Gom november '13 issue 02

‘My sport. My life.’

ISSUE 02, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

In partnership with

The only sports magazine for South African youth

THE DAWN of

Ilze

HATTINGH THE RISING TENNIS

ST★R

REFEREES IN THE SPOTLIGHT André Watson

Pure Gold! ★ Chad le Clos (24 medals) ★ Andrew Birkett (1 medal) ★ Hank McGregor (1 medal)

CRISIS!

SA Women

sport in

shambles

Arizona University

Gridiron

TO BE OR NOT TO BE! Gerhard de Beer

FOUNDERS Dave White | Michael Janse van Rensburg | Charl Kruger QUARTERBACK (Creative Director) Michael Janse van Rensburg | michael@camouflage.co.za REFEREE (Sales Director) Dave White | white.dave78@gmail.com GOALKEEPER (Director) Charl Kruger | charl@camouflage.co.za Cover Photo: Henry Kelbrick

COACH (Editor) Wilhelm de Swardt | wilhelm@camouflage.co.za Assistant Coach (Copy Editor) Cecile Kiley | ceenaude@global.co.za PLAYMAKER (Art & Creative Senior Designer) Raymond Q Nkomo | ray@camouflage.co.za LINEBACKER (Senior Designer) Carli Jansen van Rensburg | carli@camouflage.co.za SUBSTITUTE (Junior Designer) Jasmin Sasseen | jasmin@camouflage.co.za Eye In The Sky (Chief Photographer) Dr Henry Kelbrick | medsport@mweb.co.za MASCOT (Illustrator) Jakes van Vuuren | vanvuurenjb@gmail.com X’s & O’s (Production Manager) Cherice Liebenberg | cherice@camouflage.co.za BEAN COUNTER (Financial & Office Administrator) Erika Kruger | admin@camouflage.co.za GENERAL ENQUIRIES carli@camouflage.co.za | 087 980 2266 (X4) PUBLISHER CAMOUFLAGE VISUAL SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD APP AVAILABLE ON iTunes | Android Market | Blackberry World PDF READER AVAILABLE FROM Snapplify.com | game-on-mag.com HEAD OFFiCE Building 26 | Norma Jean Square Office Park 244 Jean Avenue | Centurion Gauteng | South Africa Tel | +27 87 980 2266 Fax | +27 86 532 7880 Web | game-on-mag.com DISCLAIMER While every effort is made by TEAM: GAME ON to ensure that the content of our magazine is accurate, CAMOUFLAGE VISUAL SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD and GAME ON magazine cannot accept any responsibility for errors that may occur, or for any significance of applying the information contained herein. Statements by contributors and media submissions are not always representative of either CAMOUFLAGE VISUAL SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD or GAME ON magazine’s opinion. No part of the GAME ON magazine may be reproduced in any form or stored without prior written permission from CAMOUFLAGE VISUAL SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD and/or GAME ON magazine. CAMOUFLAGE VISUAL SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD and GAME ON magazine supports and encourages responsible practices with regards to all sports, activities and the conservation and protection of our planet and all inhabitants.

© Camouflage Visual Solutions (Pty) Ltd and Game On 2

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

BENCH (CONTRIBUTORS) Issue 2, November 2013

CHRISTEL RAUBENHEIMER Journalist

SASPA (South African Sports Picture Agency)

KOBUS PRETORIUS Journalist

The BLD GROUP

MOSA MATLOGA Journalist

HIGH PERFORMANCE CENTRE-HATFiELD (hpc)

SONIA WILLEMSE Journalist

High School Sports Magazine

Jane Bramley Journalist brad morgan Journalist Reg Caldecott Photographer Karien Jonckheere Journalist Ockert de Villiers Journalist Wesley BOtton Journalist GERHARD PRETORIUS Journalist

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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contents Issue 2, November/December 2013

FEATURES

Marsha Cox: Sticking it to them (HOCKEY) Playing for your country makes you a national player, but being a threat to the opposition makes you an international player.

COVER STORY

Words by: Karien Jonckheere; Photos by: Stanislas Brochier, Plate Pictures

Ilze Hattingh: Advantage Ilze At the age of 15 she had already been to 22 countries.

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick, BLD

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Game On in the field When talents are handed out, we all receive our own unique little packages…

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos By: Henry Kelbrick

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos By: Charl Kruger

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Blue Bulls Under-19: Nurtured to excellence Respected Blue Bulls Under-19 Coach Paul Anthony has warned against exposing young prodigies to the rigors of senior rugby too early.

Sheer dedication rather than natural talent, was the key ingredient to the WP Under-21 team’s age-group dominance, according to coach John Dobson.

Words by: Ockert de Villiers

“The lost girls”:

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(Netball): It was a victory that had been a long time coming – the last time South Africa beat England was in Manchester in 1999.

SOCCER

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Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt

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Words and Photo by: Brad Morgan

Words by: Gerhard Pretorius; Photo by: Reg Caldecott

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Words by: Moses Matloga (HSSM)

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Words by: Sonia Willemse

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Words by: Karien Jonckheere

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Nathania van NiekerK: Stroke of genius (SWIMMING): Such is the focus and maturity of Nathania van Niekerk, you can’t help feeling reassured about women’s swimming in South Africa.

Words by: Karien Jonckheere

Words by: Gerhard Pretorius; Photos by: Dale Boyce and Barry Havenga/ Golf Digest

The best word to use when describing Yaseen Valli, captain of South Africa’s U-19 cricket team, seems to be ‘level-headed’.

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Motorsport Jason Webb: Drifting to victory When you’re given the middle names, Ayrton Senna, at birth, it would be quite absurd if you ended up not being passionate about cars.

Words by: Cecile Kiley and Keagan Kiley; Photos by: Photoguys and Monstermob

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Wade Young: Making molehills out of mountains

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Wade Young’s passion for motorbikes was set in stone at the age of seven when he started riding his little Yamaha PW80.

Words by: Cecile Kiley and Keagan Kiley

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Yaseen Valli: Captain, my Captain Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt & Lisa Slooten; Photos by: Lisa Slooten

Marlies Ross: Rubbing shoulders with the best (SWIMMING): “You know this is Dana Vollmer sitting next to you? I looked around and I was like ‘Whoooah!’”.

WERNER VAN NIEKERK: Success is par for the course

Cricket

René Kirsten: Vaulting to victory (EQUESTRIAN SPORT): René Kirsten is 16, inspired and very inspiring. She is also a seasoned horsewoman.

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It all started when a toddler was given a set of plastic golf clubs by his dad.

Lyrene Kühn: Getting her game on (GAMING): Introduced to the world of gaming by her late brother.

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Nobuhle Dlamini: Swinging her way to greatness It really wasn’t easy and I didn’t expect to go so low, but I just concentrated to keep myself in play and control the ball.

Nombuso Mzolo: Let’s hear it for the girl (CANOEING): “I wasn’t expecting to do well, but because I had trained hard it didn’t come as that much of a surprise.”

They came, they played, they conquered.

Golf

Esti van Tonder: The row to greatness (CANOEING): Die-hard canoeing fans may still remember an incident a few years back when a young Esti van Tonder abandoned her brother.

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TUKS SPORT: The Golden Generation is here Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Jaco van der Walt

Danelle Wentzel: Targeting a talent

Words by: Sonia Willemse

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To excel in the number eight position, a player has to be born with a natural ability to play in that position.

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt ; Photos by: Marina Spencer and Wynand Sauerman

(ARCHERY): What started out as innocent family fun turned into an all-consuming obsession with archery for Danelle Wentzel.

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Tiaan Bezuidenhout: Born to lead

Spar Proteas: Step Forward

Words by: Jane Bramley; Photos by: Richard Huggard & backpageimages.com

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WP Under-21: Honing Talent

Why do South Africa’s female athletes fail to excel in the international sports arena?

Words by: Christel Raubenheimer

For the first time since 1920, the ‘Wit Bulle’ remained unbeaten throughout the entire season.

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Billy Brown

On your marks, get set, fail?:

When last did you recognise the girl on the cover of Sport Illustrated?

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AFFIES: All that you see is the “Wit Masjien“ Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick

Focus on women’s sportING

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos By: SASPA; Illustration by: Jakes van Vuuren

(Athletics): Mapaseka Makhanya was named sportswoman of the Year at the SA Sports Awards.

RUGBY

HOËRSKOOL Rustenburgs Sevens Rugby TOURNAMENT: It was a perfect ending to a dream season.

Mapaseka Makhanya: Not running on empty Words by: Wesley Botton; Photos by: Reg Caldecott and Lungi Bikwani

Champions Cooking up a Medal:

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contents Issue 2, November/December 2013

REGULARS

Sailing Ryan & Michaela Robinson: Into the wide blue open Not too many would have put money on the South African kids in their wooden boat at the Mirror World Championships.

Words by: Karien Jonckheere

“OFF THE BALL!” – with Grant Johnson (SOCCER)

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“TRAIL BLAZER!” – with Pierre Nel (MOUNTAIN BIKING): Mud & Glory.

Mountain biking

“Referees WHISTLE!” – with André Watson

Dylan Rebello: Ain’t no mountain high enough for Dylan

(Rugby): Referees in the spotlight.

Next year I will be stronger and more experienced. Hopefully I will win more races in the Nissan series and I might even take the overall victory.

Words By: Wilhelm de Swardt, Photos by: Zoon Cronje

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Athletics

When it comes to confirming the truth in the saying, ‘Like father, like son’ there can be no better example that that of Danie and Neil Cornelius.

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick

Photos By: Zoon Cronje

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Out of the ordinary

Words by: Kobus Pretorius; Photos by: Riaan Stander

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(Tennis) Ilze Hattingh: Dreams, Believes, Achieves Photos By: Henry Kelbrick

150 154

(ATHLETICS/GRIDIRON) Gerhard De Beer: American Football? Or simply Football?

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122

(Athletics) Andries van der Merwe: No hurdle too big

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ADVICE COLUMN

OAKDALE: Pulling those medals in (Tug-of-War): The sport of Tug-of-War might not be well known or even appreciated, but it remains an intriguing team sport.

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PERSONAL ATHLETE JOURNALS (Athletics) Wian Sullwald: Tough, really tough

Danie and Neil Cornelius: Running in the family

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SABOTAGE: The art of movement (Parkour) In Parkour we have a saying that you are not really learning anything new, you are actually just relearning to do what you did as a child.

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick

INTERNATIONAL SPORTING ACHIEVERS (SWIMMING) Chad le Clos: Strokes to victory Swimming sensation Chad le Clos believes he constantly needs to shift his barriers and challenge the best.

Words by: Ockert de Villiers; Photos by: SASPA

(Canoeing) Andrew Birkett: A row of marathon proportions The South African canoeing team won no less than four medals at the World Canoeing Championships in Copenhagen.

Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Anthony Grote, Gameplan Media

(CYCLING) Louis Meintjes: Geared for success It is only the third time since 1927 that any South African male rider has managed to win a medal at the UCI Elite road Championship.

Words By: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: MTN-Qhubeka

(hpc - Menzi C. Ngcobo): Purpose of swelling after injury

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(hpc - Riette Steinberg): Vitamins & Minerals. Too much of a good thing?

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NEWS AND UPDATES 64

Game On: Making a difference MICHAELA WHITEBOOI A mighty reward for her hard work Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photo by: hpc

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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FROM THE EDITOR

I

t is certainly appropriate to begin this month’s editorial by congratulating Chad le Clos, Louis Meintjes and Andrew Birkett on their absolutely outstanding performances in the swimming pool, on the bike and in a canoe.

Le Clos totally dominated the short-course World Cup swimming competition by winning a total of 24 gold medals.

It was the second time that Le Clos won the short-course series that consists of eight legs. He was also the winner in 2011.

With his gutsy performance at the World Championships in Italy in September, Meintjes ensured that he won a silver medal in the under-23 road race.

By outsprinting compatriot Brandon van der Walt by a mere second at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Copenhagen, Andrew Birkett won the under-23 marathon canoeing title.

Hank McGregor, a stalwart in South African canoeing for more than a decade, captured the prestigious open K1 title to become the world champion for a third time.

Kirsten Flanagan, the under-18 world surf-ski champion, won a silver medal for South Africa in the K1 Junior Women’s race.

Meintjes, silver medal Seen from a South African perspective, the fact that Meintjes was able to win a silver medal was a huge achievement. This was only the fourth time since 1927 that one of our local riders was able to win a medal in an elite category at an UCI World Road Championships.

The year 2013 can be seen as a ‘coming of age’ year for South African road cycling.

Daryl Impey and his Orica/GreenEdge teammates won a silver medal in the team time trial at the same World Championships. Impey also made history during the Tour de France by becoming the first rider from Africa to wear the coveted yellow jersey.

Does this mean that cycling in South Africa is healthy and going from strength to strength?

Unfortunately the honest answer is no. The sad truth is that, because of a complete lack of foresight and proper planning on the part of the organizers of the sport, cycling in South Africa has been in dire straits for more than a decade. The world class achievements by Meintjes and Impey can be ascribed to huge personal sacrifices, as well as the support they receive from a few passionate individuals.

At the moment cycling in South Africa, mountain biking as well as road cycling, is mainly about having fun, while a few race organizers are making more and more money without contributing anything to the sport.

Local professional teams and their sponsors are interested only in instant results and they are therefore not prepared to risk investing in young talent. For this reason many talented young riders fall by the wayside after school.

South Africa’s only hope of winning a medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio seems to be that Douglas Ryder should succeed in implementing his plan that his MTN-Qhubeka Team should be able to compete in all the major international cycling races.

Only then will his riders be well-prepared to compete in the Games and the World Championships.

Irony One of the great ironies in South African sports this year was the fact that both Cycling South Africa and Swimming South Africa have been nominated for Sports Awards.

The cruel reality is that, if the performances by Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh should be taken out of the equation, nothing worth mentioning happened in swimming. South African swimmers have been underperforming since 2008.

It should be remembered that to be able to compete internationally is by far not the same as winning.

What is happening in SA women’s sport At the risk of sounding like an arch pessimist, I cannot help mentioning that the lack of true champions in South African women’s sports is truly worrisome.

It is disconcerting that Semenya and Tsholofelo Thipe (400) have been the only black South African female athletes who were able to qualify for the Olympic Games since 1992. Surely there has to be other capable black female athletes in South Africa.

It is not only in athletics that South African women are unable to perform. The last time a female swimmer won a medal at the Olympic Games was in 2000 in Sydney when Penny Heyns won bronze. Amanda Coetzer was the third-ranked woman tennis player in 1997, but since then no South African woman has come close to being ranked in the top ten.

For this reason Game On has decided to focus on some of South Africa’s up and coming young female sports stars in this issue.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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REGULAR CHAMPIONS COOKING UP A STORM

Âť Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick

Our champions cook up a storm 8

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

NEWS & UPDATES: GAME ON LAUNCH

When talents are handed out, we all receive our own unique little packages

For example, Caster Semenya (Olympic silver medallist), has no problem completing the 800 m in a time of less than two minutes.

Bridgette Hartley (Olympic bronze medallist) can push herself to the absolute limit in a K1 500 m sprint canoe race and there is not much anybody can teach Matthew Brittain, John Smit, James Thompson and Sizwe Ndlovu (Olympic gold medallists) about team work in a rowing boat.

However, when it comes to preparing two chicken dishes with a salad in 90 minutes and presenting it to be judged, it is a totally different challenge for these Olympians.

On Tuesday 29 October, last year’s Olympic medallists, together with some of their Olympian teammates, as well as some of the future stars of the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre (hpc), competed in the Game On and Barcelos Cooking up a medal competition. Though some of the athletes admitted that it was quite a daunting task for them, they did not in the least shy away from it.

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REGULAR CHAMPIONS COOKING UP A STORM

“Boiling an egg is already a challenge for me,” Anneri Ebersohn (SA 400 m-hurdles champion) joked.

Khotso Mokoena, a former Olympic medallist, decided that their team should be called the ‘Croc C(r)ooks’.

‘Croc’ refers to the advert in which he jumped over a pool with crocodiles.

Toby Sutcliffe, hpc’s CEO, who teamed up with Semenya and Mokoena, jokingly said that it was for the media to decide what the (r) stands for.

“I think in a competition like this it is OK to bend the rules somewhat,” Sutcliffe said with a big smile.

When asked how she felt about having to prepare a chicken dish, Semenya gave a thumbs- up sign and jokingly said: “Bring it on, I love chicken.”

Unfortunately for her teammates, Semenya never really had an opportunity to show off her cooking skills, because the media kept talking to her about more serious athletics matters.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

NEWS & UPDATES: GAME ON LAUNCH

cooking up a storm

The rowers’ strategy was to supply the judges with beer throughout the 90 minutes, obviously in an effort to soften them up and win them over.

According to them, all is fair in love and war.

Wenda Nel (400 m-hurdles athlete) and Charné Bosman sneaked off to the hpc kitchen to ‘borrow’ some extra stuff to spice up their chicken dish.

It was obvious that their teammates, Jacques de Swardt (400 m athlete) and Cornel Fredericks (Olympian 400-hurdles athlete), were not actively involved in preparing the chicken dish.

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REGULAR CHAMPIONS COOKING UP A STORM

“We are the ‘braaiers’,” De Swardt explained.

While all of this was going on, Hartley was quietly getting her team organised and making sure that everybody knew exactly what needed to be done.

“We were a well-oiled machine” Marc Mundell (SA record holder in the 50 km walk and Olympian) said.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

NEWS & UPDATES: GAME ON LAUNCH

“Actually I think a competition like this is very exciting because it takes you out of your comfort zone. We all know exactly what to expect in our various sporting codes and we also know what to do to succeed, but a cooking competition it is totally different kettle of fish.

What I loved about the idea is that experienced athletes had to work alongside youngsters in a unique challenge.

It is an excellent way for young athletes to get to know the older athletes and not be intimidated by them.

What made it even more special is that everybody who participated shares the same goal. We all hope to represent South Africa at the Olympic Games.”

Eventually Hartley’s team was judged to be the winners because, according to the judges, they were the only team who managed to give their chicken dishes a distinct and unique taste.

Wikus Weber (tri-athlete), Michaela Whitebooi (judo) and Nicole Muller (triathlete) were the other members of the winning team.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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Sevens Rugby Team perfect ending to a dream season

Sevens Rugby Team It was a perfect ending to a dream season.

There can be no better way to describe the victory (40-33) of the sevens rugby team of Hoërskool Ben Vorster over the team of Hoërskool Menlopark. The hard-fought cup final of the Bosveld Tournament was hosted by Hoërskool Rustenburg and sponsored by GameOn Magazine.

» Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Michael Janse van Rensburg and Charl Kruger

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

NEWS & UPDATES: GAME ON SPONSORSHIP

I

n the Plate Final the hosts, Hoërskool Rustenburg, outplayed Hoërskool Waterkloof by 24-5.

The Bowl Final was another thrilling affair with Hoërskool Merensky beating Hoërskool Centurion 27-21. In the Shield Final Hoërskool Bergvlam ran amok and beat HTS Rustenburg by 55-5.

The talents of the rugby players of Ben Vorster are definitely not restricted to excelling in the seven-man code. Another definite highlight for them was beating Hoërskool Ben Viljoen in the final of the Beeld Trophy for medium schools.

But there is still more to Ben Vorster’s success than winning trophies in various rugby competitions. The players, as well as the coaches, of Ben Vorster play a major role in the development of rugby in the platteland.

Because nine of the 15 match starters in the first rugby team of this traditionally white Afrikaans school are black, they have been subjected to numerous racial slurs. But these boys and their coach are undeterred by these comments.

In an interview with the Mail and Guardian, the coach, Andre Hay, said he told his ‘bulle’: “Play the ball, not the player. If you get into a fight with the player, you’ll come off with nothing, but if you focus on the game, you will probably come off with a win.”

