by Tracey Ruff | Mar 24, 2014 | Sport
The Wits Men’s Water Polo club has climbed from league bottom dwellers only a few years ago to top of the log after winning the Gauteng 3rd Division Cup and finishing top of their league.
The team has seen dramatic improvement under new coach, Kelsey White, who took the reins in August last year.
“The guys needed a decent coach,” White told Wits Vuvuzela.
White, who has played water polo internationally, attributes the team’s success to “good spirit, dedication and hard work in training sessions.”
Team captain Bjorn Eggers, 3rd year MBBCh, feels that there is “great commitment” from the players.
“[There] is no hierarchy in the team [and] all the guys are really humble. Everyone just keeps each other motivated,” he said.
“The coach has been fantastic.”
When asked about how he balances studying medicine with playing water polo, Eggers said it was all a matter of balance.
“[It’s] really difficult to balance study and play,” he said. However, “[sport] is so important for mental and physical well-being.”
Player Richard Fisher, 4th year BSc Mechanical Engineering, hopes that the club will go from strength-to-strength and get more exposure. “Water polo is a relatively small sport [but] there has recently been a lot more interest from matric-leaving students,” said Fisher.
Although one should be fairly fit to play, there are no prerequisites for Witsies wanting to join the club.
Fisher said that even knowing how to swim was not a prerequisite though it would “help”.
The team played their last match of the season on March 16 and ended it off with a super splash of success.
Playing against Pretoria Old Boys in the final of the Gauteng 3rd Division Cup, Wits managed to take the match after four chukkas of 12 minutes, eight goals to six.
Wits experienced a late challenge after halftime when Pretoria changed tactics and managed to score several quick goals early in the third chukka.
“We luckily managed to halt and keep them at bay for the rest of the game,” said Fisher.
Wits goalkeeper and vice captain, Murray Dryden, had a superb game managing to save two penalties and several one-on-ones.
The team aims to capitalise on their success when the new season starts again.
A (GOAL)DEN MOMENT: It was a nail-biting match for the water polo Witsies held at Jeppe Boys High on March 15. Photo: Tracey Ruff
by Tracey Ruff | Mar 18, 2014 | Sport
It was a triumphant end to the season for the Wits Men’s Water Polo Club this past weekend.
The team, competing in the Gauteng 3rd Division, won the cup on Sunday with a score of 8 goals to 6 against Pretoria Old Boys.
Saturday afternoon saw the team compete in a nail-biting semi-final against home favourites, Jeppe Water Polo Club. After drawing 2-2 at the end of the match – with a tie in the following penalty shootout – Wits’ Brett van Staden, 1st year medicine, scored the winning goal in the sudden-death penalty shootout.
Going for Goal: Wits’ Brett van Staden scores the winning goal in the semi-final against Jeppe Water Polo Club. Photo: Tracey Ruff.
Sunday’s final had the team play 4 chukkas of 12 minutes – longer than the 2 chukkas of 10 minutes in the semi-final. At half-time, Wits was leading by 6 – 1, which led to Pretoria Old Boys changing up their tactics and scoring five more goals.
Keeper and vice-captain, Murray Dryden, had “a fantastic game” according to fellow player Richard Fisher, 4th year mechanical engineering. “[He] saved two five metre penalties and several one-on-ones, which is very unusual for any keeper.”
The club, which has undergone significant improvement since last season under new coach, Kelsey White, is currently top of their league.
by Tracey Ruff | Mar 13, 2014 | Sport
MEMORIES MADE: Team members (from left to right) Alexa Brown, Alistair Moodie and Patrick Chappel share a lighthearted moment as they watch a slideshow of their experiences. Photo: Tracey Ruff
From subliminal sunsets at sea to late-night samba parties, the Wits Cape 2 Rio sailing team have experienced it all in just a few short months.
The team finished 6th in one of the world’s most gruelling yacht races and was officially welcomed back to home turf by the Wits Yacht Club this past week.
Getting raucous in Rio
“We took Rio, smashed it in its face [and] ripped it to shreds,” joked Alistair Moodie, who was the watch captain on board. The team spoke of their experiences through a slide show at the welcome party and even brought along their CapetoRio trinkets to show off.
Patrick Chappel, bowman on the yacht, was no less emphatic: “To pull it off and really accomplish it … [Cape 2 Rio] is the longest ocean-crossing race in the world … it’s a huge accomplishment.”
Wits deputy vice-chancellor (finance and operations), Professor Tawana Kupe was glowing in his praise of the team’s achievement: “It confirms one thing; [their achievement] gives Wits the edge. Wits was the only university in the race and we came sixth and won a medal. [The team] definitely did Wits proud. It is an inspirational performance.”
The Wits Cape 2 Rio team was the only student team in this year’s race and the first Wits team to race in the competition since 1984.
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by Tracey Ruff | Mar 13, 2014 | News
TALK TO ME: Students from Israel engage Witsies under the SAUJS’ ‘Peace Tent’. Photo: Tracey Ruff
Origami paper doves under the so-called ‘Peace Tent’ were the only birds to be seen on the university lawns yesterday as rain dampened the start of Israeli Apartheid Week activities (IAW).
Despite the gloomy weather, Witsies came out in significant numbers to support the ‘Peace Tent’, erected by the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) as part of their Give Peace Wings project.
For the Purpose of Peace
“We [the SAUJS] decided to set up the Peace Tent [because] the truth is we are never going to get anywhere unless people sit down, discuss, and have rational debate,” said David Isakow, 3rd year Media and Psychology. “We … want to raise awareness about people coming together and making dialogue.”
The initiative encourages any student, irrespective of religion, culture, or political affiliation, to come into the tent and actively participate in dialogue surrounding a number of African and Middle Eastern issues. The idea of the tent is to encourage people to talk.
Visitors were also encouraged to fold an origami dove. “By making a [paper] dove, you are making a [contribution] towards peace”, Isakow said.
Africans for Israel
On Tuesday, Serge Tshibangu, PhD (CompSci) candidate, spoke in the tent about his experience as an African visiting Israel two years ago. Born in the DRC, Tshibangu now lives in South Africa. “Israel is a country that needs African support,” he said. Issues could always be solved “by talking to each other,” Tshibangu added.
Two Israeli students, Kokit Hylo and Eyal Cohen, told Wits Vuvuzela they had volunteered to come to South Africa to “promote education about Israel across the world because of a lot of misinformation [about the conflict in Israel]”. Cohen, who is also part of an Israel awareness project called Stand with Us, felt it was important to “share his personal experience of Israel” with South African students.
Wits students who visited the tent were generally positive about the intiative. Safiyya Paruk, 1st year MBBCh, believes the Peace Tent is a “good thing to have [as] it brings things into perspective”.
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