Author: Stephen Kisbey-Green

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. According to the EPG’s report, the big three sporting codes in South…

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. “We are very pleased to be sponsoring this,” said Anton Vorster, the GBS Mutual Bank Managing Director. “We are in for a three year period and this is year two of that. We…

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. On Saturday 6 April, the opening day of the festival saw Hilton and St George’s clash first, with the KZN school running out as 21-12 victors. This was followed up by a 27-24 victory for Ithembelihle over the Lambs, before the two local sides earned their own victories on…

Easter weekend of 2019 will see Jeffrey’s Bay host the first ever South African Beach Netball Tournament, from 19-20 April. Beach netball combines the sport of netball with the fun and family atmosphere of the beach in an exciting and entertaining sport that has taken off across the globe. The Sarah Baartman District will host this South African first, with Jeffrey’s Bay being seen as the ideal place for such a tournament to take place. Anina Vlok, Chairperson of the Sarah Baartman Netball Association, is excited to introduce beach netball to the country. “Netball will be taken to new heights…

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. In her third year studying a BSc in Conservation Ecology, Wille will be looking to take home the gold in the U23 category, as she did in Canada two years ago. In 2018, Wille took part in her second consecutive Worlds…

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. The Kings were looking for revenge for their earlier round defeat to the Dragons in September 2018, this time hoping the home field advantage would remain a factor. The Kings’ poor handling cost them early on, as a counter attack was turned into…

Update #18 It’s all over and the Kings draw with the Dragons. Final score 18-18 Update #17 With just two minutes left in the match, Lewis converts a penalty to tie things up. Kings 18-18 Dragons Update #16 Five minutes left in the match, and the Kings still lead by 18-15 Update #15 A yellow card is shown to Masake, for taking the man out in the air. Update #14 The Dragons’ Lloyd Fairbrother is shown a yellow card for charging into the ruck recklessly. Update #13 Jordan Williams breaks through for the Dragons and scores under the posts. Josh…

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. The fight was not an easy one for the champ, as he was not expecting Gaxa, whose previous match on 29 April 2018 ended in the second round with Gaxa winning via a Technical Knockout, to be a credible threat to his title. He found…

As the schools once again enjoy their much-deserved holiday breaks, many parents wonder how they are going to look after their children while still at work. For the children and parents in Seven Fountains, this issue has been solved by the Lalibela Game Reserve, who host a holiday club for children to attend throughout the school holidays and enjoy fun, games and snacks galore. Started in 2018, the Lalibela Holiday Club takes place during every public school holiday period, meaning that four times a year, children that would otherwise be bored at home, can enjoy the holidays through games and…

The early stages of the schoolboy rugby season continued at the Standard Bank Grey High School Rugby Festival on Thursday 21 March and Saturday 23 March, with schools from across the country travelling to Port Elizabeth to take part. From Makhanda; Graeme College, Kingswood College and St Andrew’s College would all look to make their mark in the prestigious festival of schoolboy rugby. All three schools brought more than just their first teams to the festival, with U14, U15 and U16 matches also taking place on both days. The Graeme age-group teams celebrated with three wins against St Alban’s on…