He doesn’t focus on colour when choosing his team, but rather on talent. “I told the parents right from the beginning not to tell me that they did this for, or contributed that to, the school. We put the best players on the field. Players want to know that they are there because they are the best.”

Hay does not want to talk about quotas in sport.

He wants to talk about the ability of sport to unite, not to divide. “Look at what happened at the 1995 World Cup game when Nelson Mandela walked onto the field and told the players about the ability of sport to create harmony.”

One of Ben Vorsters ‘greats’ is Trevor Nyakane.

Nyakane was first named for the Springbok squad ahead of the 2013 mid-year rugby union tests.

He made his international debut on 8 June as a 73rd minute replacement for Tendai Mtawarira in South Africa’s 44-10 victory over Italy in Durban.

On 22 June 2013 he scored his first test try, against Samoa, in Pretoria. With South Africa already leading 49-23, Nyakane’s 80th minute score completed a comprehensive win.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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WOMEN’S SPORT ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, FAIL?

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET,

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

sp Sa by : tos ho de Sw ard t; P

»W or d

It’s rather disconcerting to realise that Caster Semenya, silver medallist in the women’s 800 m finals at the Olympic Games in London, and Sunette Viljoen, South Africa- and Africa-record holder in the javelin throw, are currently the only two South African female athletes who are capable of competing against- and beating- the world’s best. This is the second consecutive year that they are the only local female athletes to be ranked in the international top ten.

sb y:

Wi lhe

lm

When it comes to athletics, there is one nagging question that begs an answer: Why do South Africa’s female athletes fail to excel in the international sport arena? The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are drawing ever closer, and a solution is urgently needed.

a

FAIL? Local athletics statistics paint a bleak picture of the standard of female athletics in South Africa.

MAIN FEATURE: WOMEN’S SPORT PERFORMANCE

Since 2007, South African senior records have only been bettered in the 800 m (once), 3000-steeplechase (once), long jump (once), triple jump (twice), discus (once) and javelin throw(on numerous occasions).

The rest of the records are all at least 10 years old. It’s frightening to think that some of the records date back to, for example, 1984 (Zola Budd – 4:01.81 in 1 500 m); 1986 (MyrtleBothma – 53.74s in 400 m hurdles) and 1989 (Evette de Klerk – 22.06 s in 200 m).

It is also disturbing that Semenya and Tsholofelo Thipe (400 m) have been the only two black South African female athletes to compete at the Olympic Games since 1992. Surely there has to be more capable black female athletic talent in South Africa?

Where is the next Amanda Coetzer (tennis), Penny Heyns (swimming), Pietie Coetzee (hockey), Frith van der Merwe (marathon running), or Elana Meyer (middle distance athlete)?

The last time a female swimmer won a medal at the Olympic Games was in 2000 in Sydney when Heyns won a bronze.

At the last three Olympic Games (Athens, Beijing and London), only Hestrie Cloete (high jump – silver in Athens), Semenya (800 m – silver in London) and Bridgette Hartley (sprint canoeing – bronze in London) won medals.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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WOMEN’S SPORT ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, FAIL?

Women don’t support women’s sports 18

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

MAIN FEATURE: WOMEN’S SPORT PERFORMANCE

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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RT ON WOMEN’S YOUR MARKS, SPORT GETON SET,YOUR FAIL? MARKS, GET SET, FAIL?

Coetzer was third best women’s tennis player in 1997. Since then no player has come close to being ranked in the top ten.

The performances of the South African hockey, netball and soccer teams have basically stagnated over the last ten years.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

MAIN FEATURE: WOMEN’S MAIN SPORT FEATURE: PERFORMANCE WOMEN’S SPORT PERFORMANCE

The cruel reality is that South African women have been underperforming in international sports for more than a decade now.

According to Jean Verster, athletics coach at the University of the Northwest (Pukke), female athletes are definitely not less talented than they were in the past.

“There is certainly no shortage of talented athletes in South Africa. One of the main problems is that the athletes are not managed properly.

They stop playing the sport before they have fulfilled their potential,” Verster explains.

“The trends of modern society also have an impact on this phenomenon. These days children world-wide, prefer to play computer games rather than doing physical exercise,” Verster continues.

“This is one of the reasons why obesity has become such a problem. It’s a fact that South African children are increasingly becoming fatter and this has an impact on local athletic performances.”

“It’s a given that the more an athlete weighs, the more difficult it will become for them to run competitive times in middle- and long-distance races.”

Verster reckons that the increase in crime incidents has had a negative influence on the performance of female athletes, especially when it comes to longer races.

“To be really competitive over middle and long distances, athletes need to do long runs,” he elaborates. “This cannot be done by simply running around a track day after day. These days it is no longer safe for female athletes to run where they want and when they want.”

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WOMEN’S SPORT ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, FAIL?

“It is actually not safe for any cyclist or athlete, male or female, to train on public roads anymore because of the risk of being killed by motor vehicle,” Verster adds.

Verster stressed that the attitude of ‘win at all costs’ in school sports is also a major problem. “Many

good athletes get burnt out before they finish school,” he says.

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“Being a coach, I have the opportunity to speak to many athletes, parents, teachers and other coaches, and I have heard many times that a particularly talented athlete has no intention of competing competitively after finishing school.”

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

MAIN FEATURE: WOMEN’S SPORT PERFORMANCE

According to Verster, coaches can also be blamed for the stagnation in women’s athletics.

“Very often there is no long-term planning. Athletes are merely coached to be at their best for a particular occasion, which means that they are not being properly trained for the future.”

Claudia Slattery did a study at the University of Pretoria about the “Termination of Sporting Careers among South African Sportswomen.”

She concluded that there are five reasons why women terminate their sports careers prematurely, namely: decreased motivation and interest in sport (55%); coach problems (43%); academic pressure (36%); injuries (35%) and politics in sport (33%).

According to Slattery these factors can all be reduced to one common problem, namely the lack of properly qualified coaches in South Africa.

“The coach needs to be able to bend the barriers of stereotypes, and work with women outside the context of what society accepts as the norm. In short, our coaches need to be more than just coaches. They need to have skills in sports psychology and sports science, as well as in the teaching domain.”

According to Slattery there are other factors that impact heavily on sports in South Africa. Gender stereotyping, for example, is deeply embedded in the social, cultural and educational systems of South Africa.

SIDE BAR Semenya’s former coach Michael Seme believes intensive coaching camps can constitute part of the solution.

“Like the Kenyans and Ethiopians, we need camps serving the universities and schools around them, so a learner can train before attending classes and afterwards come back and train.”

Seme runs several camps in Pretoria but says that, for some of his budding female athletes, even accessing a pair of decent running shoes is a problem.

“I specialise in training middle- and longdistance runners. Many of the girls who come train and compete in the same shoes, which they shouldn’t be doing, but they don’t have the funds to help them buy shoes, so they end up with injuries.”

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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Christel Raubenheimer THE LOST GIRLS

‘Runaway Bride’ has to be one of my alltime favourite sport movies. It features a fabulous pair of sneakers.

And a horse.

T

he film also paints a pretty vivid picture of how many women - like me - view a career in sport in this country. Unless it comes with a long-term back-up career, it’s a very definite ‘no go’.

On a more serious note, the dismissive attitude with which female athletes are regarded in South Africa, is no laughing matter. We may be able to vote, but in the sporting fraternity, we’re secondclass citizens.

» Words by: Christel Raubenheimer

South Africa has a frightening lack of female sporting role models, and the situation seems unlikely to improve any time soon. I wouldn’t for the life of me consider a career as professional athlete, and it seems most other girls don’t either.

Would I like to be Bakkies Botha or Retief Goosen?

Hell yes!

Hell yes!

Hell yes!

Is it equally exciting to watch a netball game on TV, as it is, to watch the Currie Cup or the Million Dollar Challenge? My father seems to think so … but apparently he’s part of a frighteningly small minority.

Which begs the question: why is female sport stardom a non-event in South Africa? Without sounding feminist or condescending, the answer, to my mind, is simple. Women’s sport is just not considered ‘hot’ enough. Bulging muscles, sweaty underarms, short hair, small boobs and living in track suits? Minimal appeal.

Women train just as hard, sometimes even harder. They sacrifice just as much, if not more. They’re equally passionate about their sporting careers as guys are. And still we seem to be lacking in the eyes of the sporting world.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

REGULAR: FEMALE ATHLETES

Very few female athletes are as stunning as Maria Sharapova is. Looks-wise, most of them are closer in appeal, to the Williams sisters. And those two sibs aren’t exactly my idea of role models. Yeah, their bank balances might be a point of envy, but that’s about as far as it goes.

When last did you recognise the girl on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Athlete?

Not a chance. They’re models. Where are Sunette Viljoen and Caster Semenya? Not on the cover of any sporting magazine I’ve seen lately.

In a recent American study, nearly half of all female respondents said they believed that getting sweaty ‘wasn’t feminine’.

Amen to that. The idea of becoming a pro-athlete has zero appeal to most young women.

We become lawyers and doctors and teachers and engineers and pilots and diesel mechanics, but steer clear of aiming to develop into professional athletes. And no, in the end it really has nothing to do with getting sweaty. That’s the real pity.

When you google the words ‘jockey’ and ‘woman’ - with reference to female jockeys (you know, girls who race horses) - the first result is for the underwear company. And while I’m as much a supporter of ‘decent support’ as the next girl is, it does make you realise that the world still sees women as bra wearers, not race winners.

The wake-up call - to treat South Africa’s women athletes with the same admiration as male athletes are, may just arrive a tad late. By then, a whole generation of professional female talent will have been lost.

I’m off to see a man about a horse. And a fabulous pair of sneakers.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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SPAR PROTEAS Step Forward

The SPAR National Netball team took a massive step FORWARD on October 25 this year, when they beat the world number three team, England, by 39 goals to 37 in the Tri-Nations in Port Elizabeth.

FORW SPAR Protea goal shooter Melissa Myburgh fights for the ball against England’s Stacey Francis

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: NETBALL

It was a victory that had been a long time coming – the last time South Africa beat England was in Manchester in 1999, four years after the Proteas shocked the international netball world by beating New Zealand in the semi-finals of the World Championships in Birmingham.

The 1995 Proteas went down to Australia in the final, but came back to South Africa having given notice that there was a new kid on the block. One member of the South African silver medallist team was a young goalshooter, Irene van Dyk, who later moved to New Zealand, where she became a household name as a leading member of the Silver Ferns.

SPAR Proteas head coach Elize Kotze had a hand in all three triumphs. She was vice captain of the South African team in 1995, and coach in 1999, although she stepped down soon afterwards to gain more experience and maturity before taking on the responsibility of coaching the team again.

“I don’t know which was the most important to me.

Winning a silver medal was a huge achievement for us in 1995, but now I’m looking at a new generation of players, and I believe they are capable of winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year,” said Kotze.

“That is definitely our aim, and I believe we have the players to achieve that.”

SPAR PROTEAS

STEP ORWARD » Words by: Jane Bramley; Photos by: Richard Huggard & backpageimages.com

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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SPAR PROTEAS Step Forward

Kotze said an increase in the number of international netball the players were being exposed to was largely responsible for the improvement in their fortunes.

“Our first goal was to become champions in Africa, and we have done that. If you aren’t the best on your own continent, you can’t expect to compete at the very top.

We have been beating Malawi consistently, and we have been improving against England all the time. When we came back from the three-Test tour of England in October, we did the analysis, and found that we had to improve by 3.2 goals a quarter if we wanted to win. That’s absolutely nothing.

Our defence is world class, and there are variables that make the difference,” she said.

She pointed out that South Africa had succeeded despite being without top players like Erin Burger, Amanda Mynhardt and

now have a bank of 25 players that can compete at the top level,” she said. “When I took over as coach, we probably had about seven. We now have options, and can select players who are as strong mentally as they are physically.”

Netball South Africa (NSA) President Mimi Mthethwa said the SPAR Proteas’ backto-back victories in the Tri Nations series and the Diamond Challenge were signs

“We are so proud of our players, and we are very happy that South Africa is now officially ranked fifth in the world. We are also very proud that netball is one of the most transformed sports in South Africa,” she said. of great things to come.

“We know that when the Proteas do well, the interest in netball grows around the country. We want our young primary and secondary school players to have something to aspire to.”

Vanes-Mari du Toit. “We

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Mthethwa said the year ahead was very exciting, as South Africa prepared for the World Championships in Sydney, Australia in 2015.

“The Netball Premier League will be kicking off early next year, there are the Commonwealth Games and other interesting challenges, which will be announced later. We are definitely on the way up.”

DANELLE WENTZEL (HOËRSKOOL ELDORAIGNE) TARGETING HER TALENT

TARGETING HER TALENT DANELLE WENTZEL

» Words by: Sonia Willemse; Photos by: Dean Alberga for World Archery Organisation

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: ARCHERY

What started out as innocent family fun turned into an all-consuming obsession with archery for Wentzel. Her compound bow has taken over everything considered to be ‘normal’ to a teenage girl, but Wentzel is convinced it’s the best thing that’s happened to her.

“It has definitely taught me how to plan, because the more you have to do the more you get done,” Wentzel muses.

“I don’t have time to sit and do nothing. I still have homework to finish before I can pick up my bow again.”

After representing South Africa in the World Archery Championship in Turkey in October this year, 18-year-old Wentzel had already visited eight countries in four years.

When her dad handed her a bow at the age of 14, Danelle Wentzel never dreamed this single act would change her world forever.

To date, Wentzel has been absent a whopping 43 days of this, her final school year. Thankfully, teachers and learners alike gladly assist their Hoërskool Eldoraigne archery champ in playing catch-up.

Education is still more important to Wentzel than sport is. She turned down an opportunity to participate in the World Youth Championships in China later this year, as it would mean not being able to write her matric finals. Passionate about animals, Wentzel is keen to study animal science after school, a field that has interested her from a very young age.

DANELLE WENTZEL Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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DANELLE WENTZEL (HOËRSKOOL ELDORAIGNE) TARGETING HER TALENT Wentzel has achieved more in a single sport than most competitors do in their entire career: • Won a bronze medal at the Las Vegas Indoor World Cup. • Nominated Athlete of the Week in December 2012 by the World Archery Federation.

Featured in SASCOC’s Road to Rio magazine.

Starting out with a ranking of 31st and ending in 6th place at the World Championship in Turkey In addition to this list of accolades, Wentzel is part of an exclusive group of archers who have shot 1400+ out of a possible 1440. This placed her squarely in the national record books. But that’s not all: Wentzel’s 675 in the 720 round elevated her to the world record holder status, as she beat the previous record by 4 points.

It certainly hasn’t been an easy ride for her.

A normal week consists of an hour’s training before school, tutor classes and a gym session straight after school, and another training session before bedtime. Wentzel decided to include gym sessions in her programme in March this year. These sessions specifically focus on her fitness and core muscle strength.

She has noticed a significant improvement in her performance since.

“The higher my fitness levels, the lower my pulse,” she tells us. Consequently I’m far less aware of any ‘pulsation’ in my hands and my aim is far more stable and accurate.”

Weekends are generally filled with competitions and more training sessions, but Wentzel does allow for some social time when- and wherever she can.

Although taking part in the Olympic Games is one of her greatest dreams, Wentzel has her eye on the Longines Watch for Precision which is awarded to the archer with the most tens during the Outdoor World Cup in Las Vegas.

Also, vying for a place on the Olympic team means she’d have to swap her compound bow to an Olympic recurve bow.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

“‘I have an advantage over beginners, who immediately start with a recurve bow, in the sense that I am used to the weight of a bow. But don’t get me wrong, it’s still going to take a lot of hard work and training to get to the Olympics,” Wentzel explained.

Archery isn’t cheap. A start-up kit would cost a minimum of R3 000. Unfortunately one doesn’t only need training shoes, as Wentzel puts it. Her sponsors, Hoyt and Easton, and the Magnum Both Wentzel and her dad, Julius, who was appointed as a provincial judge in 2012, believe that the sport needs more marketing and exposure.

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: ARCHERY

SIDE BAR

DID Y U KNOW? • Archery was first included in the Olympic Games in 1900, but discontinued in 1924. It was only re-introduced again in 1972.

• Bhutan’s national sport is archery, and almost every village has an archery range.

• An archer is also called a Toxopholite.

• In most competitions and including the Olympic Games, archers are required to engrave their initials on their arrows.

• Anthropologists discovered the world’s oldest stone points, used for arrowheads, at Sibudu Cave in South Africa. These stone points are more than 64 000 years old, and had remnants of blood and glue on them.

• Compound bows are estimated to be 500 years old.

• The Olympic Recurve bow is believed to be based on a design by ancient Egyptians.

• In the Olympic Games, archers may only compete with a recurve bow, whereas both the recurve and the compound bow are used in the Paralympics.

• Of the 14 Olympic Games that included archery, France has participated in 12. This makes them the highest participating nation, although not in terms of the number of archers entered overall.

• In 1999 actress Geena Davis was 24th in the US Woman’s archery championship.

Archery Club has contributed to her equipment kit, which is valued at R1OO OOO. “This is a full-on family sport,” dad Julius says. “Where else can mother and son walk off the field after an intense final round, and congratulate each other on their performances? Not only is it a perfect leisure pursuit for one’s real family, but archers become a family on the field as well. Competitors from all walks of life take part here: blindness, partial sight, deafness, and even being without arms is yet to stop those interested in the sport to pick up a bow and take the first shot.

Wentzel encourages teenagers to just pick up a bow - under adult supervision of course - and start shooting.

”You’ll never regret it, never look back, and never want to stop!”

DANELLE WENTZEL Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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ESTI VAN TONDER THE ROW TO GREATNESS

THE ROW TO GREATNESS ESTI VAN TONDER A lot has changed since then. The girl who admits to getting scared going through fast-flowing river rapids in a canoe has come of age. In the recent World Sprint Canoeing Championship held in Duisburg, the 20-year-old finished fifth in the under-23 K1-race over 500 m. In doing so she proved that her dream to represent South Africa at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio could well be within her reach.

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» Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos: Provided

Die-hard canoeing fans may still remember an incident a few years back when a young Esti van Tonder abandoned her brother while they were paddling in a K2 canoe during the Vaal Canoe Marathon, climbed onto a rock and then waited to be rescued.

The former pupil of Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool in Pretoria laughs when she recounts how she got scared during the Vaal Canoe Marathon.

Even though Van Tonder excelled in hockey at school there was never any doubt in her mind that she was going to specialise in canoeing.

“River canoe marathons are not quite my cup of tea, I found my niche in sprint canoeing,” Esti gave

“I played hockey so as to clear my mind and to relax and forget about canoeing for a few hours,” she elaborates.

a wry smile.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: CANOEING

It should be noted that Van Tonder got provincial colours in hockey at school.

Canoeing is a Van Tonder family sport. It all started with dad, Philip, who is passionate about endurance sport. Over the years he has competed in practically every river marathon held. He was also a strong contender in the South African version of the Iron Man in which athletes had to canoe, cycle and run.

Van Tonder has no hesitation in saying that her dad is her role model.

“I really admire him for the way he managed to be a competitive in sport while working, studying part time and still being a dad,” she says proudly.

According to Van Tonder she basically grew up next to various rivers and dams and when she was old enough she got into a canoe herself. Her brother, Fouché van Tonder, is also an avid canoeist.

He has been rowing for 10 years and has represented South Africa in various international championships and World Cups. Fouché is currently one of the directors at the Academy for Canoe Development at Roodeplaat Dam in Pretoria. He is also coaching his sister.

“I could not have asked for a better coach.

Fouché’s training programmes are scientifically sound and he certainly knows how to keep me motivated and helps me believe in my abilities as a canoeist.”

In 2009 Van Tonder represented South Africa at the under-18 World Championship.

Her best result was finishing 5th in the K2 B-final. It wasn’t a bad performance at the time.”

Van Tonder has a lot of respect for Bridgette Hartley, Olympic bronze medallist in the K1 500 m final.

