Shandu Mulaudzi: Wits athletes competing in Durban found themselves in a contest of a different kind: dodging the advances of prostitutes.
Female sprinter, Fikile Masikane, was among a group of 12 athletes who stayed at the Banana Backpackers Youth Hostel, which she believes also housed prostitutes working at the “brothel” next door.
MOKGETHI NKOSI: The University of Pretoria’s athletics team was crowned the university athletics champions at an athletics meeting at Tuks Stadium last Monday.
The event began with a flag ceremony led by the captains from the eight participating universities.
Shandu Mulaudzi: Wits athletes who attended a national championships in Durban last week were accommodated at the Banana Backpackers – youth hostel situated in the same building as an escort and massage parlour.
Caro Malherbe: Witsie David Okharedia is a favourite to win in the South African under-23 (U23) Championships this coming weekend at the Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria.
The Computer Science honours student will be running the 100m and 200m as well as the 4x100m relay.
Running. I never used to understand people who wanted to do it for more than ten minutes, let alone five hours. Yet yesterday, amongst the thousands of lubed up, short shorts-wearing nutters, there I was – at the Newlands starting line at 6.30 in the morning, ready to endure 56kms all in the name of, well, fun, I guess.
Disbelief. That’s what I, and the majority of South Africans felt when they first heard that Oscar Pistorius could be implicated in the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Disbelief that this man, a proud South African, symbolic of the nation's triumph over adversity, and poster boy nonetheless of last year’s London Olympics, could be capable of such an act.
Rob Byrne: VARISTY's round up of UCT sports clubs.
Netball
Things are looking up for UCT Netball in 2013, with the club attracting 90 members in total. The club, which is ranked tenth out of 30 Universities in South Africa, has a new committee in place and new coaches Theo Moletsane and Stephanie Duursema on hand. This year also sees the introduction of Action Netball, with UCT’s finest already showing an aptitude for the format by winning all three games so far this season. Simone Peters, of UCT Netball, was positive about the year ahead, “We also aim to have more girls in WP Netball. Last year three of our girls made it, but this year we are hoping for at least five.”
YVETTE MASHEGO: Residences provide students with exciting new experiences, and residence sport is an opportunity to build lifelong friendships and learn the importance of teamwork, respect and commitment.
Traditionally, all residences compete in various RAG games, such as touch rugby (for the girls as well), drastoel, (where participants carry a team member on a chair running across the sports grounds and the Silly Olympics. In this fun version of the Olympic Games, “athletes” build puzzles, carry water in the boots they are wearing and fill buckets of water using their hands. A lot of bruises and falls can be expected, although this only adds to the fun.
