstanding display in the national championships in Durban in September.
In turn, Tamzin is the South African and African junior 100m and 200m champion, and has represented South Africa at a number of international races, notably the 8th IAAF World Youth Championships in Ukraine and IAAF World U20 Championships in Poland this year. The twins are the first in their family to – literally and figuratively – go this far in
As tough as it is to juggle sport and studies, it has helped the sisters be more disciplined about their routines and goals. “Through sport we are more focused”, says Tamzin. “We watch what we eat and most of the time stay in-house and don’t party. Our lives are structured. We go to class, to training and go home.” It’s a demanding regimen, she admits.“Sometimes I wish I had a normal life just to have more time.” The sisters thank God, their family and their coach for their achievements. “They help us to stay focused and get where we are.”
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SPORTS IN PICTURES UWC athletes took part and excelled in a number of competitions in 2016. For example:
The boxing club excelled at SANABO Championships in Durban
The beach volleyball ladies defended their Varsity Beach Volleyball title again.
The rugby team narrowly miss promotion to the Varsity Cup when they lost to UCT
The dance club retained their University Sport South Africa
The athletics club did well in the Varsity Athletics this season
The cricket team women’s team won the Western Province T20 final
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UWC Sport is indebted with the generous support of its sponsors.
The male beach volleyball team won the Flying Fish Beach Volleyball trophy
The 7s Rugby team played in the final of the 7s Varsity Rugby
The men’s cricket team played in the finals of three different competitions
Sport and Recreation events are more and more popular
UWC athletes are involved in a number of community outreach initiates. The rugby team visited the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children.
The Fast ‘n Flat annual race is growing bigger and better
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UWC HOST FIRST WESTERN CAPE INTERVARSITY SPORT The University of the Western Cape (UWC) was abuzz when athletes from the neighbouring universities converged on campus for the inaugural Western Cape Inter Varsity Sport Games.
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he two-day event in September 2016 saw sports people from UWC, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University competing in no less than 11 different sport codes. After winning chess, cross country, netball, sevens rugby and becoming joint winners in cricket, UWC accumulated the most combined points to emerge as overall winners followed by UCT in the second place while Maties and CPUT finished third and fourth, respectively. The individual
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sport code results saw CPUT coming on top in basketball, football and table tennis; Maties won swimming and beach volleyball; and UCT took home hockey and joined the hosts in winning cricket. Mandla Gagayi, director of UWC Sports Administration, said the purpose of the event was to establish and strengthen relations among the four universities with regards to sport, provide opportunities for students to interact through fun but competitive activities, and to allow for transfer of knowledge and skills with
regards to hosting multi-coded sports events. The event also aimed to provide platform for participants to learn best practice from each other, test each university’s sports strength against other universities, and maximize on sponsorships potential. With the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared 20 September as International University Sports Day, as such the Inter Varsity was also used to celebrate this day.
TALENTED ATHLETES RECOGNISED The stellar performances of UWC sportspersons in 2016 didn’t go unnoticed. For many, their hard work was recognised and rewarded with selections into regional, provincial and national teams. They include:
NATIONAL COLOURS
PROVINCIAL COLOURS
Beach Volleyball: Women stars Bejancka Della, Basetsane Malubane, Manana Mosia, Liesle Petersen and Tamlyn Thomas represented the South African under-23 team. Elton Papoola and Ameer Satarien made the men’s side.
Athletics: Amy Abrahams, Dylon Atson, Nicole Dirk, Duran Faro, Chandre Fredericks, Kulthoom Gaidien, Marshall Hartzenberg,Yusuf Ishmail, Lauren Johnathan, Hanlie Jordaan, Geraldine King, Merlin Klaaste, Jason Koopman, Rodwell Ndlovu, Rowaldo Ratz, Clyde Ruiters, Samantha Ross and Anthony Timoteus.
Athletics: Tamzin Thomas was in the South African team for the IAAF World U20 Championships that was staged in Poland in July. A month later, Petunia Obisi represented the country at the 18th Confederation of Universities and Colleges Sports Association (CUCSA) Africa Region Five Games in Zimbabwe. Boxing: Sinethemba Blom, Sandiso Kota, Phumlani Nkqetho and Asemahle Sentile, together with coach Ayanda Mapasa, donned national colours as part of the USSA team for the 7th World University Boxing Championships in Thailand in October. Chess: Michael James, Remondo Solomons, Lauren van Niekerk and Robyn van Niekerk represented SA at various levels. Cricket: Ashley Cupido made the USSA team. Football: Women footballers Thembi Kgatlana and Leandra Smeda, with former teammates Jermaine Seoposengwe and Kaylin Swart, were in the Banyana Banyana team that travelled to the Olympic Games in Brazil. With the exception of Swart, all were in the same squad that also competed in the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations. Drishana Pillay, Thalea Smidt and Charmel Wiltshire were drafted into SASCOC’s Team South Africa for the 2016 Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Games that took place in Angola in December. Pillay and Motau – together with teammates Alicia Dlani, Nelly Mamabolo, Nlamulo Mathebula, Puleng Moreni and Kimberly Smith – were also selected for University Sport South Africa’s (USSA) Team South Africa for the summer version of the world student games, aka the Summer Universiade, that will be staged in China in 2017. They will join men counterparts Tapelo Sixishe and Thando Ziwele. Phiwokuhle Mpalala, Kuhle Rayi, Shakeel Sadien and Eathonkyle Swarts were also named for the USSA Under-23 football team. Rugby Sevens: Njabulo Ndlovu (Zimbabwe), Damian Stevens (Namibia) and Peter Wanjiru (Kenya) represented their national teams in 2016. Swimming: Keanu Silent was in the SASCOC Team South Africa for the 2016 Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Games that took place in Angola in December.
