MARIESA POTGIETER On 13 May, at Ellis Park Indoor Arena, the Gauteng Jaguars beat the Southern Stings 51-43. The Gauteng Jaguars, which comprises mos...

PAUL GRAY The French Open, otherwise known as Roland Garros, takes place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris from 27 May to 10 June. This year’s vers...

KEEGAN SULLIVAN On 27 April, after five days of exhilarating cricket, the Assupol TuksCricket team was crowned the Momentum National Club Champions p...

Caitlyn Walsh Perdeby spoke to TuksWomensRugby seven’s player Kemisetso Baloyi to talk about her experience as a rugby player. Baloyi has been playin...

Caitlyn Walsh

Perdeby spoke to TuksWomensRugby seven’s player Kemisetso Baloyi to talk about her experience as a rugby player. Baloyi has been playing rugby for five years and joined TuksRugby in 2016.

Why did you decide to join TuksRugby?

I wanted to be a part of one of the most successful teams in the country, I knew joining the club would [help] [me] grow […] as a player.

What has been your best memory out on the field?

It’s difficult to pick one but it is between winning the Stanislas 7s and the Oktoberfest 7s, and winning bronze at the Dubai 7s.

Rugby is often presumed to be a male’s sport, have you, as a woman, ever experienced social or gender barriers in sport?

The mere fact that some people still get surprised when they learn that there is women’s rugby, is a challenge on its own. I feel that we do not get as much media coverage and opportunities as our male counterparts.

How do you overcome these challenges?

We try as much as we can to promote our team on social media platforms, that way we attract a lot of attention towards the sport.

Ntokozo Zondo

TuksBasketball men’s first team participated in the Ashraf tournament from 23-29 April and the Tshwane May Day Tournament on 1 May. TuksBasketball chairperson Ludwig Gerdes, said “We entered both tournaments with intentions of being one of the best basketball sides in the country, playing high quality basketball.”

The Ashraf Tournament saw the team lose their first three games and not qualifying for the knockout stage of the tournament.

However, The Tshwane May Day Tournament provided an opportunity for redemption for the team as they showed up in full force winning three games and earning themselves a spot in the semi-finals. To qualify for the semi-finals, they had achieved a score of 39-20 against the Charioteers, a comfortable win of 49-20 against the 012 and a score of 35-29 against the Soldiers. The team played and lost to Africa Elite in the finals resulting in them earning second place overall in the tournament.

The first team which is captained by Rufaro Warinda, entered both competitions with set objectives for their performance. Gerdes who plays on the first team rotating between small forward and power forward positions, reviewed the team’s performance for both tournaments reflecting that, “We feel the performance at the Ashraf tournament left a lot to be desired, but also that we redeemed ourselves considerably in the Tshwane May Day tournament.” He further emphasized that, “As much as our goals and results did not align in the Ashraf Tournament it served as a learning curve and we made our intentions clear in the second tournament playing the brand of basketball that makes us one of the best teams in the country.”

Ashley Magwindiri

A trampoline is a recreational tool used for acrobatic training.UP offers a trampoline program that caters for beginner athletes and international athletes, from the age of four to the age of 60. The TuksTrampoline membership fee includes access to training facilities and association with the South African Gymnastics Federation.

According to Summer Olympic Sport, trampolines were developed in 1934 and were mainly used to train astronauts and as a training tool for other sports. TuksTrampoline coach Lucky Radebe said, “The trampoline was introduced by Helen van der Walt in the 90’s and was joined with Artistic Gymnastics.” In 2013, trampoline was separated from artistic gymnastics. Radebe said the growth of trampoline is often difficult as equipment is expensive and it has to be imported. However, the lack of a dedicated venue is the biggest problem for TuksTrampoline gymnasts. “The university try to accommodate the sport by making Groenkloof available but it is difficult [to train]when changes are done at short notice,” he said.

Radebe believes that in Africa trampoline is not that popular because it is mainly seen as a recreational activity. Trampoline made its debut as an Olympic sport in 2000 at the Sydney games where during each event trampolinists perform at least 10 different manoeuvres, with five judges scoring their efforts.

Ashley Magwindiri

Shania-Lee Swart is a UP athlete who made headlines at a Mpumalanga versus Eastern Gauteng cricket game in 2016, after being the only player who managed to score runs for her team. This incredible feat made her feature in the Guinness Book of World Records. Swart recently tried out rugby, and all her coaches had positive feedback. Speaking to Perdeby, Swart gave some insight on how she juggles all the sports, and still manage to stay on top.

What motivated you to go for rugby?
My mother motivated me, she received a WhatsApp message from coach Riaan with all the information. Coach Riaan made it sound so awesome. So, my mom said, “Go to a practice session and if you don’t like it, then you don’t have to ask yourself in the future what if?” Well, here I am playing rugby and loving every moment. My dad was a great rugby player, he played for Suid Oos, now known as Pumas.

You hold a good cricket record, how have you managed to stay on top of the game?
I think my love and passion for cricket kept me on top and a lot of hard work every week. I have to say the encouragement from all my supporters around the world made me want to do even better.

Your first rugby game was on 19 March 2018, do you plan on continuing with rugby? If yes, what are your goals?
Yes, I do, my goals are to run out on the field one day wearing [...] green and gold representing South Africa, and to always win the TuksRugby matches.

You are also a hockey player, and you are involved in shot put and javelin. Can you share the secret behind being a multi talented athlete?
Self-discipline and hard work. You must believe in yourself and most important[ly], have passion and heart. The above plays a big role in your success to the top.