Bridgette is an awesome athlete and genuine friend.

I really learnt a lot from her.

Having said that, it doesn’t mean that Van Tonder is not dreaming of the day she will beat Hartley in the 500 m race.

“I was in the lucky position to have a ringside seat while Bridgette prepared for the Olympic Games in London. So I could see for myself what it took to win a medal.”

“I am slowly but surely managing to gain time on Bridgette each time we race, but it might still take a while for me to beat her,” she says determinedly.

Van Tonder is confident that their rivalry won’t impact on their friendship.

“I think we’re both mature enough to let what happens in the water stay in the water.”

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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NOMBUSO MZOLO LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE GIRL!

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE GIRL!

NOMBUSO MZOLO Natal Cano e Club’s (N CC) Nomb has reason uso Mzolo to feel sati sfi ed about h performan er first ce donnin g the South Canoeing African Na Team’s gre ti en and go Sprint Cha ld at the Afr onal mpionship ican s in Tunis, Tunisia.

She won t wo silver m eda won silver in the wom ls. She en’s K2 200 m wit h Brittany Petersen a silver in th nd e women’s K2 500 m with Mela nie van N iekerk.

Actually th e

South Afric ans totally It does not dominated happen oft . en that eve a national ry membe team wins r o a f m what they edal but th managed at is exactl to y d won 14 me o. The Sou dals in all. th African s

“I wasn’t expecting to do well, but because I had trained hard it didn’t come as that much of a surprise. I didn’t know how strong the other countries were. I hadn’t raced against them for a long time, so I was very excited to win the two silver medals,” Mzolo said.

Mzolo earned her spot in the team after the South African Sprint Championships at Roodeplaat Dam in September, which was truly remarkable as she had taken a last-minute decision to participate in the Championships.

“Just two days before the qualifiers, my brother told me about them,” Mzolo told us. “I was training for long distance and rivers. I hadn’t done any training for sprints. But I went there and I was lucky,” she said.

» Words and Photo by: Brad Morgan

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: CANOEING

Candidly she

NOMBUSO M

ZOLO

added, “It tu rned out well bec ause I was selected, bu t I felt I was weak. I’m do ing a lot of training now .”

The team of 12 comprises three paddlers in each of the senior men’s, senior women’s and under-18 boys’ and girls’ categories. Mzolo was selected for the senior women’s lineup with Brittany Petersen and Melanie van Niekerk.

During h er time w ith Canoe C lub, Mzolo the Lembethi s number of people aid there were a who insp “My coac ired her. h there w as Lucas He traine M talane. d and ins pir us we’d a chieve gre ed us, telling at things trained h if we ard anywhere . He said we wou ldn’t get if we were lazy.”

“There are m went to in any other guys w ho ternation a Michael Mbanjwa l events, like and my b Nkosi, w rother ho and Sene went to the Ivory gal [who Coast ins are my ro le models pired me]. They ,” Mzolo a The trave dded. l bug has also bitte went to S n . “I also enegal in 200 that again !” she enth 5. I’d love to do used.

Mzolo’s re tu about wh rn to canoeing ca me en she w as approa the Natal ched by Canoe C lub. “One Developm of th en me and in t guys from NCC e called vit to the spo ed me to come b ack rt to padd le with C Mavundla an . I return ed a mon dy last year’ th before s Dusi M arathon,” she said.

Mzolo, who originally hails from the rural part of KwaZulu-Natal’s Valley of a Thousand Hills, revealed she has had to work hard for her success in paddling when she gave us a rundown of her involvement in the sport.

“I joined the Lembethi Canoe Club in 1999,” she said. “I was 10 years old at the time. I paddled from 1999 until 2005, then I gave up canoeing for six years and I returned last year.” “I left because I was doing matric. The following year, I started studying at university. While at university I made a half-hearted effort, in part due to financial constraints, and most certainly in part due to sheer laziness,” she admitted.

.Since he r selectio n, Mzolo to put in has had the hard y ards to o time for s pen up tudies an dp competiti on in Tun repare for the isia.

“We’ve all been bus y writing this mon exams th, my own,” so I’ve been train in she expla ined. “Wh g on in town, en I am I train at the NCC the holid . During ays, I go to train with Nagle Da m to the guys there.”

Mzolo sa id she wa s gratefu was push l that NC ing to ge C t girls and from pre women viously d is a backgrou dvantage d nds into the sport .

“It’s fanta stic to see this happenin g,” she smile

d.

“We are extremely proud of Nombuso’s achievements, and in fact, of the whole NCC Development Team,” NCC General Manager Brett Austen Smith commented.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

37

Lyrene k端hn GETTING HER GAME ON

W or d

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

s:

Pr

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: GAMING

Since she first appeared on the scene, Lyrene Kühn has quickly established herself in the world of E-Sports.

Having been introduced to the world of gaming by her late brother, Lyrene has been playing games for 12 years but mostly focused on RPGs (Role-Playing Games), JRPGs (Japanese Role-Playing Games), shooter- and adventure-type games during that time. In her first year at Free State University, where she is studying Fine Arts, a friend convinced her to start playing Tekken. She was drawn into playing competitively thereafter, and enjoys the thrill it provides.

Lyrene’s first appearance in competitive gaming saw her win the Women’s Division in Tekken at the Free State Championships in 2011. Spurred on by her success at the Free State Championships, she entered the 2011 National Championships where she won her division. At the national trials, she dominated her opposition which resulted in her being selected for the 2012 IeSF (International E-Sports Federation) World Championships in Cheon-an City, South Korea. Lyrene claimed 4th place overall in her maiden tournament.

Determined to do better, Lyrene was once again selected for the 2013 IeSF World Championships held in Bucharest, Romania. She was also chosen to be the first woman ever to head the South African E-Sports team. This was a great honour for Lyrene and she fulfilled her duties admirably at the 2012 IeSF World Championships.

Despite the field of competitors doubling this time around, Lyrene managed to get to the quarter-finals before being eliminated … an excellent result for the Fine Arts student from Kimberly. The ranking places her in the top eight in the world in the Tekken women’s division.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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René Kirsten (Hoërskool WATERKLOOF) VAULTING TO VICTORY

VAULTING TO VICTORY René Kirsten is 16, inspired and very inspiring. She is also a seasoned horsewoman.

This young lady is focused when it comes to schoolwork, but even more so when she starts talking about her horse riding career. Ina Davies, the School Representative for Equitation, describes her as a passionate and driven rider who always exceeds people’s expectations.

Kirsten may have a reserved personality, but she most certainly knows how to strut her stuff on her horse.

In Grade 3, eight-year-old Kirsten’s friend from the Voortrekkers was involved in horse riding, which intrigued Kirsten so much her Mom immediately got all the details to get her in the saddle. A year later, Kirsten commenced with formal training at a riding school. She hasn’t looked back since. Now, at the age of 16, Kirsten has broadened her horizons and competes in various categories. She started off doing show jumping, showing and dressage, but decided add some spice to her versatile repertoire and in March 2013 she started vaulting,

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

ATHELETE PROFiLE FEATURE: EQUESTRIAN SPORT

which is loosely described as ‘gymnastics on a horse’. Kirsten no longer takes part in show jumping. Within the first six months of competing in vaulting Kirsten received her Gauteng North colours, consistently took either first or second place in the School Series, and also won a bronze at an Inter-Regional competition.

On the Showing Association of South Africa rankings, Kirsten currently holds second place, an honour for herself and her family. Hoërskool Waterkloof in the east of Pretoria, where Kirsten is a top honours student, can proudly share her in her victory. Participating in the South African National Equestrian Schools Association (SANESA) is how Kirsten attained the highest awards for her school.

Equestrians represent their schools at SANESA events. When she was only 10, Kirsten was about to compete in her first SANESA competition, but misfortune hit and she fell off her horse, injuring herself to the extent that she had to withdraw.

She made up for that one incident in a big way. In the past year she took 6th place at Nationals where she competed against 19 other riders in her class, claimed the number one spot on the podium at the Youth Festival for Working Riding, and won the Working Horse Championships.

René Kirsten » Words by: Sonia Willemse: Photos: Provided

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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René Kirsten (Hoërskool WATERKLOOF) VAULTING TO VICTORY

Kirsten entered four categories this year: Vaulting, Dressage, Showing, and Working Riding.

She received Gauteng Colours for all four, and competed as part of the Gauteng team in all these categories.

when you’re having an off day, being on your horse soothes you and encourages you to Mom Reinette attends each and every event, and is also the chairperson of the keep going Waterkloof Equestrian Club. Granny and Grandpa follow suit, as loyal sponsors of their granddaughter’s participation in the ‘sport of kings’.

Kirsten’s close-knit family support her every step of the way. They were there when she tripped and fell over her own feet during a show, when her horse acted up in the arena, when she got dehydrated after forgetting to drink water, and when she was awarded countless top accolades.

Kirsten tells us that horses are used as aids in therapy sessions for mentally and physically disabled persons. “Horse riding is a very psychological sport. You need to keep calm when your horse doesn’t want to work with you,” she says. “And when you’re having your off day, then being on your horse soothes you and encourages you to keep going. When things seem to go wrong and you feel like you’re falling into a ditch, just remember, the horse is stronger and he will carry you out!” she smiles.

Where to from here for Kirsten? Davies describes equestrians as very disciplined pupils, and ones who excel academically as well. With the honorary colours from the Leadership Academy at her school, high marks in all her subjects, and a soft spot for maths and accounting, she wants to study Actuarial Science or possibly complete a Doctorate in Maths once she is done with school. Her horse, King Of Hearts, is 18 years old already and will be up for retirement once Kirsten heads off to University.

But rest assured: we’ll still be seeing a lot of this feisty young rider as she aims to qualify for the World Games.

working horse

champion 42

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

Ilze Hattingh ADVANTAGE ILZE

The ultimate experience for any 17-year-old would be to visit a foreign country and experience stuff most of their friends only get to read about in books. For the 17-year-old Ilze Hattingh it’s a case of been there, done that and got the T-shirt to prove it.

Kelbr ic Henr y s by: ardt; Phot o

» Wo rds b y: Wil helm de Sw

In order to live her dream, Hattingh had to drop out of Hoërskool Waterkloof and opt for home schooling instead. On a good day she trains for up to six hours and then she still needs to have the self discipline to go and do her schoolwork.

k and

BLD

Tennis is the reason for her becoming a jetsetter.

Hattingh is a tennis player with dreams of being one of the world’s best in the foreseeable future. It certainly isn’t an easy goal. It goes hand-in-hand with lots of hard work and big sacrifices.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

ATHELETE COVER FEATURE: TENNIS

At the age of 15 she had already been to 22 countries. Since then she got to visit quite a few more.

By the time you’re reading this she might have added another to her evergrowing list. Austria is her favourite country.

“I just love it. It’s just so green and with the mountains it makes everything look so beautiful and the people are so friendly. To top it all everything works and is clean.”

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Ilze Hattingh ADVANTAGE ILZE

“I’ll be honest. I miss being amongst classmates and having teachers to help me, but unfortunately I have no other option than to go it alone. That is the only way I can ensure that I have a fair to chance to succeed as a professional tennis player,” she says.

Hattingh is currently South Africa’s top under-18 female player, having won the singles and doubles at the National Championship. On her way to the Singles Final she only dropped two games, which is pretty impressive. Hattingh is actually no stranger to winning national titles. She’s been doing it since she was 11.

Other highlights are winning the African Junior Championship last year. This year she lost to the eventual winner Sandra Symiar (Egypt) in three sets in the semifinal.

“It was a big disappointment but I only have myself to blame. Due to pressure I lost my temper on court and it cost me dearly,” Hattingh confesses.

“The fact that I did not go through to the final meant that did not earn enough ranking points to automatically qualify for the main draw of the Junior Grand Slam Tournaments.”

Another definite highlight for Hattingh was being selected for the South Federation Cup Team at 15. She managed to win three of her four matches against senior WTA players.

She suffered her biggest setback this season when she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her back.

“It’s an injury that could have ended my tennis playing career.

Luckily the doctor who treated me knew what he was doing. Still I had to take some time off from playing competitive tennis,” she says.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

“Being injured made me realise that from now on I will have train more smartly but that does not necessarily mean longer hours. I just need to be more focused when I train.”

ATHELETE COVER FEATURE: TENNIS

Hattingh started playing tennis when she was seven but at Gelofte Laerskool in KwaZulu-Natal it wasn’t the only sport she excelled in. She also got provincial colours in hockey, netball and athletics. She only decided to focus on tennis, upon going to high school.

“Tennis is one of the most difficult sports.

There is no room for error if you want to succeed.”

She is currently being coached by John-Laffnie de Jager, who, in his day, was one of the world’s foremost doubles players.

When asked if she has any role models, Hattingh immediately mentioned her step-brother, George Earle. Earle represented the Cheetahs in Super Rugby and the Griquas in the Currie Cup, having previously played for Western Province, Boland Cavaliers and the Golden Lions.

He is currently playing for the Welsh regional team, the Scarlets.

“The most important thing I learned from George is that to succeed takes hard word. There are no short cuts. He would even train over the Christmas period to ensure that he was at his best.”

Roger Federer (winner of 17 Grand Slams) and Sara Errani who is currently the 6th best player on the WTA rankings are her tennis role models.

“What I love about Errani is that she’s a fighter. She never gives up and that is what I am striving towards,” Hatting explains.

Hattingh also had the privilege of having dinner with Caroline Wozniacki, a former number one player, this season. That evening she learned that tennis should be about having fun.

Next year is the last year Hattingh will compete as a junior.

“So my goal for 2014 will be to try and compete in all four the Junior Grand Slam Tournaments. I will also play in more senior tournaments so as to improve my ranking,” Hattingh tells us. “I also hope to be selected again for the SA Federation Cup Team and I would love to get a good result in the Soweto Open.”

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Marlies Ross (TUKS SPORT SCHOOL) RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE BEST

RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE BEST Marlies Ross can’t help giggling a little when she tells the story.

It was a week before the World Swimming Championships and Ross and the SA team had just arrived in Barcelona. The 16-year-old was warming up before training and noticed someone sitting next to her but didn’t take too much notice of the fellow swimmer.

Then Karin [Prinsloo] came and said: ‘You

know this is Dana Vollmer sitting next to you?’ I looked around and I was like “Woooah!’ I was so shocked – and thinking I’m two metres away from an Olympic champion. Reality sinks in as you realise you’re actually part of this and you can be part of them,” explains Ross, who was the youngest member of Team SA at the World Championships.

“It will definitely help for next time,” explained the Pretoria swimmer. “I

learned a lot, seeing my idols compete live and how their technique works and all that. I learned a lot from their race tactics too.”

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» Words by: Karien Jonckheere

It’s exactly these kinds of experiences that the national coaches wanted to give their young swimmers in Barcelona – so that rubbing shoulders with four-time Olympic gold medallists and world record holders like Vollmer becomes a normal occurrence before they reach the biggest stage of all at the Olympic Games in 2016.

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: SWIMMING

“Chad [le Clos], Cameron [van der Burgh] and Giulio [Zorzi] and the rest of the team were so supportive too, showing me where to go and what to do. Chad helped me with a lot, saying I must just pretend it’s a normal nationals gala. You’ve done all the work so just go and enjoy it. So I think next time will be much easier competing.”

Ross is the first to admit there’s plenty of work ahead of her if she wants to start challenging her idols, however. “I have a lot of work to do to get to that standard.

But I think if I can be the next Chad, then I can do anything. It’s hard comparing their times to mine. I mean I’m so far off. But that just makes me want to go faster and train harder. Also when I compare their strokes to mine, I can improve a lot on that and race tactics and everything. I think they’re really good role models to work on my own strokes. “ With the talent and determination the national 200 m individual medley champion has already shown in shattering numerous records and reaching both finals of the 200 m and 400 m individual medley at the recent World Junior Championships in Dubai, there’s little doubt there’s plenty more to come from Ross, whose mother also swam at provincial level. The TUKS swimmer has been selected as one of six young promising female swimmers to form part of the Marie Claire ‘Get the Girls to Gold’ campaign – supported by Princess Charlene of Monaco and Olympic gold medallist Ryk Neethling.

“When I got off the plane from Barcelona, my dad asked how it was and I said: ‘I want to go swim now. I want to go and train hard now.’

It was such a motivator for me – I know the other girls are faster than me and I want to be faster than them.

For me, I like challenges.

Now I have to get better and work harder.”

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NATHANIA VAN NIEKERK (curro aurora school) STROKE OF GENIUS

STROKE OF You would never guess you’re talking to a 14-year-old

NATHANIA VAN NIEKERK

Perhaps only the braces on her teeth give her away.

But such is the focus and maturity of Nathania van Niekerk, you can’t help feeling reassured that the future of women’s swimming in South Africa is in capable hands.

GENIUS » Words: Karien Jonckheere; Photos: Provided

A mark of this impressive level of maturity is the fact that until the beginning of the year, this talented teenager was training all alone in her backyard in Limpopo. And still she managed a gold and two silver medals at last year’s African Championships in Nairobi at the age of just 13.

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: SWIMMING

A move to Johannesburg with her mom followed at the beginning of this year, leaving behind her dad and brother, specifically so she could join coach Peter Williams’ Waterborn squad. And this year Van Niekerk was announced as one of six promising young swimmers forming part of the ‘Get the Girls to Gold’ campaign, an initiative supported by Princess Charlene of Monaco, Olympic champion Ryk Neethling and Marie Claire magazine, aiming to assist the country’s female swimmers to the follow in the footsteps of the likes of Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos.

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NATHANIA VAN NIEKERK (curro aurora school) STROKE OF GENIUS

“When I used to train on my own I didn’t have the intensity I have now because I wasn’t training with a squad,” explained Van Niekerk.

“So for me, even training in a squad was a big difference because I’ve got other people pushing me. And having a coach for stroke correction and giving you your times is a big difference.”

That big difference was evidenced at the recent World Junior Championships in Dubai, where Van Niekerk reached the final of the 200 m backstroke.

“It was completely mind-blowing. Going into it, you’re already so nervous and you don’t know what to expect and the result I got out of it was completely amazing,” explained the

backstroker.

“I managed to swim best times and I made finals in my main event.

I couldn’t have asked for better motivation to train harder for Commonwealths.”

Next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be the next big target, but the ultimate goal is of course the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, and then Tokyo in 2020. When asked about the criticism levelled at the standard of women’s swimming in South Africa, Van Niekerk remains as level-headed as ever.

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“I think that the girls now have seen that it can actually be done, thanks to Chad and Cameron.

I think that the girls my age, that aren’t out of school yet – we have a lot of potential and I think we’re very strongminded and dedicated to pushing ourselves to reach our goals.”

“We’ve also had a lot of pressure put on us to be the next big thing and it’s a lot to handle,” she

admitted, but was quick to add:

“Sometimes pressure can be used as motivation if you look at it in the right way. But sometimes it’s better if you just don’t think about that.”

“It’s just too much pressure on yourself and you completely lose the plot and you completely freak out, so sometimes I just try not to think about it and just focus on my training and my next competition and take it step by step to 2016.”

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: SWIMMING

SIDE BAR

“I don’t have to look at how big the picture actually is or how much pressure there is. I just focus on the task I have to do next and achieve next and get mentally stronger with every task I do so that when the Olympics is the next task I do, I’m not freaked out to be the next big thing.”

AND WHAT DO THE GIRLS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT EACH OTHER? Marlies on Nathania: “We shared a room in Dubai and it was good – we had some great moments in there. She’s a really fun girl to be around – she makes jokes all the time. She makes you laugh all the time.

She’s a really good person. I think she’s got really great potential.

Being a year-and-a-half younger than me and already being in the finals for the juniors and giving top times – she’s really, really good.”

Nathania on Marlies: “We’ve been on two tours together and shared a room so know each other quite well.

She’s a great competitor and a great person to be around.

