Stumped! Res Cricket Returns

Christiaan Steenekamp

Boundaries, skilful bowling, and great entertainment can be expected with the return of the Res cricket league. Res cricket is back in action this year after being on hold for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The league starts on 9 October. All the league matches will be played on Saturdays (9, 16, and 23 October) including the semi-finals on 30 October. These matches will be played on the UP B, C, and D fields on Hillcrest campus (next to the hockey fields).

The league will consist of three groups. The following teams will play in their respective groups:

Group A

Dregeana

Group B

Many other events are happening during this daily outing, such as having to watch, with disdain, as people who live near enough to campus simply walk in. Then also realising that there are no UP bus pick-up points in walking distance, thus meaning you have no other choice but to drive. Finally, there is also the dread of knowing that when classes are over, you must not only make the journey back to your car, but also climb into the equivalent of an oven and make the trip back home.

There are many things to be thankful for with the return to campus. Most things are fantastic, but the one dreaded experience that will not be missed over the up-and-coming holiday is the UP parking Olympics.

Hatfield campus - your personal gym

Precious Maphupha

Being back on campus, makes it difficult for students to balance their health and their studies. Therefore, PDBY has come up with ways for students to optimise their time on campus and burn off those calories while doing so.

Thuto stairs

At Thuto, everyone can do the following exercise: climb up to the top of the stairs and come back down. It may seem pointless on paper, but a study by Jerry M. Burger and Martin Shelton found that when more people use the stairs, others will follow. They did a study on university students and how taking the stairs had a positive impact on them both mentally and physically. If you already have classes at Thuto, PDBY recommends that you take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Trail

Walk/run

There is a trail on the Hatfield Campus, marked by footprints in different colours on the ground. These footprints are coloured differently according to the PDBY article Tuks fitness guide: Avoid first-year spread. The red prints are the 3.8 km trail, the blue ones are 2.3 km, and the yellow ones are 2.1 km. This is an exercise that can only be done during your break because it requires following the different trails around campus, and this might take some time.

Aula grass

The one thing that many students missed on campus during lockdown was the Aula grass. A lush bed of green grass that one can sit on and enjoy their lunch. Most people sit on the outskirts of the Aula grass as the large middle area is exposed to the infamous Pretoria sun. This opens a space for students who want to play around and get their bodies moving in between their breaks. Furthermore, it is a great way to meet new people and to get to know them.

Food

Three games were covered that happened on 16 October. EBIT and Dregeana played out a 133 run draw. Mopane were victorious against College by securing 135 runs, while Ekhaya claimed a win against OP Village with 134 runs.

The league will be played in T20 format which means a lot of sixes can be expected. Let’s go out and support our teams in what looks set to be a great semi-final!

Group C

The Piazza is a great place to get food because it has a few restaurants conveniently placed near each other. However, the Piazza being in the centre of campus limits the distance students have to walk to get to it. While this is great for convenience, it is less than ideal for reaching your step goal. Maybe once or twice a week, just to increase the amount of steps a student walks on campus, try some places that are a little further off. A good example is the second Vida e Caffe that is situated by the Visual Arts building, and which you can walk to from Thuto for that maximum distance. The other is Ten’z Express which is near the Akanyang building. If you are by the Engineering building, this is also a long but beneficial distance to walk.

So instead of seeing campus as a place to move from one class to another, try thinking of it as diverse gym. Try it, even if it is for one day, just to see how different their mind and body feels when they are not just sitting in one spot everyday and moving from class to class mindlessly.