Beach Volleyball: Tasneem Claasen, Christen Delcarme, Bejancka Della, Jandre Della, Prudence Layters, Basetsane Malubane, Elton Papoola, Liesle Petersen, Ameer Satarien, Keshay Sing, Clinton Stemmet, Tamlyn Thomas and Ricardo Valentine. Cricket: Zubayr Hamza, Aviwe Mgijima, Jason Smith and Lizaad Williams are in the Cape Cobras squad. Dawood Christians, Aaqil Ebrahim, Jean Heunis, Luke Philander, Emmanuel Sebrame, and Matthew Strauss have been included in the Western Province Academy. Dance: Shaeeqah Beck and Abdul Elliot. Netball: Cindy Amsterdam, Chaney de Bruin, Keezia Dulvie, Akhona Faye, Caioly Gabriel, Tshiamo Moleele, Felicity Mthembu, Jamie-Lee Thorne, Shirlene Titus, Keesha van Schalkwyk, Andrea van Zyl and Jaumbuaije Zauana. Rugby: Aidyn Cupido, Clayton Daniels, Hadley Hendricks, Godlin Masimla, Shane Orderson and Damian Stevens
WHO IS WHO AT SPORT ADMIN?
Mandla Gagayi: Director Cedric Achilles: Manager, support services Andrew Wrankmore: Gym Manager Frederick Alexander: ground staff Wynand Andreas: swimming pool staff Hayward Barendse: project coordinator Glen Bantley: aquatics and boxing Elmien Cloete: rugby and volleyball Margo Daniels: driver Adrian Heyns: netball and dance Gio Hulley: Varsity Sport rep Damoen Hyster: driver Erenes January: driver Colin Kensely: facility supervisor Avril Langeveld: administrative officer Nadia Mgulwa: hockey and karate Derick Orderson: Hiking and campus recreation Johnathan Swarts: ground staff Hadley Volkwyn: athletics and basketball Edwin Wyngaard: football, chess and golf
Tel. 021 959 2207 Tel. 021 959 2017 Tel. 021 959 3449 Tel. 021 959 2548 Tel. 021 959 2318 Tel. 021 959 2023 Tel. 021 959 2318 Tel. 021 959 2791 Tel. 021 959 2548 Tel. 021 959 2980 Tel. 021 959 3534 Tel. 021 959 3737 Tel. 021 959 2548 Tel. 021 959 3675 Tel. 021 959 9732 Tel. 021 959 2548 Tel. 021 959 2018 Tel. 021 959 2548 Tel. 021 959 2056 Tel. 021 959 3131
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UWC GYM THE PLACE TO BE
ON THE MOVE
The revamped UWC Gym has become a big hit, attracting not only students and staff but also members of the neighbouring communities.
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ince it was re-opened in mid-July following a two-year closure while the UWC Sports Stadium’s multi-million rand upgrade was underway, the gym’s popularity has exceeded expectations. Membership numbers quickly hit 1 400, nearly double the 800 the University had expected to sign up. There are good reasons why. The gym boasts more than double the space compared to the old gym and, now based on the upper level of the revamped stadium, gives members a panoramic view of the University and the neighbouring communities. It also has modern and functional equipment to give members the most enjoyable and best workout sessions. Although 99% of members are students, the gym is also open to staff and, for limited hours, to the general public. Sports clubs can also utilise it. UWC guests visiting campus for conferences, sporting events and other activities are allowed to make use of the gym for the duration of their stay. On request, differently abled members are given individualised support by gym instructors. Among the services offered are cardio, weights and functional training facilities, interval training/boot camp-type sessions, aerobic/group classes and “we are planning quarterly wellness days.” There are 11 floor instructors (mostly sports science final year and honours students) who are available to assist with operating equipment and to give training advice, and one personal trainer.
“We strive by all means to ensure that members get the best advice while at the same time providing the students with practical experience for their studies,” explains Andrew Wrankmore, UWC health and fitness co-ordinator. “I’m also a firm believer that balance in life is very important, and therefore being physically fit is non-negotiable.” The gym is also available to academic departments such as the Department of Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science, the Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence for Sports Science and Development, the Department of Physiotherapy and the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. This allows their students to use the facility for academic research, practical work and other academic purposes.
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WC’s sensational attacking midfielder Tapelo Sixishe had to put his studies on hold after he signed a one-year deal with Eastern Cape-based Bush Bucks in the National First Division. Sixishe was pursuing his studies in sports science and had to relocate to Mthatha.
Wrankmore noted that although the gym is an exercise facility, it has also turned out to be social gathering space that provides a good atmosphere for members to mix and mingle. “It is a nice alternative for life on campus.” The gym is one of the world-class facilities into which the University has invested significantly as part of its strategy to give students a holistic experience on campus. “It is our aspiration to make sure that UWC become the home for high-performance community sport so that the communities around us participate in sport at a very high level,” Rector and Vice Chancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, has commented.
Rising star goal-keeper Shakeel Sadien’s stellar performance has been rewarded with a professional football contract with the Capebased Milano United who are also playing in the National First Division. Sadien is pursuing studies in economic development at Udubs.
PRODUCED BY UWC’S COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA RELATIONS Manager: Luthando Tyhalibongo Compiled and written: Myolisi Gophe Sub-editor: Nicklaus Kruger; Scruffy dog Communication Design: Banss Design Lab Photographs: UWC Archives; supplied
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