She’s also very motivated and dedicated to her training and swimming. It’s nice to be able to talk to someone who is in the same situation with school work and training so hard every day.

It’s nice to know you’re not the only one struggling sometimes.

So it’s nice to have someone like her to tour with and to talk to.”

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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MARSHA COX STICKING IT TO THEM

S T I C K I N G

T TO THEM

MARSHA COX Playing for your country makes you a national player, but being a threat to the opposition makes you an international player. Choose which one you want to be.

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: HOCKEY

That piece of advice from a former player had such an influence on SA hockey’s Marsha Marescia that she went on to not only become captain of the team, but also to contest a record-breaking 300 tests for her country, threatening the opposition every step of the way of course.

And the 30-year-old midfielder is far from done, with the Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya (the qualifying tournament for the World Cup) and next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow foremost on her mind.

Now Marsha Cox, after marrying assistant coach to the Olympic gold medal-winning Dutch women’s hockey team Alex Cox earlier this year, the KZN-born star is constantly challenged by the environment she’s in – playing for Dutch Premier League side SV Kampong where her husband is a coach to the men’s team.

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MARSHA COX STICKING IT TO THEM

“Training and playing in Holland is extremely competitive and playing in a team currently in the top five of the competition I’m constantly challenged at our four club training sessions as well as our weekly competition game,” she explained.

Photo by: Stanislas Brochier

“At the beginning it was quite tough, but I was lucky to have had a good support team of players that made the role easier and the transition of taking on more responsibility, manageable. If I look back at it now, I think it did affect me for my first tournament in 2006 as captain. I was still adapting to managing the focus on the team as well as my own performance,” she admitted.

Cox was relatively young when she took over the captaincy of the South African team. Having made her international debut at the age of 18, against the USA, it was five years later that she was awarded the captaincy, taking over from the hugely inspirational Lindsey Carlisle (now Wright).

But Cox soon found her stride and three Olympic Games later has developed into an enormously respected captain as well as one of the world’s finest midfielders, being named in the International Hockey Federation’s (FiH) all-star teams in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

“Wow, time flies when you’re having fun. It’s been seven years and I’m still learning, still adapting to new challenges. I probably would not have predicted this seven years ago.”

Speaking about what she’s learned along the way and how the South African women’s team has changed since she took over back in 2006, Cox reckons: “To be a leader you need to know how and when to follow. Allowing others freedom to lead can teach you a lot about yourself and about others. A lesson learnt has no value if you do nothing with it, and mostly that to be better and better you have to work hard and need others to challenge you.”

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: HOCKEY

“The team has had a lot more exposure to international hockey in more recent years compared to probably my first four to five years of my career, and the experience contributes to keeping us competitive with the top nations,” she added.

And as for her own piece of advice for aspiring hockey players: “With a goal comes not only hard work but dedication and sacrifices. Know what you want and work hard for it and stay open-minded to every learning opportunity.”

That’s certainly what Cox herself has done over the years, displaying complete dedication to the game she has loved since even before her fiirst proper game at the age of six – played under the watchful eye of her mother, who also competed at top level. “I love that I get to be part of a team and work hard with and for friends who are doing the same for me,” she said.

The Amsterdam-based captain is hoping there’s plenty more to come for those friends in Team SA. “When I look back on my career, there are lots of happy hockey memories, but I know there’s one more in store that will top the rest and I hope and pray it happens next year at the Commonwealth Games.”

My hockey goal is to be a world class player that dominates the game every time!

Marsha’s favourites book?

sport?

movies?

downtime activity?

number?

holiday destination?

anything Words by: Marian Keys The sweetest thing & Madagascar 1 and 2 8 - my jersey number for the national team

sports personality?

Steven Gerrard

colour? green

tournament?

Photo by: Plate Pictures; Words by: Karien Jonckheere

(other than hockey) football

spending time with mum and eating her home-cooked food right here in South Africa...our natural beauty is fabulous and you can have anything you could ever ask for by just getting in your car and driving off...

preferred hockey position? right midfield

FiH World Cup

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MAPASEKA MAKHANYA NOT RUNNING ON EMPTY

NOT RUNNING

ON EMPTY

After a superb breakthrough season on the road, Mapaseka Makhanya will return to her favourite surface next year as she attempts to qualify for two events at the Commonwealth Games.

A former middle-distance specialist, Makhanya stepped up in distance this season with remarkable ease, securing a comfortable victory in her debut marathon, clocking 2:37:06 at altitude, and clinching the overall title in the Spar Grand Prix 10 km series.

And while she still has ambitions to improve further on the harder surface, the versatile 28-year-old distance runner hopes to shine on the track in 2014.

If she struggles to reach her goals over shorter distances, however, she’ll return to the road.

Âť Words by: Wesley Botton; Photos by: Reg Caldecott and Lungi Bikwani

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“I hope I’ll qualify for the Commonwealth Games, but if I don’t I’m going to go back to the road to compete in the Spar women’s races.”

“I won’t be running a marathon next year.

The only road races I will do will be 10 km events and my first official half-marathon, being the Two Oceans Marathon.”

Makhanya is no overnight sensation. She’s worked hard to develop her talents for more than a decade, and is finally reaping the rewards.

She first represented South Africa at the 2001 World Youth Championships, where she competed in the 1 500 m event at the age of 16, and three years later she turned out at the World Junior Championships, this time competing in the 3 000 m steeplechase.Having twice represented the country at the World Cross Country

mapaseka

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: Athletics

“The 1 500 m and 5 000 m are my main events for next year,” she said.

Championships, she hopes to cash in on that versatility as she switches back and forth between distances.

Makhanya is aiming to compete in the 1 500 m and 5 000 m events at the Commonwealth showpiece in Glasgow next year, provided there is enough of a gap between heats and finals.

She will not, however, rely on fast international races to achieve the qualifying standards, opting instead to give it a go on home soil.

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MAPASEKA MAKHANYA NOT RUNNING ON EMPTY

“If I get a chance to do both and the programme is right, I will go for it, but I’m not going to Europe to try and qualify there, I want to do it here.”

Despite coasting to victory against a quality field at the Gauteng Marathon in September, Makhanya will not compete over 42 km again until the season after next.

When she does, she wants to make an impact on the global road running scene by competing in a fast, flat race where she can set a quick time.

“In 2015 I’ll be running my next marathon, hopefully the Berlin Marathon.”

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Makhanya was awarded two accolades in November when she was named Sportswoman of the Year at the SA Sports Awards and Athlete of the Year at the GSport for Girls Awards.

She was also the only woman nominated for the Sports Star of the Year at the SA Sports Awards.

She hopes her performances will motivate young athletes to pursue their own goals while sustaining a balanced life.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

makhany

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: Athletics

“Young athletes out there, whether they’re doing athletics, soccer, or any sport, should follow their dreams.”

“They must also stay in school, it’s the basis of everything, and they should always stay humble.”

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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CHAD LE CLOS STROKES TO VICTORY

» Words by: Ockert de Villiers; Photos by: Saspa

STROKES T Swimming sensation Chad le Clos believes he constantly needs to shift his barriers and challenge the best swimmers in their specialist events.

Add a world long-course record to the equation and the ambitious South African is well on his way to etching out a place in history similar to that of his idol, US swimmer Michael Phelps. “With life in general, people have goals to achieve, and I want to keep on challenging myself. I just want to know the day I retire that I did all I could,” Le Clos said. “I have to break a long-

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INTERNATIONAL SPORT EXCELLENCE: SWIMMING

CHAD LE CLOS

TO VICTORY course record. There is no doubt about that if I want to secure my place as one of the best swimmers in the world.” After Le Clos famously deposed Phelps as the Olympic 200 m butterfly champion at last year’s London Games, he had more swimming greats in his sights. This year he twice beat South African swimming legend Roland Schoeman in the 50 m butterfly in the Fina World Cup series.

“At the world cup, I wanted to race Roland in the 50 m butterfly, it is his main race. I want to race Vladimir Morozov [Russian world short-course champion] in the 100 m free, even if he beats me. I’d rather lose to the best than win against nobody,” he said.

“That’s been my philosophy since I’ve been a kid. If that means that I get three silver medals at the next Olympics and no gold, then so be it. I’ll never stop being the best that I can.” Le Clos felt his crowning achievement in the pool was beating world champion Daiya Seto of Japan in the 400 m individual medley on his own turf. This attitude says a lot of Le Clos’s appetite for glory. He broke the 200 m butterfly world short-course record on two occasions this year. Le Clos was in sizzling form on the first day of the Japan leg of the World Cup series and smashed his own South African

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CHAD LE CLOS STROKES TO VICTORY

400 m individual medley record with a time of three minutes, 59.23 seconds (3:59.23), crushing his previous national and continental mark of 4:02.18 set in Berlin in 2009.

“The world record wasn’t the biggest thing that happened to me. The 400 IM was by far the biggest race for me by far,” Le Clos said. “I believed I could do it, but I had to prove it to myself first, and now I have no doubt that I can win the Commonwealth titles in the medleys.”

“Before that, I was a bit doubtful. Now I know with the training I am going to do and with the confidence I have now, the guys can’t beat me.” At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Le Clos won the 200 m butterfly and the 400 m individual medley, and collected silver in the 4x100 m medley and two bronze medals in the 4x100 m freestyle and 4x200 m freestyle. Le Clos said he hoped to return home from next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with even more silverware in individual events than he did in India in 2010.

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INTERNATIONAL SPORT EXCELLENCE: SWIMMING

CHAD LE CLOS

“I’m going to try for the three butterflies, the 100 m and 200 m butterfly, definitely both medleys, so five maybe six (events) with the freestyle,” he said. “I think I might be swimming the 200 m free, but I want to swim as many as possible. At the world cups, I proved to myself I can swim the medleys, I beat Seto in the 400 m IM in his home pool.”

This year may not have reached the same levels of euphoria of the Olympic Games, but the 21-year-old nevertheless lived up to the promise of last year by winning both the 100 m and 200 m butterfly golds at the Fina World Championships in Barcelona. While rest is a relatively alien concept to the diligent swimmer, he said he would take a 10-day break from the pool over December. Before he can put his feet up, though, he will have to deal with coach Graham Hill’s parting gift.

“We finish on December 23. Before, we do a ‘Graham Hill’s Christmas present’, it is a 100 of 100s [100 m lengths]. It takes about three hours, which is 10 kilometres, and every year before the Olympics we do 200 of 100s,” he said.

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Andrew Birkett A ROW OF MARATHON PROPORTIONS

A ROW OF MARATHON PROPORTIONS This became abundantly clear at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Copenhagen when the South African team won no less than four medals in the elite categories.

Hank McGregor, a stalwart in South African canoeing for over a decade, captured the prestigious open K1 title to become world champion for the third time.

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The under-23 marathon turned out to be a battle of note between Andrew Birkett, three-time winner of the world’s largest canoe race, the Dusi Canoe Marathon, and Brandon van der Walt. Birkett ended up taking the spoils when he beat Van der Walt by a mere second.

Kirsten Flanagan, the under-18 world surfski champion, won a silver medal for South Africa in the K1 Women’s Junior race.

According to Birkett, his decision to participate in the

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

under-23 K1 Marathon was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

“My primary focus was on getting a good result with Cam Schoeman in the Senior K2-Marathon, but because the under-23 marathon took place two days prior to this one, I decided to give it a go,” he said.

» Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Anthony Grote, Gameplan Media

South Africa has some of the best canoeists in the world.

Athelete Profile Feature: Canoeing

It was the first time that Birkett competed at the championship.

“I didn’t expect to win; I just wanted to be competitive.

Shortly after the start I lying approximately 20th.

It took me a while to get into it and I’m glad I got into it, and I’m loving it!”

The race more or less settled down, with at first 12 riders in the front group,” Birkett took us through the race. “Although we didn’t row at such a fast pace, the portages where you have to get out and run with your canoes, were really hectic.

Everybody was jostling for position in the slippery muddy conditions. One simply couldn’t afford to fall down as it would have been difficult to catch up again.”

Birkett’s next big goal is to try and win the Dusi Canoe Marathon for a fourth time.

Moments after outsprinting Van der Walt to win, Birkett embraced his South African teammate. “It was one of the most exciting races I ever competed in,” Birkett was elated.

“I’m very happy to show people that I’m not just a Dusi athlete,” he told SAinfo in an earlier interview.

“I can also hold my own in a pure paddling race. And I’m pretty chuffed to be involved with marathon paddling and to have so much fun doing it.

Birkett and Schoeman finished 5th in the Senior K2 Race.

He won the K2 race for the first time in 2010 with Jason Graham, one of his former teachers at Maritzburg College.

In 2011 Birkett won the K1 race after being in a titanic battle with Ant Stott. In the end he just managed to outsprint Stott, a two-time winner.

The 23-second time gap between Birkett and Stott was noted as the closest Dusi finish in 60 years.

Birkett and Graham joined up again in 2012 to win the K2 race.

This year, Birkett finished fourth overall.

“I lost the race on day two due to the fact that I had to change my canoe’s rudder on three occasions and the fact that I took a ‘swim’,” he gave a wry smile.

Next year Birkett will be partnering with Eric Zondi in the K2 race. Birkett and Zondi cruised to a convincing victory in the Unlimited Non-stop Dusi Canoe Marathon, smashing the overall K2 race record by no less than 17 minutes.

The three-day Dusi Canoe Marathon will take place from 13 -15 February 2014.

The Dusi is arguably the world’s most prestigious canoe (or rather, kayak) race, held between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, South Africa.

It is run along the Msunduzi River, which is more commonly referred to as the Dusi (or Duzi) river over a total distance of 120 km. The 2013 race attracted a total of approximately 10 000 people – 1 700 paddlers and approximately 8 000 seconders, helpers and supporters over the three-day period. The 2014 race is expected to attract twice the amount of people.

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Louis Meintjes GEARED FOR SUCCESS

Louis Meintjes proved by winning a silver medal at the under-23 road race of the UCI World Championship in Florence, Italy, that history has a way of repeating itself.

GEARED FOR

SUCCESS:

Louis Meintjes It is the second time in 120 years that L. Meintjes has done South Africa proud at a cycling world championship. The first was in 1893 when Lawrence Meintjes travelled to Chicago where he took the 100 km world title in August and set a record time for the 50 miles (81.5 km).

In doing so Louis Meintjes became South Africa’s first world champion in any sport.  Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: MTN-Qhubeka

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: ROAD CYCLING

It cannot officially be confirmed but Lappe Laubscher, a former cycling journalist at Rapport and sport historian, reckons that the two Meintjes might just be related.

Winning that silver medal was really special for Meintjes. “It’s just a crazy emotion. You don’t know if you should cry or jump up and down.

But I am extremely happy with my silver medal,” Meintjes said afterwards.

He has just cause to be exited. It’s only the third time since 1927 that any South African male rider has managed to win a medal at the UCI Elite Road Championship. In 2001 in Lisbon James Perry won a bronze medal in the under-23 time trial.

2013 has actually been a sort of ‘coming of age’ year for South African road cycling because Daryl Impey and his Orica/GreenEdge teammates won a silver medal in the team time trial at the same World Championship.

Impey also made history during the Tour de France by becoming the first rider from Africa to wear the coveted yellow jersey. The only other time a South African cyclist won a medal at the UCI championship was in 2006 when Cherise Stander took silver in the junior race.

How did the race play out?

“My two South African team mates controlled the first part of the race which afforded me the luxury to save my energy for the last two laps,” Meintjes said. “I followed a move on the second last lap but we never got much distance from the bunch, although I could feel I was one of the stronger riders on the day,” he continued. “I then attacked on the last lap and stayed away from the bunch. I just couldn’t manage to catch one rider from an earlier breakaway. But I could feel I was going to stay away or maybe even catch the leader and maybe even sprint for gold.”

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Louis Meintjes GEARED FOR SUCCESS

On cyclingnews.com it was reported that Matej Mohoric came painfully close to being caught by Meintjes. Unfortunately the summit of the 600 m ascent came too soon for Meintjes to close the gap. Mohoric’s managed with his ultra-fast handling skills on the descent to widen the gap again.

With 400 m of the 172.3 km course left to race, the penny dropped with Mohoric that barring divine intervention with a capital “D”, the victory was in the bag, and he slowed slightly to allow himself to savour the moment. After raising his arm skywards one last time, the Slovenian crossed the line with three seconds on Meintjes, whilst Norway’s Sonder Enger led in the tiny front bunch of 17 chasers 13 s later for bronze.

Barry Austin, former Cycling South Africa team manager, becomes quite excited when asked about Meintjes’s cycling abilities. “There is no doubt that Louis is currently one of South Africa’s brightest young cycling prospects”, Austin enthuses. “What makes me excited is his attitude towards cycling. He really wants to become one of the world’s best and he knows that to achieve this, he will have to make big sacrifices. Louis is prepared to do just that.”

“The first time he was based in Belgium he definitely did not have an easy time as far as their living conditions were concerned,” Austin continues. “Many youngsters would have decided there and then that trying to make it in international cycling was not for them and would simply have quit. But not Louis. He could not wait to go back to Europe, even knowing that it will be hard on him emotionally as well as physically. This is the stuff of which true champions are made.”

As to what makes Meintjes a good cyclist, Austin said that the youngster has the ability to read races and to know exactly when to do what during a race.

Meintjes started off as a mountain biker. It was only when he turned 15 that he took up road cycling. According to Meintjes his main goal as a cyclist is to keep improving every year.

“The moment I realise that I am beginning to stagnate as a cyclist, I will quit. It will simply not make sense for me to go through the motions, knowing that I am actually wasting my time.

Cycling is not just a few hours a day on a bicycle. It’s a lifestyle. You have to eat right, do your training 100% and if are not training you have to rest as well as you can so that you can go train 100% again the next day. I spend about 20 hours a week on the bike,” Meintjes tells us.

“Actually I really like riding my bike, so I go ride my bike even if I just want to relax. I also spend a lot of time reading and researching my next races on the Internet.”

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: ROAD CYCLING

SIDE BAR

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS For 2013 2nd at UCI World Championship in Florence in under-23 road race 1st in National Championship, Road Race, under-23, South Africa (RSA) 1st in National Championship, ITT, under-23, South Africa (RSA) 1st in Stage 5 Tour de Korea, Chungju (KOR) 4th in Stage 3 Tour de Korea, Yeongju (KOR) 4th in General Classification Tour de Taiwan (TPE) 5th in Stage 8 Tour de Korea Henan , South Korea 6th in Stage 4 Tour de Taiwan, Taichung (TPE) 9th General Classification Tour de Korea, South Korea 10th General Classification La Tropicale Amissa Bongo (GAB)

BACK-PEDAL to 1891 ...

Louis Meintjes was an outstanding cyclist in the old Republic of Transvaal in 1891, and during the following two years he rightly qualified for the honour of being the undisputed champion of what would later become South Africa.

Most of the cycling clubs in Southern Africa organised meetings during 1893 to defray the expenses of sending Meintjes to Britain or America, where he would compete against the best riders in the world.

The young rider, unheralded and unsung, rode brilliantly in 1893 in Chicago (USA), establishing world records for distances ranging from 3 - 50 miles. In doing so he became not only Southern Africa’s first cycling world champion, but also Southern Africa’s first world champion in any kind of sport.

After Meintjes returned home, he again dominated the scene in 1894, but this was to be his last competitive season. He had his own business and could not find the time to ride and keep his business going as well.

Consequently, Southern Africa lost the services of a great rider in his prime.

Lappe Laubscher has some interesting trivia about Louis Meintjes who rode in the colours of his sponsor, Sir Abe Bailey.

Bailey owned a number of race horses and the jockeys who rode his horses wore a green shirt with a golden collar. Meintjes’s cycling jersey was also green with a golden collar. Laubscher speculates that Meintjes had set the trend for what was later to become the famous green and gold, the colours that are still worn by athletes who represent South Africa on the rugby field as well as at the Olympic Games.

