By Chesley Daniels The long-awaited annual SCORE Eastern Province Rugby Union (Epru) Grand Challenge competition is finally here and will officially kick off this weekend. SCORE Energy Drink will again be the proud sponsor of the Grand Challenge and has extended its partnership with Epru. There are various Sedru clubs competing in the Grand Challenge competition from this area and keen to do well this year. Trying Stars and Grahamstown Brumbies are competing in the Grand Challenge Top 12 while St Marks Alicedale and Lily White will feature in the Grand Challenge Bottom 12. Top 12 Brumbies vs Joubertina United …
Author: Luvuyo Mjekula
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By Chris Totobela The Alicedale community is rallying behind their athletics star, 15-year-old Lunathi Sitwayi, as he prepares to compete in a national championship in Cape Town. A pupil at Hendrik Kanise Combined School, Lunathi, is part of the Khulasande Wonder Kids Programme, an initiative by Khulasande Sports Development to help young sports stars reach their full potential. Lunathi booked his spot in the championships after participating in several EP League meetings in Gqeberha. He received well wishes from his school community. A proud Abongile James, the teacher and sports officer at Hendrik Kanise, attributed Lunathi’s success to hard work. “We…
By Chris Totobela Local football fans were treated to a feast of football on Saturday as JD Dlepu Stadium hosted a Hollywood Bets Regional League doubleheader. In the lunchtime kick-off, City Pirates came up against Port Alfred’s Mighty Forest in a game that failed to produce any goals. In the main game of the day, XI Attackers dusted themselves off from last week’s defeat at the hands of City Pirates to face Alexandria-based Superstars FC in an exciting game. The game started at a blistering pace with both teams throwing everything at each other but failing to convert any of…
By Chris Totobela Boxing fans from all over the Eastern Cape made their way to Foley’s Community Hall in Hlalani this past weekend to witness the province’s professional boxers in action. Makinana Boxing Promotions hosted the tournament. Speaking to Grocott’s Mail before the tournament, Phakamile Mandla of Makinana Boxing Promotions, said Makhanda was very close to his heart. “Many young boys from here are rehabilitated in my Mooiplaas-based rehabilitation centre in the Buffalo City Metro.” Mandla alluded to the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture’s campaign to take boxing to rural areas and small towns. He said they…
By Chris Totobela Makhanda’s top female boxer Esona “The General” Peter had trained hard and was ready to compete with the best boxers in the world. But her hopes to represent her country at an all-women world championships in Serbia were dashed when the trip to the European country was called off, due to administrative problems. Esona had recently raised her home town’s flag very high at the South African National Amateur Boxing Organisation’s National Championships in East London, emerging as a national champion in her category and thus booking herself a ticket to Serbia. The championships formed part of…
By Siphesihle Joji, Andisiwe Plaatjie, Nomfundo Mbatha and Malebo Pheme Social workers from across the region gathered at Fort England Main Hall to celebrate World Social Work Day, and the launch of the Social Worker Forum last week. The event became a platform to voice frustrations over the challenges afflicting the profession. Despite their crucial role in addressing social injustices, many social workers feel undervalued and underpaid, with limited opportunities for career growth in Makhanda. This year’s theme, “Strengthening intergenerational solidarity for enduring wellbeing,” set the stage for moving discussions about the challenges and triumphs faced by social workers in…
By Gcina Ntsaluba The South African Library for the Blind (SALB) celebrated South African Library Week 2025 with a special event held on Thursday in Makhanda to highlight the library’s importance for social support and lifelong learning. The event, which aims to promote human rights issues amongst the blind and partially sighted communities, was held under the theme “Libraries for Sustainable Communities”. “Today’s event is particularly significant as we focus on the crucial intersection of human rights and sustainable communities,” said Vuyo Mandongana, a senior librarian for Outreach and Member Liaison. She said that libraries, especially those that serve marginalised…
By Chesley Daniels Grahamstown Brumbies Rugby Club profoundly reclaimed the famous Abrahams-Brooks Stallion Cup with an emphatic 38-33 win over PE Harlequins at the Rhodes Prospect Field in Makhanda on Saturday afternoon. The annual memorial event and fixture had taken a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Harlies were still the holders when they came up against Brumbies. A Prospect field packed with a large crowd and a sunny day provided the perfect atmosphere for the spectacular battle. The spectators were certainly treated to some highly entertaining running rugby, long range tries, big hits and high intensity rugby. The…
By Chris Totobela Football lovers made their way to the JD Dlepu Stadium in Joza this past weekend to watch a top local derby between City Pirates and XI Attackers in the Hollywood Bets Regional League. The game started at a blistering pace with both teams showing good intentions. Attackers took control of the midfield battle and created good scoring chances but failed to convert them. Pirates absorbed a lot of pressure and caught Attackers with a sucker punch in the 29th minute when Sibulele Ndibaza blasted home a loose ball from a set piece to give his side the…
By Chris Totobela Boxing officials gathered at the offices of the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) in Makhanda to elect new leadership for the Sarah Baartman Boxing Organisation (Sababo). Representatives came from all over the Sarah Baartman district and the election process went seamlessly under the observation of the DSRAC officials T Qwili and M Dingana. Khayalethu Richards was elected as the new president while former president Thembisa Qinela is his deputy and Bongi Mbangeli secretary. Notably all three senior officials come from Makhanda. The deputy secretary is S Mahonono from Kirkwood while M Funde, the new…