Caitlyn Walsh Perdeby interviewed leaders of TuksCheerleading, Unathi Jofile and Nkosingiphile Mncube, to get an understanding of TuksCheerleading an...

Ashley Magwindiri Bongani von Bodenstein, a third year UP student, qualified for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in April. Perdeby had the opportunit...

Ntombi Mkandhla At the recent Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix meeting, Caster Semenya broke the Women’s 1000 m record with a time of 2:35.44. The ...

Ntokozo Zondo TuksCycling participated in the Zwartkop Raceway over the weekend on 18 March. The club sent members to compete in the event; Ruben van...

Ashley Magwindiri

Bongani von Bodenstein, a third year UP student, qualified for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in April. Perdeby had the opportunity to chat with Bongani von Bodenstein about his overall success.

Are you self-taught or did you get lessons from a master?
Fortunately growing up, I had people who taught me the basics and helped [me] get a jump start on my badminton career. Just to name a few, the late David Banks, Martie, Daniel Sibeko, Billy and Ruby Caper, Chris­tina Caldeira, Michelle Butler Emmett and Stewart Carson.

What does your average week of training look like?
Monday mornings start at 04:30 with sprints followed by gym at 07:30 and then training on court later at 17:30. Tuesdays are a little better as I’m in gym by 07:30 cycling and strengthening, and training at 17:30. On Wednesday I follow the Monday routine, Thursday it’s the Tuesday routine, then Fridays are gym days and lastly Saturdays are game days with my friend and partner Ruan Snyman.

During a game, it’s easy to lose sight of your primary objectives. How do you keep yourself in check?
Whenever I feel distracted on court I simply start praying quietly to calm my mind and then readjust my focus.

In addition to being crowned a triple champion in 2016 and 2017, this season has been remarkable for you. What has been the secret behind your success?
Honestly the “secret” behind my success is God. To elaborate, everything I do, I do to glorify his name, he has blessed me with this talent and it’s a privilege to showcase this talent for him... I may train slightly harder than some players but it’s the faith that makes the difference in my opinion.

Ntombi Mkandhla

At the recent Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix meeting, Caster Semenya broke the Women’s 1000 m record with a time of 2:35.44. The former record stood strong for 35 years and was placed by Ilze Wicksell in 1983. “People always  ask me how I feel about my record being broken,” Wicksell said, adding that she “knew” Semenya would break it. “[Semenya] trained hard and achieved her goals. I am extremely glad for her.” Semenya beat Wicksell’s 2:37.45 record by just under two seconds. Wicksell said that while it brings great pride to have held a record for over three decades, a record cannot stand for so long. “That means something is wrong,” she added. Wicksell expressed her hope to see middle distance running grow further in South Africa, particularly for women. “Middle distance running needs speed and endurance,” she said, a combination which may deter many athletes from pursuing the sport.

Growing up in the 1970s, Wicksell did not have speed but she certainly had endurance. “I never made the relay team [in primary school] as they picked the four fastest.” Nonetheless, she carried on running while doing other sports all through to high school at Hoërskool Menlopark. “I never thought of being an athlete, it was purely for enjoyment,” she added.

As she studied teaching at the University of the Freestate, Wicksell was coached by the renowned De Villiers Lamprecht whom she said “guided her and motivated her”. During her first year at university, she did not make the finals at the South African National Track and Field Championships’ 800m race. “But we pushed. In my second year, I went down to Potchefstroom and I won the race with a time of 2.03” she said. Her performance resulted in her being shortlisted for the Springbok side. “After that,” Wicksell said, “I knew I could run”.

Wicksell went on to win the 800m SA title consecutively for the next four years. It was in 1983 when Wicksell met her goal and the public expectation to run a sub two-minute in the 800m race in Stellenbosch. This made her the first African woman to achieve such a feat. As she tore through the ribbon, Wicksell said, “at that moment, I wanted to call my father, but I couldn’t because he had died in January […] so I just burst into tears instead.”

TuksTennis recently hosted their student tennis championships at the TuksTennis Courts. Perdeby sat down with Kyla Yelverton, the TuksTennis chairperson, to find out more about the tournament and the team’s plans and aspirations. Yelverton described the championships as a “full on tennis tournament with proper draws and seedings in which all players who wish to be a part of the student team enter.” Yelverton added that the championships help assist the club in ordering players according to rank and ability.

What objectives do the club have for the upcoming tennis season?
Last year we came very close to winning USSA by losing 7.6 to Kovsies in the final. This year we are out for gold and not silver. As a club we aim [to win] the Sun City Intervarsity challenge coming up in April, the USSA Tennis tournament coming up in July, as well as excelling and going for gold in our Gauteng North Leagues.

Ntokozo Zondo

South African cricket has a compelling and long history. This history can be divided into three eras; pre-apartheid era, apartheid era and post-apartheid era.

South African cricket has always been shadowed by racial lines, the earliest instance being Armien “Krom” Hendricks, a coloured cricketer during the 1890s who was prohibited from playing on the national and international team. Hendricks came into prominence during the Malay XVIII against the touring MCC side led by Walter Read at Newlands on March 22 and 23. According to ESPN, “The game in which Hendricks first came to prominence in 1892 was the only time a touring side played a non-white team until the end of the apartheid era.” South Africa’s provinces were asked to send nominations for the 1894 tour of England, and Hendricks was included in the Transvaal and Western Province selections. However, William Milton, the second test series captain at the time, thought that it would be improper to have him represent the team internationally. While a compromise was reached to allow Hendricks to accompany the team in the official capacity as a bag master, the idea was dismissed by Hendricks who told Cape Times, ”I would not think of going in that capacity.”