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AFFiES RUGBY THE ‘WIT MAsjiEn’

The 2013 Bulle won all of their 14 games.

When the first rugby team of the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool is on the field, you can bet your last five bucks on the fact that this chant will be heard. The words of the famous chant were realised this season, because whenever Affies were playing, all that could be seen was the ‘Wit Masjien’ or ‘Wit Bulle’, as they’re also known.

For the first time since 1920, the ‘Wit Bulle’ remained unbeaten throughout the entire season. The only other ‘Wit Bulle’ teams that came close to staying unbeaten throughout a season were the 1996 team that won 24 games and drew one, and the 2001 team that won 22 games and drew one.

The 2013 Bulle won all of their 14 games.

But it has certainly not always been plain sailing for the team. There were times when the head coach, Sakkie van der Walt, had to resort to speaking ‘strange languages’ during the halftime break to vent his frustration about what was happening on the field.

ALL THAT YOU SEE IS THE

‘WIT

MAsjiEn’ » Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: RUGBY

Affies’ closest call was when they played against HoÍrskool Waterkloof. With only two minutes remaining, Affies were trailing 12-18.

What followed will certainly be remembered as the most exhilarating 90 seconds of play in the history of Affies rugby.

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AFFiES RUGBY THE ‘WIT MAsjiEn’

The ‘Wit Bulle’ lauched one attack after another, without losing control of the ball for a total of 15 phases, before Eduan Keyter eventually managed to score the winning try in the dying seconds of the game.

Captain Ivan van Zyl converted to give Affies a one-point victory of 19-18

When asked about the team’s success, Van der Walt didn’t hesitate to say that it was due to their never-saydie attitude.

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“In quite a few of the games the team was down a few points

Then, suddenly, everything just seemed to click into place and they would score three to four tries in ten minutes to deliver a convincing result.”

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: RUGBY

Van der Walt has become truly inseparable from the ‘Wit Bulle’. This season was the 16th coaching season.

But every single one of the teams he has coached remains special to him.

“I will admit that I am mentally drained by the end of each season, but come the next season, I am ready for the “The challenge is to get them to challenge again,” Van der Walt says. gel as a team.”

“What is interesting about Van der Walt is full coaching the ‘Wit Bulle’, is of praise for the role played by his that each season has its own two assistant coaches, unique challenges. You work Perry Joynt and Heinrich van Jaarsveldt, with new players with different in the success of the team. personalities every time.”

RG Snyman (lock), Francois Steyn (hooker) and Jurie Linde (outside centre) were selected for the SA Schools team. Steyn captained the Craven Week Blue Bulls Team, which included a total of nine players from Affies.

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BLUE BULLS NURTURED TO EXCELLENCE

» Words by: Ockert de Villiers; Photos by: Billy Brown

Respected Blue Bulls Under-19 coach Paul Anthony has warned against exposing young prodigies to the rigors of senior rugby too early.

It has become almost fashionable for coaches to blood young players before they have reached adolescence.

There are examples of talented players withstanding the pressures of playing senior rugby while they also demonstrate a maturity that belie their age.

However, Anthony, who has moulded some of the country’s greatest young talent as Blue Bulls Under-19 coach and mentor to Springbok great John Smit at Pretoria Boys’ High, cautioned against a one-sizefits-all approach.

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The rugby mentor bade Loftus Versfeld and Pretoria adieu on a high note as he claimed the Absa Under-19 Championship title after three consecutive years of disappointments in the finals.

To compensate for years of nearmisses, Anthony’s charges ended the season with their unbeaten record intact and the trophy in the bag.

A new adventure awaits Anthony as he has taken up a forwards coaching position at the Sharks where he will again form a partnership with Smit as Chief Executive of the coastal franchise.

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: RUGBY

Anthony believes players should receive a decent grounding at the junior levels before they are thrust into senior rugby.

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BLUE BULLS NURTURED TO EXCELLENCE

“Sometimes with certain players we push them too quickly, I believe that a player should spend at least four to five months in the junior Under-19 squad, learning the hard yards,” he explains. “Once they’ve played one or two games at that level, you start looking at him no matter who he is.”

He says players that developed early had the tendency to stand out among the late bloomers, while the defensive systems at schoolboy level also allowed them to hog the limelight.

It is for that reason that Anthony Anthony says while some of the believes players needed to be youngsters Springbok coach nurtured at junior level to develop Heyneke Meyer has introduced their skills and to familiarise to the national setup may seem them with the structures at the to have been fast tracked, there respective unions. were examples of players in the squad that had cut their teeth at Under-19 level.

He says several of the current crop of players who seem to make a stellar rise through the ranks and were involved in the final of the age-group competition.

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TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: RUGBY

“Look at Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Nizaam Carr, Siya Kolisi, Scarra Ntubeni in that team (Western Province Under-19s) that played against us in 2010,” he says. “They all played in the final of an Under-19 competition; in other words they’ve played a full season at that level where they’ve learnt the structures at either Western Province or the Bulls.”

“Within two or three years they are selected as Springboks. My point “If you feel towards the is, if you take these youngsters and end of the season that the give them that solid grounding player is really exceptional and maybe towards the end of the you can play him, punch season, start looking at them, they him, in Currie Cup maybe off will make it.” the bench. I really think we are Anthony says there are examples of having unrealistic expectations players that are thrust into the limelight of these boys. It’s overwhelming too early before they could build the and I don’t think it’s fair.” foundation that would ensure they are battle-hardened once they advance to a higher level.

“If a guy goes up into the seniors he doesn’t get that heavy grounding of three sessions a day like they have at Under-19s,” he

argues.

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WESTERN PROVINCE HONING TALENT HEADING FOR THE BIG LEAGUE

Sheer dedication rather than natural talent, was the key ingredient to the DHL Western Province Under-21 team’s age-group dominance, according to coach John Dobson.

» Words by: Ockert de Villiers

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TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: RUGBY

“From the Bulls 22 they had about 14 or 15 SA Under-20s and we’ve shown with guys like Joshua Katzen, Michael Willemse, Sikumbuzo Notshe and Jean Kleyn who have no rugby pedigree, what can be done.” — John Dobson.

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WESTERN PROVINCE HONING TALENT HEADING FOR THE BIG LEAGUE

D

obson’s charges illustrated this much when they dismantled a star-studded Blue Bulls team 32-30 in last month’s Absa Under-21 Provincial Championship final.

His team had little or no superstars to speak of compared to a Bulls team brimming with some of the country’s greatest emerging talent.

The Bulls boasted nine players with Currie Cup experience, while their run-on side also included Springbok centre Jan Serfontein and seven players from the 2012 Junior World Championship winning SA Under-20 team.

“This group is a really disciplined, wellbehaved, responsive and decent bunch of young men,” says Dobson.

“They didn’t find the Bulls’ star-studded team daunting at all,” Dobson elaborates.

“It didn’t daunt them (the Bulls’ star-studded team), we lost guys through injury in that last league game against the Sharks, so they got five guys back from their Currie Cup team, and we should have been in a lot of trouble.”

In his debut year at the helm of the Province Under-21 team, Dobson coached the side to the 2010 title. Dobson said while his maiden title came with great ease due to the talent he had at his disposal, the second title came courtesy of a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

“It has been a frustrating two years in-between but 2010 was a talented group with guys like Johann Sadie, JJ Engelbrecht and Louis Schreuder, all of whom have gone on to become Springboks,” he recalls.

“This (the 2013 team) has probably been a better team because they might not necessarily be quite as talented as that earlier group, but they have a terrific work ethic.”

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TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: RUGBY

The Western Province mentor believes his troops’ heroics would hold the players in good stead as they ponder their rugby careers.

He says they would also have taken a valuable lesson from the season in which they lost only a single match in the round-robin phase.

“It’s got to do with the vibe, the belief you instill in the guys and even though these guys don’t have the big CVs they will undoubtedly go on to play for Western Province and the Stormers.”

Being an age-group coach comes with its frustrations as the team dynamic could easily be disrupted by call-ups into the Currie Cup teams, while the senior teams increasingly make use of youngsters.

“If our senior team did not win the semi-final against the Lions at Ellis Park we would have had nine players back for our final (Under-21 competition) against the Bulls,” Dobson tells

Game On.

“Guys like Eben Etzebeth, Steven Kitshoff, Francois Malherbe, Siya Kolisi, Nizaam Carr, Damian de Allende, so we had to go and play the Bulls and we lost.”

“It is frustrating but this year the depth was much better and the seniors were really mindful to help us.”

While other coaches would be tempted to fast-track many of these players into the senior ranks, Dobson says he prefers a more cautious approach when promoting players to first-class rugby.

Dobson reluctantly picks out players that he believes have the mettle to make the step-up to Super Rugby and beyond with the likes of prop Ollie Kebble, lock Ruan Botha and scrumhalf Godlen Masimla destined for greater honours.

“The progression will be to play Vodacom Cup then Currie Cup next year then they are ready for Super Rugby in the year they turn 23,” he explains.

There are, however, exceptions to the rule as some players demonstrate maturity beyond their years to make the grade in senior rugby.

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Tiaan Bezuidenhout (HOëRskool RUSTENBURG) Born to lead

He captained Hoërskool Rustenburg as well as the Leopards’ Craven Week Team (under-18)

» Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Marina Spencer and Wynand Sauerman

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ATHELETE PROFiLE FEATURE: RUGBY

Tiaan Bezuidenhout, from the Hoërskool Rustenburg, is equally proficient at playing number eight for his school and captaining his school’s first rugby team. He accomplished both feats with great success this past season. What’s more, he captained the Leopards’ Craven Week Team (u.18) as well.

“

Bertie Grobler, who has been coaching Hoërskool Rustenburg’s first rugby team for the past seven years, responded enthusiastically when he was asked about Bezuidenhout’s abilities as captain and as eighth man.

“It is not easy to coach a player to become a good number eight in rugby. To

Be zu

excel in the number eight position, a player has to be born with a natural ability to play in that position. Then he just

ide

knows how to do the right thing at the right moment. As far as I am concerned, Tiaan is the real deal as number eight,” said Grobler.

nh

ou

t is

Grobler has coached various teams in Rustenburg during the past 14 years. “In all my years as a coach, there have not been many players who were as dedicated as Tiaan.

He has an unbelievable work ethic, on as well as off the field. “Not once did he complain or shy away from what was expected from him during a practice. In fact the tougher things got, the more he seemed to enjoy himself. In doing so he inspired his teammates to also train harder.

av er

Tiaan went through a tough time at the beginning of the season, because he also represented the school in athletics. This meant that he first had to complete the training required of him on the track, before joining his teammates on the rugby field. “You had to admire him for the way he gave 110% in both practice sessions.

“

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tile

sp

or tsm

Bezuidenhout is a versatile sportsman. Apart from playing rugby, he represented his province at the South Africa Underwater Hockey Tournament, swam for the school’s first team and ran the 400m for the athletics team as well.

Grobler does not hesitate to describe Bezuidenhout as an inspiring captain.

“He captained every rugby team he played for since he was u.14.

“Last year, while still in Grade 11, he

an

captained the school’s first team for one game. This is proof of his leadership qualities, because it does not often happen that a younger player captains a school’s first team. “During the past season our team was praised on various occasions for the disciplined way in which they played. That was mainly due to Tiaan’s leadership.

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Tiaan Bezuidenhout (HOëRskool RUSTENBURG) Born to lead

When he was asked whether he has any role models, Bezuidenhout immediately mentioned his second cousin, Marcel Coetzee, who plays for the Sharks and the Springboks.

Coetzee made his Super Rugby debute for the Sharks against the Brumbies on Saturday 7 May 2011. His offloading skills have been likened to those of Sonny Bill Williams.

“

He is also an astute tactician on the field and, when he has the ball in hand, things tend to happen.” Bezuidenhout said he loves the challenge that comes with captaincy. “For me it is not just about leading by example on the field.

“There is no textbook that teaches you how to be the perfect captain. You learn by trial and error and I still have a lot to learn. In my opinion, the true challenge of being a captain is to really get to know your teammates and to understand what makes them tick. Only then can you inspire them to perform at their best.”

With Bezuidenhout leading from the front, Hoërskool Rustenburg’s first team went through to play against Hoërskool Kempton Park in the quarterfinals of the ‘Beeld Trofee’ for macro schools. Unfortunately they lost.

Leopards u.18 team won two out of three games at the Craven Week and finished 9th out of 20 schools.

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The Springbok coach, Heyneke Meyer, included him in the national squad to face England in a test series and Coetzee made his Springbok test debut on 9 June 2012.

“The most important lesson I have learned from Marcel, is not to let your success go to your head. Any player is just as good as the last game he played.”

Bezuidenhout plans to continue his studies at the Northwest University next year and, naturally, he also has big dreams as a rugby player.

Perhaps he will, a few years from now, play for the Boks together with his relative and role.

Ts & Cs apply.

TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: SOCCER

They came, they played, they conquered.

This slight adaption of the words Caesar used during his campaign in Britain many many years ago is the best way to describe how the Tuks Amateur Soccer Team has been dominating Varsity Soccer over the last 10 months.

Last year in December in Cape Town, the team were crowned the South African University champions and in September they won the inaugural Varsity Cup Tournament, beating Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 4-1 in the final.

vidi, conquered’.Evangelos Vellos, the coach who led the team to

victory in the two tournaments, describes this current selection of players as the university’s ‘golden generation’. “The group of players I coach has been together for quite a while. The captain, Kabelo (Ramongane) and I, go back four years.

“I think the team’s success is mainly due to a fantastic team spirit, good work ethic and a lot of trust between players and the coaching team”.

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» Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Jaco van der Walt

were ‘Veni,

Just as a matter of interest Caesar’s exact words vici’, meaning, ‘I came, I saw, I

TUKS SPORTS THE GOLDEN GENERATION IS HERE

The Tuks Team was embarrassed by the 4-1 loss to TUT on the opening day of the Tshwane Derby, but afterwards, there was no stopping the team. Tuks won all but one of their remaining eight games scoring 20 goals in total while conceding only two more goals in the tournament.

Ramongane is quoted on the varsitysportsa.com website as saying

“That it is not how you start but how you finish”.

He goes on to explain: “We

knew that we were going to win it from the beginning irrespective of our bad start. Let me tell you our secret.

We peaked at the right time.

We started slowly but got stronger to demolish every team that stood in our way of making history,” he added.

Vellos described their 1-0 away victory against the North-West University as the turning point.

“I

purposely gave some of our top players a breather and still the team won to secure a home semifinal. That is when I knew we were going to win the tournament.”

Ramongane, a BIS multi-media student who is completing his final year of study, said leading Tuks to glory was his biggest highlight.

“I’m proud of the team that I led into the history books. It’s a feeling that I will never forget and hopefully I will play in the professional football league in the near future,” he said.

As far as Vellos is concerned it is a done deal that Ramongane will play professional soccer from next year.

“Kabelo was tremendous as captain and player. He never gives up on the field and seemingly can run for hours on end without ever getting tired.”

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TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: SOCCER

“We have lost about six key “More importantly he has got a natural players in the squad. However we feel for the game which enables him recruited some talented matric to pre-empt what is going to happen. players for next year. It’s going He has also got exceptional passing to be an interesting period skills and is terror in defence. That’s why as we are sort of in a I played him every minute of every game rebuilding phase but I in the Varsity Cup Tournament as well as the coach teams to win.

National Students Tournament in December,” Vellos I can promise we continues. “Any professional team would be lucky to won’t give up with a fight.” sign up a player of his calibre.”

Vellos admits that it will be difficult to repeat the current team’s success.

At 29 Vellos is one of the youngest soccer coaches.

“Actually I have already been coaching for ten years. From when I could remember I was absolutely passionate about soccer,” Vellos tells us. “My

grandmother said that, when I was seven, I was already putting my own soccer teams together.

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

ATHELETE PROFiLE FEATURE: GOLF

One of South Africa’s young golf sensations will try and qualify for the Ladies’ European Tour next year.

The 21-year-old Nobuhle Dlamini, who was born in Swaziland, was first introduced to the game at the age of 12 by her father Johannes, who himself is a teaching pro at the Royal Swazi Sun golf course.

Dlamini, who is currently ranked number one in women’s amature golf in the country, came to South Africa to complete her high school Career at Summit College in Johannesburg, but has always known that she wanted to pursue a career in golf.

Upon graduating from Grade 12, Dlamini received a bursary from the University of Pretoria to study Sport Science. She started playing for the varsity team and had the opportunity to take her golf to the next level. Dlamini realised she has what it takes to play on the professional circuit after winning the SA Amateur Open Championship.

And she didn’t stop there: Dlamini brought back yet another trophy when she won the University of St Andrews’ 600th Anniversary Invitational in Scotland earlier this year.

The Tuks hpc women’s team also won the Quadrangle Tournament against the University of St Andrews, the Scottish Golf Union and the Scandinavian School of Golf.

Cold and windy conditions didn’t make for an easy day on the course but despite all the challenges Dlamini still fired a final round 69.

“It really wasn’t easy and I didn’t expect to go so low, but I just concentrated to keep myself in play and control the ball,” she tells us.

Dlamini says her strong suit in her game is pitching and getting the ball close to the pin. She is also one of the longer women’s hitters in South Africa and that distance from the tee also gives her the edge over the rest of her competitors.

Her successes were justly rewarded with a full sponsorship from Titleist.Most golfers would be more than happy handing in a scorecard and breaking 80 or 90, but not this young lady. In her best round to date she carded a 61 at the Copperleaf Golf Course outside of Pretoria.

Her favourite women’s golfer currently is the Taiwanese, Yani Tseng, but she reckons Tiger Woods will always be her hero.

“Tiger is a fighter and I also see myself as a little fighter. With me it’s not over till it’s over.”

Dlamini would like to secure a win on her first year on the European tour, but ultimately wants to play on the LPGA and become world number one.

» Words by: Gerhard Pretorius; Photo by: Reg Caldecott

SWINGING HER WAY TO

NOBUHLE DLAMINI Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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WERNER VAN NIEKERK Success IS PAR FOR THE COURSE

SUCCESS IS PAR FOR THE COURSE WERNER VAN NIEKERK It all started when a toddler was given a set of plastic golf clubs by his dad.

Twenty-three years later, Werner van Niekerk doesn’t look back.

“I could barely walk when my dad bought me my first set of clubs,” Van Niekerk reminisces, “And I owe my success to him – he was the one who saw my potential and signed me up for membership at Kempton Park Golf Club when I was only eight!”

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Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: GOLF

By the age of nine, Van Niekerk was already entering junior foundation competition. A priceless memory was playing alongside South African golf hero Ernie Els when the young golfer played the Fancourt Foundation as a junior.

After playing golf throughout high school and matriculating, Van Niekerk decided to put golf on the back burner and focus on a career.

His goal was to obtain his degree in Construction Management at the University of Pretoria. During this time he determined not to play any amateur tournaments. Three years passed and with only a few subjects to go, Van Niekerk believed he was ready for the big leagues. He was right!

After not even being back on the circuit for a year, he’s already won the University of St Andrews 600th Anniversary Invitational Tournament in Scotland.

Not only did Van Niekerk bring back the silverware earlier this year, but the Tuks men’s team also won

the tournament against St Andrews University, the Scandinavian School of Golf and the Scottish Golf Union.

In trying windy and cold conditions he thought he had thrown away the win with a couple of drop shots on the back nine on the last day. Van Niekerk, however, kept his composure and with a par at the 18th he clinched victory.

“I learnt a lot about myself in Scotland because I have thrown big wins away in the past right at the end, but winning in such difficult conditions showed me that I can play good golf under pressure and I know I have what it takes to turn pro.”

Van Niekerk knows all about going low with a 63 nine under par all-time best score at his first home club Kempton Park. He sees the green grass on the course as his office and loves the social nature of golf and how much fun the game brings to one’s day.

That is why Lee Westwood is his favorite golfer of all time: “Because when you see him he is always laughing and enjoying the game,” Van Niekerk grins.

