By Chris Totobela All roads lead to the Sundays River municipality this weekend; the Sarah Baartman women’s football tournament is on show to celebrate Heritage Month. Teams will represent their respective municipalities in this tournament, which will be held at the Valencia Stadium in Addo. Speaking to Grocott’s Mail, tournament organiser Luyanda Sitwayi said this event aims to revive women’s football in this region. “We want to unite women’s teams in our region and give exposure to our rural teams as well, but our main focus is to re-establish the women’s regional league,” said Stwayi. He appealed to all the…
Author: Chris Totobela
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NguChris Totobela Kuzobe kugoso okwaphukayo kule mpelaveki izayo nalapho amaqela amakhwenkwana aselula azobe eqhubisene. Onke amaqela angaphantsi kweminyaka elishumi elinanye, ishumi elinesithathu neminyaka elishumi elinesihlanu azobe evana amandla kwitumente ezobe ibanjelwe kumabala aseSt Andrew’s College. ISt Andrew’s College esingatha neququzelela lo mnyadala izobe ithatha inxaxheba nayo kule midlalo. Iqela la magqiyazana lalapha eMakhanda iAfrican Connection lizobe lithatha inxaxheba nalo kulo mnyadala njenge ndwendwe. Amakonokono azosebenzisa le midlalo ukulungiselela imidlalo yamaqela amagqiyazana eSarah Baartman ezokubanjwa ebutsheni kunyaka olandelayo. Kuzobe kuxhelwe exhukwane kubantu abathanda ibhola yabo baselula kwaye naba qeqeshi ba lamaqela bazokufumana ithuba lokuhlengahlengisa amaqela abo ukuze alungele imidlalo yabo yeMakana…
By Chris Totobela During Heritage Month, we will look at local sporting heroes who have contributed to developing local sports. This week we feature Makhanda’s first Black player from a previously marginalised school to make the Eastern Province rugby team. The lightning-fast Michael Nyenge fell in love with the game after watching a few games at the Oval rugby field. He started his career with the Lilly White juniors while he was still at Archie Mbolekwa Primary School. It was here that he was taught rugby basics under the guidance of his former teacher, Mr Nkayi. He left Makhanda for…
By Chris Totobela During Heritage Month, we will look at local sporting heroes who have contributed to developing local sports. The first sports hero is one of the best footballers Makhanda has produced. His name is, Julian “Jubs” Loutz. His football career started in 1980 when his former teacher at George Dickerson Primary School, Mr Meiring, convinced him to give up rugby for football. This was a good move as he started enjoying football and even captained the school’s team. They played against other schools around Makhanda, including St Andrews College, Graeme College and Andrew Moyake Public School. His love…
By Chris Totobela Closing off Women’s Month is the story of Qhama Chotsheni, a girl slowly making a name for herself in karate. The 14-year-old Ntsika Secondary School, grade 8 learner is making waves in the karate sport a few years after joining Joza karate club in 2016 under the guidance of sensei Matebese. Chotsheni comes from a family of sports where all her siblings played different sports except karate, so she decided to follow a different path. Chotsheni is now a purple belt (6th grade) whose main aim is to one day participate in international championships abroad. She shared…
By Chris Totobela One of Makhanda’s netball and basketball icons, Alutha “Slam” Ngqoyiya-Veto, has represented the town well in netball at the national level. Her love for netball started while she was still at Ntaba Maria Primary School before moving on to Nombulelo Secondary School, where she only played for three months. The married mother of two children, 13-year-old daughter Inathi and 6-year-old Lulutho has represented Sarah Baartman District on numerous occasions in netball. She was part of the 2008/2009 South African females national basketball team and enjoyed every minute. She says some of the challenges causing a lack of…
By Chris Totobela In our final segment of celebrating Makhanda’s top sportswomen, we recognize the role played by iconic local sports star, Nomawethu Simama. Simama is well known in the aerobics circles for her energetic performances and swift moves. Born and bred in Makhanda and the firstborn of her parents’ four children, she joined Joza Aerobics and Fitness Club in 2016 with the aim of losing weight. In 2018, Simama took a break and returned in 2020 under the guidance of coach Vuyokazi Smile. This time, she was determined to go all the way. Her determination paid off and she…
NguChris Totobela Bekuxhelw’ exhukwane kubathandi naba landeli bebhola apha eMakhanda. Imidlalo yesigaba sokuqala seMakana LFA idlaliwe kumabala amabini ase-Extension 7. NgoMgqibelo iRising Stars ibhungce ngamanqaku amathathu kwamabini ngethuba iqhubisene neCameroon. IHellenic ilwe kwamdaka iisali ngethuba ibetha iJuventus ngenqaku elinye eqandeni kumdlalo obunzima ngeyona ndlela. Lo mdlalo ubugcwele amathuba kuwo omabini lamaqela kodwa ubuthundu beefolosi zabo kubangele ukuba abaqeqeshi balamaqela bacaphuke. IVukani Anchors ibhaxabule iJacaranda Academy ngamanqaku amabini eqandeni. Kwimidlalo yangeCawe, iHellenic iphindile yafaka amanqaku amathathu engxoweni yayo ngethuba itywatyusha iVukani Anchors ngamanqaku amathathu eqandeni, yaze yona iSeven Stars yadlala ntanganye ngamanqaku amathathu macala neCameroon. Amataliyane abuye kakubi ngeCawe abhaxabhula iLeicester…
By Chris Totobela As we close Women’s Month, we pay respect to women by recognising their role in sport. Alicedale United player and South African Police Services (SAPS) officer, Khanyiso Mzileni, started playing rugby in 2017 when she was recruited to play for the SAPS rugby team. It did not long for her to make this decision as she liked the challenge of trying something new. She also viewed this as an opportunity for her to travel to other provinces. Her first game was a friendly match against the University of Fort Hare team, who were a step ahead and…
By Chris Totobela Women’s boxing sensation, Makhanda’s finest and South African champion in the 63kg division, Asanele “Rush Hour” Macwili has put Makhanda on the map after winning her title last year in Durban. Macwili started her boxing career in 2017 when she joined Mfuzo Boxing Camp. She recalls her first sparring as if it was yesterday, remembering how she was thrown into the deep end. She fought against her male counterpart and won that difficult and testing bout, and from then on she never looked back. The Khutliso Daniels Secondary School learner’s boxing skills improved and she started gaining…