On Thursday 4 July, the MEC for the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC), Fezeka Bayeni, addressed the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, detailing the 2019/20 MEC Policy updates for the coming year. In her speech, Bayeni set out the plans, goals and budgets for the Eastern Cape DSRAC, as well as detailed to what extent each of the various aspects of the department will be focused on the coming months.
On Saturday 27 April, I was lucky enough to cover the Freedom Day celebrations in Makhanda, which gave me the unique opportunity to be within a 5m radius of the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa. While others at Grocott's Mail were tasked with the writing and social media updates of the event, I was given the task of taking great photos. Here are the best photos that I took on the day:
As the GBS Mutual Bank Mountain Drive Half-Marathon creeps its way closer, with just 15 weeks to go until race-day on 24 August, runners and walkers planning on tackling the mountain should be starting their training for the event. However, what many first time runners do not always take into consideration is the importance of one’s diet while training.
While the majority of the country was swept up in election-fever, South African sports fans were outraged by the decision made by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Court of Arbitration on Wednesday 1 May, stating that athletes competing in the 800m sprints must be within a certain testosterone level to compete in women’s events. This directly affected Caster Semenya, who has naturally-elevated testosterone levels.
After the release of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) report on transformation in South Africa on Tuesday 23 April, the question of transformation in sport, youth development and sporting infrastructure was once again brought to the fore. While the focus seems to be on the number of top level athletes in various sporting codes forming a representative number of the population, it has to be acknowledged that in order truly transform sport, more emphasis is needed on athlete identification and development, as well as infrastructure building and maintenance.
The 2019 GBS Mutual Bank Mountain Drive Half Marathon has officially been announced, once again organised by the Rotary Club of Grahamstown Sunset, with the aid of the Albany Saints and Sinner Multisport Club and sponsored by GBS Mutual Bank. For the second year in a row, the GBS Mountain Drive 21km challenges residents and visitors to conquer the mountain, this time on Saturday 24 August, 2019.
All roads lead to Kingswood College between 6 and 10 April, as they played host to their First Team Jubilee Rugby Festival. Schools from all over the country, as well as a team from Zimbabwe and one from the United Kingdom, descended on Makhanda (Grahamstown) to show off their rugby skills.
Taryn-Maie Wille, an old-Kingswoodian currently studying in Stellenbosch University, will once again showcase her talent on the world stage in the Elite Cross-Triathlon World Championships in Spain at the end of April. While the ITU Championships will take place in Pontevreda, Spain, from 26 April to 4 May, Wille’s event, the Elite Cross-Triathlon, will take place on Tuesday 30 April.
Round 19 of the Guinness Pro14 kicked off in the Nelson Mandela University Madibaz’s Stadium on Sunday 7 April, when the Isuzu Southern Kings hosted the Dragons from Wales in Port Elizabeth. Despite the massive traffic delays caused by the Ironman competition happening around the stadium at the same time, the match kicked off in perfect conditions.
After a tough fight against fierce opposition, Makhanda’s (Grahamstown’s) local boxing champion came out of his South African Welterweight Championship defence on Sunday 31 March as the deserved champion. Mziwoxolo Ndwayana successfully defended his SA Welterweight Championship against Odwa Gaxa at a packed Uitenhage Indoor Sports Centre, with a knock out in the seventh round.
Stephen Kisbey-Green Photography 