His aspirations? To turn pro and tackle the Sunshine Tour in 2014. But his immediate point of focus is the prequalification for the SA Open on 21 November. All the best, Werner!

» Words by: Gerhard Pretorius; Photos by: Dale Boyce and Barry Havenga/Golf Digest

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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Yaseen Valli (KING EDWARD Vii SCHOOL) CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN

CAPTAIN

MY

The best word to use when describing Yaseen Valli, captain of South Africa’s U-19 cricket team, seems to be ‘level-headed’.

When Valli, currently in matric at King Edwards School, talks about cricket he becomes very enthusiastic. According to him cricket is essentially a team sport. Despite all the individual statistics that are kept, there should never be an ‘I’ in a cricket team.

To be the captain is a challenge he absolutely relishes.

“It not only gives me an opportunity to learn more about the game, but I also have to learn more about my teammates and get to know them better. As captain you need to know what makes every teammate tick to make sure that they perform at their best.”

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: CRICKET

CAPTAIN Âť Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt and Lisa Slooten Photos by: by: Lisa Slooten

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Yaseen Valli (KING EDWARD Vii SCHOOL) CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN

“When I am not captaining I tend to focus only on the game as it develops, but when I am the captain I have to remain focused all the time, trying to pre-empt what will happen when I make a certain decision.

I love the challenge.”

Valli captained the SA under-19 side when they played in a quadrangular tournament in India against the under-19 teams of Australia, Zimbabwe and the hosts. The teams first played on a round robin basis and afterwards the two top teams met in the final.

Photo by SA Cricket

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South Africa beat Australia twice and Zimbabwe once, but the second match against Zimbabwe was cancelled due to rain. They then won one match against India and lost one. Unfortunately, in the final against India they succumbed to the pressure the home team was able to put on them. Trying to chase 261 runs, with a climbing run rate, they lost vital wickets throughout the innings and eventually lost.

Valli is an all-rounder and his best performance with the bat was his innings of 64 runs against India.

As a bowler he took 5/27 against Australia.

“I am not too happy with my performance. I should have been more consistent.”

Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

“As captain I learned a lot, especially when we played against India. The most important lessons I learned were how to set a field with the low and slow wickets, and also where to bowl.”

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: CRICKET

During the tour the team donated R10 000 out of their daily allowances to a local school.

When we considered what we have here at King Edwards compared to what they have, it was a gratifying experience to be able to help one new pupil a year at the school in the future,” Valli said. Valli started playing cricket when he was seven years old.

Our first week in India was very tough”, Yaseen said. “Trying

to understand the culture of India, like getting used to eating curry for breakfast, was difficult to manage. The heat was not too “Because my family is actively involved in soccer, I also played soccer at first but bad, but the humidity really as I grew older cricket became my passion.” got to us.”

At King Edwards Valli also tried his luck as a rugby player. The moment he mentioned having played rugby, Herchelle Gibbs and Peter Kirsten, who were both outstanding fly halves at school, came to mind.

“No I did not play fly half. I was a loose head prop and I stopped playing rugby in Grade 10.”

Looking at how lean and trim Valli is now, it is hard to believe that he ever played prop. “I have been through some tough times,” he jokes. Valli is a left arm orthodox bowler who can bat as well.

“Being a left-arm spin bowler gives you a bit of an edge in cricket, especially being left-handed. But I have to be realistic. To be able to pursue a career as a spinner, you have to be very good to achieve success. There is no margin for error in spin bowling.”

With school cricket being a thing of the past, what does the future hold for Yaseen? He plans to continue playing for the Society Premier League team where the Provincial Under-19 matches will soon begin.

“Then it is off to the World Cup”, he said with more than a glint in his eyes. The World Cup will be played in Abu Dhabi in February next year.

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JASON WEBB DRIFTING TO VICTORY

» Words by: Cecile Kiley and Keegan Kiley; Photos by: Lawrence Minnie

DRIFTING TO VICTORY

Photo by: Monstermob

When you’re given the middle names, Ayrton Senna, at birth, it would be quite absurd if you ended up not being passionate about cars. Jason Ayrton Senna Webb is just that:

passionate about cars!

At the age of 19, Cape Town-born Webb has cars in his gene pool. His dad is drift car builder Speedy Webb, and ‘sending it’ at top speed in cars is their passion. With movies like ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ sending local and international car-crazy crowds straight to adrenaline heaven, Webb’s drifting antics and talent have fascinated South African crowds since he was 16.

Jason A S Webb

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: DRIFTING

“Prior to that, I raced go-karts,” Webb says. “And with my dad being a drift car builder, it was a progression as natural as going from crawling to walking for me.”

Webb learnt to drift in a Nissan S13 200 SX.

“It was a great car,” he grins. “Its nickname was Crimbles ... it was a real ‘play’ car and I ended up smashing into walls and poles ... it was my faithful ‘learning curve’ car!” (Rest in pieces, Crimbles!)

between.”

A good trainer is another plus.

“Championship drifter Otto Graven has taught me so much and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for his world-class input,” Webb says.

Sponsorships are vital.

“I go through 10 to 12

» Photo by: Photoguys

Webb made his debut in South Africa’s drifting series, the SupaDrift Series, in the first round of the 2011 championship, where he tumbled the applecart with a 2nd place finish. He won his first event in Round 4 that year, and ended up with an admirable 3rd place overall.

By the time Webb turned 18, he was hot on the heels of victory, finishing 2nd in the National SupaDrift Series in 2012. How much better could this young go-getter get? We’ll tell you.

In 2013, Jason Webb became the youngest National SupaDrift Champion ever.

You might be wondering what the secret to Webb’s astounding success is. There are several factors in addition to his natural abilities. For one, having a dad to learn from is a huge bonus. “I love helping my dad with his work,” Webb tells us. “I’ve learnt so much about everything from the mechanics through to suspension and everything in

tyres in one drift session,” Webb explains. “Can you imagine footing that bill yourself?!”

If you’re left wondering how you could experience the thrill of drifting without the exorbitant costs, a great introduction would be to go to a skidpan for some fun, and test your skills against the tar.

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JASON WEBB DRIFTING TO VICTORY

“I started out drifting on the wet, and it remains my favourite challenge to this day,” Webb comments.

We wanted to know what the next challenge would be for a guy who’s achieved at 19 what most competitors double his age could only dream of achieving.

“I’d love to give Formula Drift a go in the United States,” Webb says. “But first I’d need the backing of some sponsors,” Webb grins.

“Anyone?! Anyone?”

We’re holding our breath and wish Jason Webb all the best in his dream to go global.

FUN ALERT

Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria has regular ‘Super Trax Cars’ days where you can skid, spin and (if you get the knack) drift on a watered skidpan to your heart’s content. These events are held on Sundays and make for awesome fun for the whole family. Pit your dad’s skills against yours, and compete side by side in pre-set gymkhana routes. Get a taste of drifting without making your ride’s tyres suffer much! Check out www.zwartkops.co.za for dates.

SIDE BAR

IT’S THE FiNAL COUNTDOWN!

When asked what his top five drifting cars of all time were, Jason gave us this countdown: 5. Nissan 200 SX 4. Nissan Skyline R34 3. Nissan Skyline R35 2. Ford Mustang 1. Toyota 86

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: OFF-ROAD BIKING

ÂťW or d

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: Ce c

ile Kiley

and Ke egan Kile

tos y; Ph o

: P ro

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WADE YOUNG MAKING MOLEHILLS OUT OF MOUNTAINS

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p

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: OFF-ROAD BIKING

Young’s 1st attempt at the Erzberg Rodeo in Austria yielded an 11th place, with only 14 out of 500 competitors finishing the race.

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WADE YOUNG MAKING MOLEHILLS OUT OF MOUNTAINS

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: OFF-ROAD BIKING

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Ryan & Michaela Robinson (carleton jones high school) INTO THE WIDE BLUE OPEN

INTO THE WIDE BLUE OPEN with THE ROBINSONS » Words by: Karien Jonckheere; Photos: Provided

Setting out in the blustery Irish conditions on the final day of the Mirror World Championships held a couple of months ago, not too many would have put money on the South African kids in their wooden boat.

So when the brother and sister pair of Ryan and Michaela Robinson swept aside all 180 sailors from across the globe on their way to claiming the country’s first ever Mirror Worlds title, even they were a little surprised.

“It was totally unbelievable,” admitted Ryan.

“It was always a dream, since I started crewing on a Mirror at the age of eight, and then it became a reality. When we realised we had won, Michaela jumped straight into the water, and a feeling of total relief flowed over me.

Then total elation.”

The Robinsons are certainly familiar with this particular competition – Ryan first crewed for older brother Ricky in the Mirror Worlds held in Port Elizabeth in 2007. In 2011 in Australia, Ryan helmed with Ricky as crew and they came fourth. And in that same regatta, Michaela crewed for brother Brennan and they came 11th. So in a way, this victory had perhaps been brewing longer than many thought.

Now there’s talk of the Robinson family taking on the Cape to Rio race next January. Not bad for a family who hail from the landlocked, mining town of Carletonville and can only sail on weekends.

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: SAILING

“My parents introduced my siblings and myself to sailing,” explained 13-year-old Michaela.

What made the Carletonville pair’s world title-winning performance even more remarkable was that they sailed a wooden boat, built in 2005, against the latest Winder hulls from the UK built to the highest spec in June/July 2013.

But that certainly didn’t intimidate the talented Robinson duo.

And as just desserts, having wrapped up the competition in Ireland, South African Sailing (SAS) decided to award the David Butler Trophy for most outstanding youth sailors for the year, to the Robinsons for their exceptional performance.

It seems there may be more to come from the talented teenagers, who have their sights set firmly on international success.

“I hope to go as far as I possibly can, maybe a Youth World Championships medal, maybe an Olympic medal,” said Ryan who was also selected to represent South Africa at the Youth World Championships in Cyprus earlier this year in the 420 Dinghy Boys class alongside teammate Dominic van der Walt.

“They say they took me on our boat in my carry cot, to sail the MSC Regatta off Durban when I was two weeks old. I don’t know if that is true.”

Ryan agreed: “Ever since I can remember I have been involved in sailing. My family is full of sailors, so I think the sailing bug must be hereditary.”

Explaining what gave them the edge in Ireland, Ryan reckoned: “I

think it would have to be the importance of teamwork in a sport like this. If we had been two individuals on that boat, a goal like this would be unimaginable, but working as a team it became possible.

And having a teammate as dedicated and tenacious as my sister is, made my dream come true.”

“I will carry on competing until I reach these goals or until the point that I no longer enjoy it because once the enjoyment is out of it there is no point,” he added. “But for now I love the life lessons the sport teaches you, the friends that you make and the friendly competition. What’s not to love?”

And his plucky little sister is likely to follow in those footsteps.

“I am aiming to be selected for the Youth World Championships, and try to win a medal. And I would like to go to the Olympics, and last but not least win Cape to Rio 2014 and enjoy my sailing forever,” said Michaela. They’re certainly headed in the right direction.

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Dylan Rebello (Randpark High School) Ain’t no mountain high enough

Ain’t no mountain high enough for Dylan » Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Zoon Cronje

A

fter finishing second overall in the National Nissan Mountain Bike Half Marathon Series in October last year, Dylan Rebello (Team Jeep) made the following prophecy –

“Next year I will be stronger and more experienced.

Hopefully I will win more races in the Nissan series and I might even take the overall victory.”

These were true words. Rebello, a matriculant from Randpark High School, certainly proved to be stronger as well as more experienced. His emphatic win in the National Nissan half-marathon series showed that he has completed his apprenticeship as a junior mountain biker.

Dylan Rebello

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Winning five out of a possible eight races is certainly not too shabby.

He was victorious in Barberton, Sabie, Tulbagh, Clarens and at the Crater Cruise in Parys.

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: CYCLING

“What made things really challenging was the fact that we were racing through a thick mist.”

It was only at Tulbagh that he was not able to get a top-five finish.

Rebello considers his victory at Sabie as a highlight.

“The racing conditions were quite hectic. We were riding in a slight drizzle for most of the race, which meant that the course was at some places very slippery. But that was not the worst of our troubles.

What made things really challenging was the fact that we were racing through a thick mist. At times I could barely see 10 metres in front of me. Due to the mist I had no idea where the other riders were. They were simply nowhere to be seen.”

Being a realist, Rebello knows that he has to broaden his horizon as a mountain biker.

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Dylan Rebello (Randpark High School) Ain’t no mountain high enough

“My career as a junior mountain biker has basically come to an end. I now have to get used to racing against older and stronger riders.

Next year will definitely not be easy. Luckily I am not one of those riders who feel that I have to win all the time.

What I love about mountain biking is the actual racing.

I love a good contest more than just winning.

The Momentum 94.7 Mountain Bike Challenge in Johannesburg will officially be one of my last races as a junior.�

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People may think the Momentum Mountain Bike Challenge is an easy race, but it is definitely not

ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: CYCLING

One of the main problems in South African cycling at the moment is the fact that many talented youngsters fall by the wayside after school.

The main reason for this is that many professional teams are not prepared to invest in young riders. The sponsors want immediate results and it takes a young rider at least two to three years to bridge the gap from being a good junior to becoming a competitive senior rider.

That is why the average age of professional cyclists in South Africa is 26 years and older.

Many talented youngsters quit well before they have fulfilled their true potential, because cycling is an expensive sport and parents cannot afford to continue being the sponsors.

Rebello is confident that he will be able to be a competitive mountain biker for at least another year.

“I am going to study part time so that I will have more time to put in the long hard hours on my bike.

My plans for next year are to race the MTN under-23 marathon series, but my main focus will be on cross-country racing.

As matters stand at the moment there is an excellent chance that I will get the opportunity to compete in five World Cup races.”

Rebello’s long-term goal is to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. He fully realises that it will require many big sacrifices to achieve this goal and that success is never guaranteed in sport. You are only as good as your last race.

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DANIE & NEIL CORNELIUS RUNNING IN THE FAMILY

RUNNING IN » Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: ATHLETICS

W

hen it comes to confirming the truth in the saying, ‘Like father, like son’ there can be no better example than that of Danie and Neil Cornelius.

When it comes to athletics, the combination at Tuks Athletics of father (Danie) and son (Neil) is passion personified.

According to Danie Cornelius, Tuks Athletics manager, there is a longstanding joke between him and his wife of 28 years, Gerda, that she will always play second fiddle when it comes to athletics.

“I owe much to Gerda for understanding my passion for athletics, and for her support through the years,” Danie tells us.

DANIE

It’s not unusual for father and son to be discussing, during the family dinner or Sunday lunch or braai ... in fact, 24/7, how to get an athlete to jump just that one centimetre farther in the long or triple jump competition. At times they agree to disagree, but their passionate discussions on how to go about gaining that extra centimetre for their athletes remain amicable.

“In the end it is all about what is best for the athletes,” said Neil Cornelius who, at the age of 24, is one of the youngest athletics coaches in South Africa.

But father and son are definitely doing something right. Sabelo Ndlovu is but one example of the success they achieved this season when, at the African Junior Championship in Mauritius, he not only won the gold medal but also improved his personal best in the triple jump to 15.92 m.

Duwayne Boer is another success story. He has not been beaten in a junior long jump competition this season and he also won a gold medal in Mauritius. Another highlight for him was when he finished third at the SA Senior Championship in Stellenbosch with a jump of 7.81 m, showing that it’s only a matter of time before he will jump more than eight metres.

NEIL

These are just two of the recent success stories at Tuks Athletics.

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DANIE & NEIL CORNELIUS RUNNING IN THE FAMILY

Neil is officially the coach and his dad an athletics manager, but apparently it is a case of ‘once a coach always a coach’, because Danie cannot resist the temptation, when he has the time, to watch his son’s coaching.

On these occasions he often identifies small glitches in an athlete’s technique.

“I am very grateful for my dad’s support and advice because a coach, who works with the athletes every day, can sometimes overlook small irregularities in an athlete’s technique,” Neil says. “An extra pair of eyes, combined with a wealth of experience, can make a huge difference.”

According to Danie, circumstances were quite different when he started working as a coach.

“The more experienced coaches at the time were reluctant to help the junior coaches because they felt threatened,” he explains. “It was a classic scenario of everyone fending for himself. I had to find out through trial and error what worked and what didn’t. Now I enjoy sharing my experience with Neil.”

Neil admits that, notwithstanding his dad’s advice, he still makes mistakes.

“Slowly but surely I am beginning to understand what works well and what doesn’t. My approach to coaching has definitely changed considerably over the past three years.”

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: ATHLETICS

“I think I must be doing something right, because my athletes have certainly performed more consistently this season,” he smiles.

Neil began to work as a full-time coach when his dad left for Saudi Arabia to work there for two years. He was 21 at the time. In South African athletics most coaches are 40 years or older.

The question is why on earth would any youngster sacrifice hour upon hour every week to help athletes for hardly any reward. Being an athletics coach is certainly not a way to earn good money. Neil admits that he barely breaks even financially with the money he makes as a coach.

“Sometimes my expenses exceed my monthly income. But when one of your athletes wins a gold medal at an important championship, it is just such a special moment that cannot be valued in money terms.

“When Sabelo improved on his personal best and won gold in Mauritius, both he and I went wild with excitement,” Neil recalls. “Moments like that make coaching and all its sacrifices worthwhile. My friends, who work from eight to five and earn a steady income, will never get what I’m talking about.”

Father and son share an important coaching philosophy. “We

tell our athletes that athletics is not about records and long distances, it is about medals,” Neil elaborates.

“Any athlete who improves a record is only borrowing it. A medal is for keeps.”

“Not everyone can win a medal. In our opinion, therefore, an athlete who improves on a personal best is just as much a winner as the gold medallist,” Danie concludes.

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OAKDALE TUG OF WAR

Âť Words by: Kobus Pretorius; Photos by: Riaan Stander

The sport of Tug-of-War might not be well known or even appreciated, but it remains an intriguing team sport.

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ADVICE COLUMN: VITAMINS & MINERALS

Pulling

those medals in Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale in Riversdal is a well-known agricultural school in the heart of the Southern Cape. Although it is mostly known as a rugby school to be reckoned with, Oakdale is actually the number one Tug-of-War school participant in South Africa.

They won the South African Championships for two years in a row now and represented South Africa at the international championships in 2012 and again in 2013.

“No team has ever managed to win back-to-back gold medals,” says Riaan Stander, one of the coaches of Oakdale’s 560 kg under-19 team.

A Tug-of-War team consists of eight members, a reserve and a water boy.

The weight of the team as a whole may not exceed 560 kg.

They won the gold medal at last year’s international event in Switzerland when they beat The Netherlands and Germany.

This year they went to The Netherlands to defend their title and managed to secure the silver medal.

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SIDE BAR According to international rules, the rope in a tug-of-war contest must be between 100mm and 125mm in circumference.

Tug-of-War featured as an Olympic sport between 1900 and 1920 and resulted in one of the most notable disputes of the 1908 Games in London.

The medal table for the event tells a tale of British dominance with gold, silver and bronze all going to teams from British police forces: the London City Police won, Liverpool Police came second, and K Division Metropolitan Police were third.

The real battle, however, came in the first round when the Liverpool Police scored a quick win over the US team.

The Americans immediately lodged a protest against the footwear of their opponents. According to them the boots were equipped with illegal steel spikes, cleats and heels. The British insisted that they were standard-issue police boots and the protest was disallowed.

The Americans then stormed out of the competition.

Later the winning City Police team challenged the Americans to a contest in stockinged feet, but the challenge was not taken up.

Three members of the winning team, James Shepherd, Edwin Mills and Frederick Humphries, went on to represent Britain in two later Olympics, winning silver at Stockholm in 1912 and gold again at Antwerp in 1920.

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One would think that Tug-of-War is a simple, straightforward sport.

“It’s actually quite the opposite,” says Stander.

“There are a lot of rules and it’s quite technical. It’s all about rhythm, team work and tactics.”

There are between 70 and 80 pupils at Oakdale who participate in Tug-of-War. As the sport is so weight specific, team members are weighed in every week to make sure the team total stays under 560 kg.

“The boys have to be extremely disciplined in that regard. They practice for an hour every day and they have to make sure they eat right.”

Johann Neethling, the squad captain, is only 17 and has taken part in the sport since he was in Grade 8.

“When I saw the guys practicing Tug-ofWar it intrigued me and I immediately felt it was the sport for me. I like the fact that it’s for all ages. Guys in Grade 8 can be in the same team as matrics. It’s not age group specific.”

Johann says it’s important to have strong forearms and legs if you want to succeed in Tug-of-War. Instead of rugby or soccer boots, he uses rollerblades without the wheels.

“I replace the wheels with a metal hook which hooks into the ground. It gives me very good footing,” says Johann.

What about his eating plan. Is it difficult sticking to a specific diet?

“It was very difficult in the beginning. I like to eat a lot. But as you get on with it your stomach shrinks. At least we get to eat normally in the off season.”

Johann says the most difficult thing to get accustomed to, is hands that are constantly sore.

“It takes a long time to get used to your hands being sore all the time.”

For a strong grip, Johann and his team mates use colophony which they mix with petrol and cook in the oven. They use this concoction on their hands, and according to him it works.

It is, however, not allowed in international competition so they have to do without when they compete at the World Championships. And taking part in the World Champs is something he really enjoys.

“It’s nice to experience different cultures. You would think that our opponents are big, strong guys who are very muscular. But I was quite surprised by a team like Switzerland whose team consists mostly of tall, skinny boys.”

Johann says anyone can do Tug-of-War.

“If you practice hard, you can get far and if you manage to be picked in the team, you get to go overseas if your school does well.”

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TEAM sabotage - THE ART OF MOVEMENT -

Martin

Mark 126

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The art of movement

TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: Parkour

jose

When young children play they do daring things, like jumping from walls or trees or doing dangerous somersaults, without giving it a thought. For kids between the ages of seven and ten living on the edge comes naturally.

Unfortunately, when they grow older, this spontaneous attitude of fearlessness starts to make way for an inherent fear of getting injured. As a child grows older and develops into a responsible adult, he becomes more careful and tends to think before doing something that could be dangerous.

There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s natural, except that responsible adults often miss out big time on having spontaneous fun.

It takes only a slight change of mindset to ensure that exercising and keeping fit remain exciting. Instead of simply running your usual laps around the community park, you can navigate through the same park and turn it into your personal obstacle course. Make it a playground where you can experience freedom while at the same time developing your own strength, courage and discipline.

» Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt: Photos by: Henry Kelbrick

Do this, and you’ll be doing Parkour.

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TEAM sabotage - THE ART OF MOVEMENT -

Parkour is an international discipline, sport and hobby that can best be described as ‘The art of forward motion in spite of obstacles or, to put it simply, the art of movement’.

The chief aim of Parkour is never to move backward, but instead to overcome obstacles fluidly, with strength, originality and speed.

Acrobatic moves like leaping from walls and over gaps, ground rolls and precision jumping, are all part of the basic idea of parkour.

Chris de Bruyne, from the University of Pretoria’s Sabotage elite team, says without hesitation that as far as he is concerned:

Parkour is the ultimate sp rt “I started out doing rollerblading, then trampoline and Capoeira (a Brazilian martial arts form) before discovering Parkour. What most people don’t realise is that, unwittingly, we have all done a form of Parkour at some stage. Remember when you were a child, climbing trees and jumping over all sorts of obstacles with your parents constantly warning you to be careful?

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“In Parkour we have a saying that you are not really learning anything new; you are actually just relearning to do what you did as a child.

TEAM PROFiLE FEATURE: Parkour

“It is awesome fun to use your body in such amazing ways to get across obstacles.

Parkour is certainly not just about running, climbing and jumping. Through Parkour you master the concept of mind over matter and, in doing so, you learn to be an effective person as well. Actually, to overcome the challenges, a physical ability of 20% and a mental ability of 80% are needed. Essentially this means that you are capable of doing anything once you put your mind to it.

“Don’t get me wrong.

Parkour is certainly not about doing crazy things and risking serious

injuries. During the four years that I have been doing Parkour, neither I nor any of my teammates have broken anything, because it is an art of learning things step by step. You may start off by doing a small jump and then work to keep improving it. Sometimes it might take a year to build up the confidence to attempt doing a specific Parkour move.

Nobody will ever rush you into doing something if you are not ready yet.

As far as I am concerned Parkour is the new evolution of human movement. We believe that ‘impossible’ is what people call something they have not seen done before.”

SIDE BAR Parkour is a holistic training discipline, using movement that developed out of military obstacle training. Practitioners aim to quickly and efficiently overcome obstacles in their environment, using only their bodies and their surroundings to propel themselves; furthermore, they try to maintain as much momentum as is possible in a safe manner.

Parkour can include running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, rolling, quadruple movement and the like, depending on what movement is deemed most suitable for the given situation. Parkour is non-competitive. It may be performed on an obstacle course, but is usually practiced in a creative, and sometimes playful, reinterpretation or subversion of urban spaces.

Parkour involves seeing one›s environment in a new way, and imagining the potentialities for movement around it.

Parkour was developed in France, primarily by Raymond Belle, David Belle and Sébastien Foucan, during the late 1980s. Parkour became popular in the late 1990s and 2000s through films, documentaries, and advertisements featuring these practitioners and others.

Parkour›s training methods have inspired a range of other activities, including free-running and l›art du déplacement. Although their creators define them as separate activities, practitioners and non-practitioners alike often find it difficult to discern the differences between them.

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GRANT JOHNSON’S OFF THE BALL

Off the Ball With Grant Johnson & Shaun Dafel

Welcome to the second issue of our monthly soccer forum, where we will be discussing current soccer developments, whether they are good initiatives or problems in the game. I am Grant Johnson and I have 20 years of experience in South African soccer as a player and a coach with Club and Country.

Firstly let me congratulate my former club Orlando Pirates on reaching the semi-final stage of the CAF Champions League. Having played in this competition on three separate occasions, representing three different clubs, I know just how difficult it is. Firstly, it is played on a home-and-away format, so ‘away’ goals are always going to be important.

Then you have the difficult travel in Africa, the fields not being up to FiFA standards and the intimidation of the local fans and people. At both club and international level, South African teams have always struggled to play away from home. This is from junior level right up to Bafana Bafana.

Our recent failures to qualify for Afcons and World Cups, has always been down to bad results away from home.

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REGULAR: SOCCER

This is a topic that I have discussed in depth with scores of people, and so many have opinions that vary from our players being spoilt to our teams just not being good enough. Having travelled and been involved in many matches in many countries across Africa, both as a player and as a coach, I have my own point of view.

weren’t familiar with the rules. The last Afcon is a point in question, when our players were celebrating on the field, only to find out afterwards that we didn’t qualify.

For one, we don’t have a completion at club level that gets us used to playing the home-and-away format. The old Rothmans Cup used to have this format and if we look back at the results back then, we fared a whole lot better in competitions (Bafana Bafana won Afcon back then, and Pirates won the African Cup).

The other issue that we have a problem with is the players themselves. They are not mentally strong enough to handle the problems we experience when playing in Africa. The players in South Africa are now perceived as big celebrities earning huge salaries, and the net result is they have lost the passion for the game. In the past, players were passionate about playing for their club or country, where it seems these days it is more about how money they can make.

I have no problem with them earning good money as they entertain millions of people every week, but they need to understand if the standard of football does not maintain a good standard, the people will stop watching the game, and therefore sponsors will boost the game with much-needed money.

I feel that players, coaches and managers need to get used to this format, as we have seen, on numerous occasions, that we failed to qualify for a tournament because we

As far as Bafana Bafana go, SAFA and new president Danny Jordaan need to stick with the current coach Gordon Igesund. He was my coach for 10 years and there is no one more suited for the job than Gordon. Gordon’s contract expires in July, but it would be crazy not to extend his contract at least until the 2015 Afcon. Gordon hasn’t been in charge of the squad for a full qualifying campaign yet, so there is no way to judge fairly on the team’s progress under his leadership. Gordon has also brought in a few new faces for the smaller games when the big stars are not available. This will broaden his pool of talent and hopefully give us the team required to qualify for future tournaments, without being hosts.

Yours in football.

GRANT

&Shaun Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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PIERRE NEL MUD & GLORY

MUD GLORY People are only now beginning to appreciate the importance of Burry Stander’s contribution to the promotion and development of South African mountain biking.

Last year, during the build-up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Stander was at his peak and there were expectations that South African mountain bikers would finally get on track as far as international competition was concerned.

But since the tragic death of Stander in January, the standard of South African mountain biking has been spiralling downwards at an alarming rate.

From a South African cycling perspective the World Cross-Country Championship, which was held at the Cascades in Pietermaritzburg, turned out to be a disaster. Don’t get me wrong. The event was very well organised, but unfortunately the performances by the South African riders were below par.

South Africa had seven finishers in the category for Junior Men. The best performance was by Alan Hatherly who finished 15th, 6 minutes behind the leader. Our only other top-20 achievements on the day came from Bianca Haw, who was 10th in the Junior Women’s category, Mariske Strauss was 8th and Candice Neethling 14th in the under-23 Women’s category, and Brendon Davids finished 19th in the men’s under-23 category.

The remaining 26 South African cross-country riders finished somewhere between 30th and 62nd in their respective categories.

We had a wonderful opportunity to prove our mettle against the world’s best riders but, unfortunately, it was not to be. There seems to be a mysterious quality that South African riders simply don’t have. They don’t seem to realise that merely participating in a race and finishing it does not equate to a world-class winning attitude and a top performance.

To find ‘the source of all evil’, it will be necessary to take a step back to get the bigger picture.

Interesting statistics published in 2009 on the Cycling SA (CSA) website, show that we have around 526 900 cyclists in South Africa of which only 104 900 are between 13 and 18 years old, which means that they are still junior riders. The remaining 422 000 cyclists are adult riders.

Furthermore, the popularity of cycling among junior riders has decreased by 0.4% during 20052009 and by 0.5% during 2008-2009. Of the total number of cyclists in South Africa in 2009, only 82 000 participated competitively.

During the past four years, however, private event organisers have made immeasurable contributions towards promoting competitive cycling among juniors. The MTN National Series and the two Nissan series successfully attract young riders and this creates the impression that our mountain biking fraternity is on a roll.

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REGULAR: MOUNTAIN BIKING

Unfortunately, to develop mountain biking as a competitive sport, greater participation of the masses is not all that’s needed. It should also go hand-inhand with improved bikehandling skills.

Cross-country racing is the only cycling discipline that gives young riders the opportunity to develop their bikehandling skills. And this is where our mountain-bike fraternity falls short.

Cross-country racing is much more popular elsewhere in the world, than it is in South Africa. In total not even 10 000 of our mountain bikers annually compete in the Olympic format of mountain bike racing.

The majority of our competitive cyclists prefer to compete in races that require less bike- handling skills. If this trend should continue, our mountain bikers will remain a bunch of fun riders who never learn proper bikehandling skills.

It is no wonder, therefore, that the performances of our riders are not improving. We need cross-country events that will expose participants to the right type of cycling.

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Andre Watson REFEREES IN THE SPOTLIGHT

REFEREES IN THE SPOTLIGHT – FOR THE RIGHT REASONS?

It would have been good to have covered some clarity on law issues in this, GAME ON’s first regular refereeing article. However, after the immense media focus on referees of late, especially the All Blacks/ Springboks game in Auckland and some incidents in the Currie Cup, it is probably more fitting to discuss the influence of rugby referees and the perceived overrated importance of referees.

The referee’s task is simple, really.

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REGULAR: ANDRE WATSON ON REFEREES

He only needs to ensure that one team is not disadvantaged when the other infringes on the law! This sounds easy enough, but given the fact that the referee needs to make in excess of 200 decisions in a period of 80 minutes, it is not only unfair but in fact impossible to expect him to get every single decision right.

The top referees in South Africa perform at an average success rate of 94%. (At this point it needs to be clarified that every single decision by the referee, and every single incident is analysed and measured against the facts and the law – not the popular decision that the supporter would have liked to have seen).

The 94% accuracy would have been more than a distinction in any exam or test method, but it is seen as simply not good enough for the ‘stakeholder’ because if one of these wrong decisions is perceived to have cost ‘your team’, then all hell breaks loose.

We as referees realise this, and take full responsibility for this. The reality however, is that there can never be a guarantee that a game will be refereed without any errors by the human wearing the referee shirt. This is perhaps something that the stakeholder needs to understand and accept, no matter how difficult it is to accept when ‘your team’ draws the short stick. It is interesting that the All Blacks coach – in reply to the

Australian coach comments – stated that coaches (all coaches) should support the referee as their task is almost impossible to execute. After the Poite/ Bismarck incident, Jake White asked people to stop jumping on the bandwagon of referee criticism as it chases the referees away and will hurt rugby in the long run.

I am of the opinion that the ‘flow of the game’ should take a back seat in lieu of ‘accuracy’ by the referee.

My reason is that the stakes are so high nowadays, and with the barrage of replays and reviews, there is no more room for a referee to be the ‘conductor’. The modern day game requires the referee to be accurate, full stop. The following may sound sarcastic, but I assure you that it is not: The fact of the matter is that players infringe on the law – not the referee – and the referee’s duty is to penalise in accordance with the laws of the game.

This way – if possible and flawless, the discussion after games will be about the game and players, and not the referee!

The ‘charter of the game’, which is in the front of the Rugby Law book, states the following and I quote: “Spirit: Rugby owes much of its appeal to the fact that it is played both to the letter and within the Spirit of the Laws. The responsibility for ensuring that this happens lies not with one individual – it involves coaches, captains, players and referees.”

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Marc Mundell Walking the Path Less Travelled

My challenge this month is to follow the advice from the KFC founder, Colonel Harland Sanders “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours nor amount of labour nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me.”

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success

This phrase by Swami Vivekananda extracted from Entrepreneur Magazine currently faces me from my office. This epitomises what I passionately pursued for so many years in my quest to participate at the Olympic Games.

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ATHLETE PROFiLE FEATURE: SPEED WALKING

EVENTS:

HONOURS:

PERSONAL BEST:

HONOURS:

PERSONAL BEST 20KM:

HONOURS:

(1) 50KM RACE WALK & (2) 20KM RACE WALK

50KM: 3:55:32 (LONDON 2012 – NR & AR)

1:26:32 (PE 2012)

2012 OLYMPIAN 50KM RACE WALK (32ND)

AFRICAN MALE RACE WALKER OF 2012

HONOURS:

COACH:

4TH AFRICAN 20KM CHAMPS 2012

JAMIE COSTIN (IRE) – PROGRAMME

GOAL:

COACH:

50KM RACE WALK TOP 10 IN RIO 2016

CHRIS BRITZ (RSA) – TECHNIQUE

SA & AFRICAN 50KM RECORD HOLDER

I remember watching the 1996 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Atlanta, where Muhammad Ali ignited the Olympic cauldron with his quivering hand. I remember dreaming of participating at the Olympic Games – the pinnacle of sporting participation where the world’s attention is focused for nearly two full weeks. I had no idea of my sporting code or even the event, but I knew then as a 12-yearold that the Olympics is where I wanted to compete one day. It was my DREAM! The Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr is immortalised for his “I have a Dream” Civil rights Speech in the United States. Vic Conant expressed “The distance between you and your dreams is often the length of a single idea” whilst the acclaimed author and poet Kahlil Gibran wrote – “The significance of a man is not what he attains, but what he longs to attain.”

Everybody has a dream, an aspiration for the future, a desire to be awesome, and a longing to achieve something substantial in their life.

It is a purposeful quest to be better tomorrow than you were yesterday, to break down barriers (physical and mental) and to conquer the mountains in their own lives. Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to summit Mount Everest famously said of having goals “But, what’s the point of having a goal if you know you’re going to make it? What’s the challenge in that?”

A wonderful phrase “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” from the movie, the Girl Next Door, penetrates the origin of every dream and asks whether the sacrifices are actually worth it. Every athlete has their own story, unique to their time and place in life, inclusive of obstacles and challenges, failures and successes. For some, the dream was too big, the burden to great, the sacrifices to expensive. For others, injuries curtailed their careers, selectors overlooked them, administrators blundered or the costs were too excessive.

The pursuit of any dream, when stripped down to its core, has personal written all over it. It is about adhering to personal mantras of “I train while you sleep” or “Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat” whilst pursuing your goals, your dreams. It is a personal struggle with each training session, every training block, every injury, and every set back or failure. It is about embracing the cold, early morning training sessions in the dark of winter, or the earlier evening’s void of socialising and interaction with friends. It is about time management, juggling friendships and a serious relationship amidst academic and working commitments. It is about finding your unique balance and staying true to your dream.

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MICHAELA WHITEBOOI A MIGHTY REWARD FOR MICHAELA WHITEBOOIS HARD WORK

If y o in s u hav dis port a e guts c we ipline nd are l sur l, you d as e ben to re are efit ap t s. he

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NEWS & UPDATES: SPONSORSHIP

Acc van ordin g wa Rens to s to b an h burg, do e abl onour it e s for omet to und White hing Mic ersta booi.“ n alw haela d tha I eas ays h did n t o a did y, but ve it t this not a she l dow to ge low gre n. I h t her for at adm ave dec Micha iratio her ision ela’s n t tale sport o use i a d nts to ng i her fferen make ow ce i n li n fe.

The has way tha prove she wh t life i n s ma at you k an e of i for examp t, is you many le ngs oth ters er .”

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hpc medical Update Purpose of swelling after injury

Purpos

Words by: Menzi C. Ngcobo Biokineticist Institute for Sport Research (hpc) University of Pretoria

hpc MEDICAL UPDATE

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ADVICE COLUMN: SWELLING INJURIES

se of swelling after injury Injury to a part of the body triggers a localised response called Acute Inflammation. In medical terminology, the term acute refers to any condition with a sudden onset (e.g. tissue injury) and of short duration. Inflammation is a process whereby the body’s immune system reacts to perceived invasion by foreign matter, infection or tissue damage.

The acute inflammatory response has two components.

The first is the vascular component, which involves a dramatic increase in blood flow to the damaged tissue and an increase in venule permeability. This leads to the redness and warmth that is often observed at the site of injury. Local swelling also occurs due to the movement of fluid and cells from the blood into to the intercellular space.

The second is the cellular component. Large numbers of leukocytes (white blood cells – protect against foreign material and infectious disease) move to the tissue spaces, where they inactivate certain disease agents and remove cellular debris. This movement of fluid, suspended substances and cells is called exudate (fluid rich in protein and cellular elements).

Having considered the formation of fluid exudate in acute inflammation, you may well ask what good comes from the accumulation of fluid and plasma proteins at the site of injury.

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hpc medical Update Purpose of swelling after injury

Four benefits can be derived from this process:

Dilution of Toxins

1

The accumulation of fluid at the scene dilutes harmful substances, limiting any further damage.

Increased Pain 2

The increased pain caused by swelling limits the use of the affected part and thus, may prevent additional injury.

Vascular Permeability

3

The change in vascular permeability allows for white blood cells and antibodies to move to the site of injury where they can act against diseasecausing micro-organisms or cellular debris in the tissue spaces.

Protein Content 4

The content of proteins in fluid exudate contribute to enhancing the response to injury, killing organisms and fostering the phagocytosis (the engulfing and ingestion of bacteria or other foreign bodies by white blood cells) of various particles associated with tissue damage.

A physician will often prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs for swelling. It may seem strange to limit the inflammatory response process when we have just identified its beneficial role in the healing process.

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ADVICE COLUMN: SWELLING INJURIES

However, there are problems associated with excessive inflammation.

Pain Although pain is beneficial in signalling tissue damage and limiting its use, intense and prolonged pain can present significant problems to the patient.

Swelling A large amount of swelling can impair function by limiting joint mobility or by obstructing anatomical passage. Swelling can also produce pain as tissue pressure impinges upon nerve endings and pain producing mediators accumulate.

Tissue Damage Inflammation can become chronic. Chronic inflammation occurs when the acute inflammatory response does not eliminate the injuring agent and restore tissue to its normal physiological state. The presence of the inciting agent in the tissues causes long term conflict with phagocytic cells of the host. The infiltration of functional tissue by inflammatory cells progressively interferes with normal function. When the process continues over months, function deteriorates as tissue is destroyed and scarring develops.

Inflammation is the body’s way of initiating the healing process by the immune system.

However, there are problems associated with excessive or chronic inflammation. For this reason, therapy to limit the inflammatory response may be necessary. The challenge is to apply therapy in such a way that the negative effects of inflammation are prevented while allowing a sufficient response to deal with the problem effectively References: 1. Gordon A. Handford & Thomas J. Nowak (2004) Pathophysiology – Concepts and Applications for Health care Professionals, Third Edition.

2. William E. Prentice (2004) Rehabilitation Techniques for Sports Medicine and Athletic Training, Fourth Edition.

3. Ann Ehrlich & Carol L. Schroeder (2004) Medical Terminology for Health Care

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SUPPLEMENTS! TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

VITAMINS MINERALS

too much of a good thing?

Words by: Riette Steinberg, Registered Dietitian (SA) PVM Nutritional Sciences (Proteins. Vitamins. Minerals)

Vitamins and minerals are essential for many metabolic processes in the body

University of Pretoria

and are important in supporting growth and development. They are required for reactions involved with physical activity and exercise, such as muscle contraction, energy expenditure, carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, oxygen transfer and delivery as well as tissue repair.

Some vitamins act as anti-oxidants, buffering free radicals produced by increased energy turnover.

Many athletes supplement their diet with extra vitamins and minerals, desiring to improve health, enhance recovery, improve sport performance and prevent infectious diseases. They have reported the use of B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, iron and especially vitamin C.

But is supplementation really necessary?

Studies have demonstrated an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) with moderate to high intensity exercise. Energy production involves reduction of oxygen in the mitochondria (energy producing part of the cell), during which some of the oxygen turns into free radicals. Free radicals are unstable, reactive and potentially harmful substances.

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Excessive production, or failure to protect against free radicals, has been linked to cell and mitochondria membrane damage, decreased immunity and other adverse health effects.

ADVICE COLUMN: VITAMINS & MINERALS

Anti-oxidants such as vitamin C and E build up a protection system against free radical attack, thus an increased need may arise.

Some minerals may be lost through sweat such as magnesium and zinc, while others may be lost in urine. Generally, if energy intake is sufficient, varied and balanced and the athlete has a healthy nutritional status, vitamin and mineral supplementation is not warranted. Increased requirements are however subject to the intensity, duration, and frequency of the applicable event/sport.

Supplementation is also dependant on the nutritional status of the athlete.

Some athletes with a poor nutritional status or impaired dietary intake might benefit from supplementation. For athletes that restrict energy intake, such as in sports with weight restrictions or those that limit certain foods/food groups, supplementation may also be warranted.

Can micronutrient supplements be harmful?

Some athletes supplement micronutrients “just in case�. Toxicity however, can arise when daily doses rise above a certain threshold limit. Megadoses of several vitamins may be pathological, particularly vitamins A, D, niacin and B6.

Natural anti-oxidants like vitamin C and E, caretenoids and polyphenols like flavonoids have many health benefits, including protective effects against cardiovascular disease, certain forms of cancer, and photosensitivity diseases. When supplementing with high doses, beneficial anti-oxidants can become harmful pro-oxidants. A pro-oxidant is a compound that induces oxidative stress and inhibits anti oxidant systems. Thus, rather than protecting against damage, these substances cause damage.

The pro-oxidant action of anti-oxidants includes: Vitamin C in high doses causes cell death, and DNA damage Vitamin E in high doses causes increased Îą-tocopherol radicals which can initiate lipid peroxidation (damage to lipid cell membranes) Flavanoids in high doses can form radicals instead of scavenging them and also cause lipid peroxidation Other than harmful pro-oxidant effects, reductions in vascular function have also been noted with administration of mixed anti-oxidants. Acute doses of vitamins C and E demonstrated reduced brachial artery vasodilatation which reduces exercise capacity and performance.

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SUPPLEMENTS! TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? Vitamin C is known to remove free radicals produced by exercise, thereby reducing the potential negative consequences of ROS such as muscle damage, immune dysfunction and fatigue. ROS is not all bad though. Moderate ROS production causes physiological changes such as increases in mitochondrial growth factors and cell survival proteins, reductions in muscle atrophy and proteins involved in cell signaling pathways and amplifications of immune function. Moderate ROS concentrations are further required for optimal training adaptation and muscle function. Supplementation of vitamin C in doses exceeding 1 g/d has been shown to attenuate the exercise derived rise in ROS and blocks cell signaling. Vitamin C in doses of >1g/d thus appear to reduce training induced adaptations by reducing mitochondrial biogenesis or by possible vascular function alteration, and is not recommended.

Toxicity of minerals is relatively rare. The levels associated with toxicity can normally be obtained only through the use of supplements or fortified foods. Intakes needed to reach toxicity levels are high, but when toxic symptoms do appear, they can be fatal. Most multivitamin supplements contain minerals close to RDA levels or less, but when athletes selfprescribe, toxicity can become a concern. All trace minerals are toxic when consumed at high doses for a long period of time. Even though toxicity levels are high, certain nutrient interactions can occur with high mineral intake. High intakes of one mineral might interfere with the absorption of another, causing a deficiency. For this reason, precautionary use of mineral supplements should not exceed 5x the recommended intake.

“When talented, motivated and highly trained athletes meet for competition the margin between victory and defeat is usually small.

When everything else is equal, nutrition can make the difference between winning and losing” – Maughan (2002).

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Because every athlete differs, current nutritional status, energy and nutrient intake have to be assessed and individual requirements should be determined. A registered dietitian with experience in sport nutrition should be consulted to establish an athlete’s individual nutrition and performance goals.

Biokinetics & Sports Science

Pierre Nel TRAILBLAZER – MOUNTAIN BIKING GIRLS

N I A T N U MO

G N I BIK S L R GI

BY PERFORMANCE

COACH

Pierre Nel

S?

CIE E P S R SSE

LE A Y E H ARE T

that no y a s e hear m ain a Jersey n e t f o l l u tr o y You wi orse! d h r a e h c a r w ho beat a r e matter like a v e k l n i l l m i e w v e gi urses’! o c r cow, sh ce horse can o f ra ‘horses o s ’ n t , i T s s ntain U e u B u o g m I s – i rsue? ion: cow t u s y p e e s o u r t q e J out this rls and women al b a w o c So h le for gi t the anatomi mal b a t i u s azed a biking or opti f m s a a e h b l y u’l od YES! Yo s the female b n bike! ge tai advanta ce on a moun an perform

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REGULAR: MOUNTAIN BIKING

XCO), ( c i p m y Oly r t ing n n u i o a c t n s i s a nd m lly Cro a a i e c c e n p a ntum t s e s e i , m s g e o r n i M g k . in bi tacles g rollin s you b n i o r m e g o r Mounta n w f i o t l r a e t i transf negot is abou y n ical g e r n h e a w n h e c f e m o u t s your m er, and o t momen ated by mean ) y d pow our bo d y e is cre ( e l n e v y r l have rst ma fi l u a o u c y i o y n y l t a n a h is to biomec ike), and for th r of power. If o o d o t ansfe or you f r (your b t t l m! f e e u m v l t r u s n ’ a t e m a m i t m h ly, op ur mo ce, all t o a l y p n i n second i a aint ctors m a f o w t n, these han me t ratio t ed h g i e w compar to e r u e q r w o o t p f a lower ual amounts o e v a h l q ra in gene e to generate e unterparts. n e m o l b W co n’t be a ir male o e w h t y o e t h so t

This is primarily due to narrower shoulders and wider hips, making for less efficient leverage, equating to less force exerted when pedalling. However, this ‘disadvantage’ can become an advantage for women on a mountain bike, especially in XCO.

The lower you can keep your centre of gravity on a mountain bike, the better your ability to balance and hence your ability to maintain momentum.

The female body, with narrower shoulders and wider hips has a lower centre of gravity and consequently the inherent potential to balance better than their male counterparts!

If a female mountain biker can match the power output of a male rider, her chances of employing better bike-handling skills are greater than an equally-skilled male counterpart when it comes to negotiating technical obstacles.

For a girl to kick a man’s butt with her mountain bike on an XCO track she needs to cash in on her potential physical advantage – maintaining momentum! To accomplish this, she’ll need the following:

Proper physical conditioning, especially core muscle strength training, ensuring she generates sufficient torque when pedalling;

1

Correct body-bike fitment, ensuring optimum power transfer;

2

Proper skills precursor application, ensuring skills execution;

3 4

The right skills application, reducing rolling resistance and maintaining momentum; and Mind coaching, ensuring a winning mindset! at the science d sports er which he ie d tu s el aft Pierre N Stellenbosch, sychological ep y of it th s r n e o s iv llence.

Un tudie ce exce ed his s forman ance coach r e p further g innin r erform underp ike ride sport p aspects ntain b ssional u o fe m ro p e petitiv He is a and com

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Wian Sullwald TOUGH, REALLY TOUGH

Tough!

REALLY These are the the words used

by Wian Sullwald when asked to describe how it felt competing against senior tri-athletes for the first time in international competitions.

“In theory it seems quite easy. Just race well and you’re sure to gain international ranking points and your ranking will improve. But the cruel reality of sport is that the best laid-out plans can go astray in a matter of seconds. I should know as it’s happened to me before.”

“It was my first year competing with the ‘big boys’ (as a professional athlete). The main focus is to improve your ranking each time you race,” the former Junior World Champion explains.

ATHLETE

DIARY & JOURNAL

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“I didn’t expect this season’s racing to be so brutal. I was actually so relieved when I completed my last race in Mexico,” Sullwald continues.

INTERNATIONAL SPORTING JOURNAL: TRIATHLON

tough “Don’t get me wrong it still was a rather good season considering I started out with no International Triathlon Union (ITU) ranking points which meant that in January I was ranked round about 240th.

I finished my season being ranked 73rd.”

“I started the year off quite well achieving a 2nd at two of the African Cup events in South Africa which was also our National Sprint Championship (700 m swim, 20 km cycle, 5 km run) and the other event, being our National Championship (1.5 km swim, 40 km cycle and 10 km run).”

“These results were definitely a confidence booster as I headed off to Japan to compete in my first World Cup. As luck would have it I crashed out quite early on during the race leaving me utterly devastated.”

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Wian Sullwald TOUGH, REALLY TOUGH

“My next big race was the African Triathlon Championship in Agadir, Morocco. Henri Schoeman and I were involved in a titanic battle. In the end Henri beat me by 14 seconds.”

“From Morocco I headed to France where I stayed for most of the European season. I competed in some French Grand Prix racing, World Cups and a Continental Cup.” “I didn’t have on really good race: I had another crash on my bike, and in another race I had a terrible swim. I also got completely dehydrated in yet another race.”

“The World Cup in Hungary was a definite highlight. I finished 8 th. It was my first top ten finish against the elites. I went on to win Bela Bela 5150 in the build-up to the Under-23 World Championships in London.”

“Luck wasn’t on my side on race day, however.

I had a bad start. No sooner had we hit the water with the pontoon that I got dunked quite badly. Loads of competitors swam over me and pushed me down. Then, the panic attack struck.

I had never felt so bad before! I ended up in a disappointing 20 th position.

“I had one last race before the end of the season. This was a World Cup in Mexico’s Cozumel - a really stunning place. This race was in the hottest, most humid conditions I had ever been in. I really struggled. I finished in 24th place.”

“All in all, this season has been tough, disappointing and frustrating but it has motivated more than ever to improve in 2014, especially with the Commonwealth Games coming up. I will moving into the World Triathlon Series if all goes well.

“Lastly I’d like to give a very special thanks to every single person out there who wished me luck and stood behind me. It really means a great deal. This includes my closer support system including my parents, the High Performance Centre, My coaches Lindsey Parry and Rocco Meiring and Triathlon South Africa and SASCOC who made all this possible for me.

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ATHLETE

DIARY

INTERNATIONAL SPORTING JOURNAL: TRIATHLON

& JOURNAL

“The World Cup in Hungary was a definite highlight. I finished 8 th. It was my first top ten finish against the elites. I went on to win Bela Bela 5150 in the build-up to the under-23 World Championships in London.”

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Ilze Hattingh DREAMS, BELIEVES, ACHIEVES

Âť Words by: Wilhelm de Swardt; Photos by: Henry Kelbrick and BLD

ATHLETE

DIARY & JOURNAL

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Ilze

INTERNATIONAL SPORTING JOURNAL: TENNIS

DREAMS BELIEVES ACHIEVES

“

“

It’s not easy to be a young tennis player who dreams about playing against the world’s best in the foreseeable future.

Ilze Hattingh, South Africa’s foremost under-18 women’s tennis player, can vouch for that.

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Ilze Hattingh DREAMS, BELIEVES, ACHIEVES

“My first goal was to be at my best for the South African Championships.

Now I am off to Egypt for my first professional tour. I am planning to play in four Women’s Futures Tournaments of $10 000 each.”

“Enough is enough! I think I am ready? No, I know I am ready! Exams done and dusted,” writes Hattingh for Game On. “I went through a bit of a dip emotionally.

It feels as if I am on rollercoaster ride that just never stops. I guess that is why I feel so exhausted. I just don’t have time to socialize.

“During the past ten weeks my life has been totally dominated by tennis every single day.

It was fitness training sessions, then a gym workout, before rushing off to do my school work, followed by mental preparation.

“I really have to thank my wonderful support team. I can feel that I need to travel and play tournaments now. It will be a nice break from the everyday routine of just training and studying.

“I am glad my mental and conditioning coach, Gielie Hoffmann, will be travelling with me during the first two weeks. Thereafter I will on my own for two weeks.

“I am not fond of Egypt, but I am looking forward to meeting new people in the senior world of tennis.

I hope to accumulate some WTA ranking points.

“I must keep on remembering

DREAM, BELIEVE,

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INTERNATIONAL SPORTING JOURNAL: TENNIS

“What excites me is that it feels as if all my hard work is starting to pay dividends. I am so happy about the vast improvement in my footwork, movement and endurance. I am also beginning to believe in my own abilities as a tennis player. It must be the mental preparation starting to kick in.”

“My coaches, John-Laffnie de Jager and Denton Meintjies, made a slight change to my forearm. It was so frustrating, but I knew I had to persevere. It takes time to get used to and I don’t have patience.

There were days that I just wanted to sit down and cry, but then I got a message from my boyfriend saying:

“‘Come

on you are strong. You can do this.’

Wow! That helped.

Thanks Jaco (Coetzee).”

g my motto:

ACHIEVE!” Game On Magazine, November/December: Issue 02, 2013

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GERHARD DE BEER AMERICAN FOOTBALL? OR SIMPLY FOOTBALL

AMERICAN FOOTBALL?

OR SIMPLY

GERHARD DE BEER DIARY

When I arrived here in Tucson Arizona, my ride never pitched up. I was supposed to be picked up by a Canadian discus thrower, Jordan Young, who missed his flight. My throwing coach, Craig Carter, was on vacation. After an hour of struggling, I was finally picked up by Jill (an Olympic thrower) and her boyfriend Justin. They let me sit in front of their van because I’m so tall.

So the front door on the right hand side was open.

After a long flight I was not thinking too clearly and thought that I was going to drive?! Needless to say they thought it was very funny when I asked them if I was going to drive. You can imagine that driving on the right hand side of the road with the driver on the left was a stressful adjustment.

ARIZONA WILDCAT FACILITIES

Arizona Football LSFF Mini Golf Tournament

I was welcomed by the football coaches with open arms. Did some physical tests, did a blood test and got cleared to practice for summer camp. I was really overwhelmed by the facilities of the football stadium.

At summer camp I started out playing defensive end. When we did drills I followed what the guy in front of me was doing to try and show that I was willing to learn. After a week, I moved to tight end where I spent a lot of time running routes, learning how to block, learning about the defensive coverage and structures. I still had no real idea of what I was doing. I had a lot of fun doing this. At the outset I got a lot of media attention because the guy from South Africa with no football background came to play and learn the game that some kids have been playing all their life. It is basically the same thing as a guy whose never played it before, learning how to play rugby.

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ATHLETE

DIARY

INTERNATIONAL SPORTING JOURNAL: AMERICAN FOOTBALL

& JOURNAL

I remember after one particular practice, just before we left for Ft. Huachuca I told Coach Rich Rodriguez (the head coach) that I can punt. He was really very impressed.

They taught me how to put on pads, knee braces and showed me how to use the helmets etc. Everything that little kids do when they’re young, I was taught at the age of 19. The weather during the summer camp was really hot! Sometimes over 40˚C.

FOOTB LL

Here is a video of Coach Rodriguez talking about me and my limited knowledge of football

So I went back to South Africa just before the African junior championships. My mother had teary eyes when I saw them at the airport. I really miss my family when I get time to think a little about everything that’s on my mind. I was happy to see everyone back at home. I won the African Junior Championships and had a really great time in Mauritius. I ended up with the worst mark of the year (given the fact that I only had about four events with the 1.75 kg discus).

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ANDRIES Van der Merwe NO HURDLE TOO BIG

no hurdle

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INTERNATIONAL SPORTING JOURNAL: Athletics

If there should be Americans who become staunch Springbok rugby supporters during the next three years or so, all credit should go to Andries van der Merwe.

Upon arrival at my first track training session I noticed that there were more coaches than athletes.

Being watched from every possible angle leaves no flaw unattended.

The former youth world champion in the 110-hurdles is currently at the World Athletics Center in Phoenix, Arizona where he trains with some of the best hurdlers in the world.

“Training alongside Aries Merritt (current world record holder and Olympic gold medallist) there is no lack of motivation. The perfection in his hurdling technique leaves me with a lot to learn.

But you can only do so much running on a day. In the evenings, when the training is done, the athletes get the opportunity to do all sorts of things that are not necessarily related to athletics, and it was during these ‘free’ periods that Van der Merwe turned into a ‘crusader’ for the Springboks.

Van der Merwe explains in his monthly diary for Game On: “The welcome that I have received as a South African was extremely positive. Most people are happy to help me find whatever I need.

“I’ve met a coach who comes from California where he used to play rugby for his school. This meant that we share a common interest and consequently I’ve spent most of my free time playing rugby on his Xbox, trying to defend the pride of the Springboks.

“In preparation for the 2014 Track and Field season, which will also be my first year hurdling for Texas A&M University, I’ve decided to join the World Athletics Center in Phoenix, Arizona, for a two-month training camp.

“The competitive and focused way in which the American athletes train, which is probably the key to their success, still inspires me. The support the athletes receive is unparalleled.

“It will be interesting to see how this quality of training will affect my performance over the next few months. Hopefully I will be successful in the first year that I will compete as a senior”.

too big

ATHLETE

DIARY & JOURNAL

“Being the youngest athlete in the elite training group, I soon realised that the next eight weeks would probably be the hardest and most intensive training of my life...and I was right

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TUKS SPORTS WE ARE THE CHAMPS

VARSITY CHAMPS AKANI SIMBINE Athletics Captain

CONGRAT JONO ROSS Rugby (Lock)

2013 Varsity Cup Champions

in Rugby, Soccer and Athletics

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SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS: VARSITY SPORT

CUP KABELO RAMONGANE Soccer Captain

TULATIONS ANNERIE EBERSON Athletics Captain

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