LOSING SPEED: The numbers of Wits Athletics club have dwindled since the start of the year. On the starting line (left to right) are Ndinannyi Maphula and Hope Mgwenya. Photo: Anlerie de Wet
Three women are the only members keeping the Wits Athletics club alive.
“We are not where we want to be, but we have a plan,” said newly appointed athletics coach and old Wits athletics champion, Richard Mayer. The coach doesn’t seem phased by the lack of members because, as he put it: “Where there is life, there is hope.”
The club began at the beginning of the year with nine members, but as academic pressures kicked in members started tailing off, according to Mayer.
“When people don’t take the sport seriously and with Wits Sport not funding us, it is really demotivating.”
The members who quit never prioritised athletics, said first-year BA General student Hope Mgwenya. “They just came to lose weight. They don’t have the passion or competitive urge for the sport.”
Mayer, however, is not bothered about people’s motives for joining the club. “Although we do need people to perform and profile Wits, we also need others, who may not be so talented, to commit and build-up the club.”
Ndinannyi Maphula, 3rd year Geology, said: “I am disappointed about the attendance. When people don’t take the sport seriously and with Wits Sport not funding us, it is really demotivating.” When Mayer joined the Wits Athletics club as a student in 1985, the club was thriving and produced champions such as Bruce Fordyce and Mark Plaatjes. “I want to bring back Wits Athletics to the success it was back then,” Mayer said.
Due to the lack of membership and funding the Athletics club will not be representing Wits at the University Sport SA (USSA) championships in Stellenbosch next weekend. Mgwenya believes the club will grow once they start competing and do well. “But now the club is not really active.”
The Radio 702 Afternoon Drive team Xolani Gwala, Udo Carelse and Johnathan Fairbairn joined heads with the Old Mutual “More Than Yourself” campaign in a bid to raise funds for the Wits SRC Humanitarian Fund.
The three 2015 MTN Radio Award finalists ran for the Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra and half Marathon raising R34,750 from donations.
“The Afternoon Drive Team identified running as a way of getting closer to communities and off the back of this we were approached by Old Mutual to get involved with the charity angle of the Two Oceans Marathon. Via the portal morethanyourself.co.za there are a number of charities they have selected which fit in with their own brand values.” Said Gwala.
Following the student loan crisis in February, the Wits SRC has been able to raise money to help students faced with financial exclusion through campaigns like the #1Million1Month and the Nescafe Human Chain event.
702 TEAM RUNS FOR HUMANITARIAN FUND: (from left) Jonathan Fairbairn, Pheladi Gwangwa, Udo Carelse, Xolani Gwala and Mzo Jojwana. Photo: Provided
Udo Carlese stated that as a show, the Afternoon Drive team are passionate about education as they are often approached by students and parents asking for assistance in funding tertiary studies.
“In order to keep the momentum started by the students themselves going, we gave this campaign our support. ”
“Unfortunately, we can’t help everyone, but we were so inspired by what the Wits SRC were doing with the One Million 1 Month campaign, that we decided their proactive and mature approach to raising funds for students was one with which we could strongly associate. In order to keep the momentum started by the students themselves going, we gave this campaign our support. ” he said.
The Radio 702 team told Wits Vuvuzela that they are happy to report that they all finished with respectable times. They were delighted with the amount they raised.
“This is not the end, only the beginning, and we hope to contribute more as the year progresses.” said Xolani Gwala
Gwala is a seasoned runner while sports news reader Udo Carlese and Johnathan Fairbairn are newcomers to the running sport.
The primary aim of the Humanitarian Fund is to create a purse that will address and meet financial burdens when approached by those who come from an unprivileged background, unable to meet their basic necessities.
The fund was established in 2010 under the leadership of SRC President, Bafana Nhlapo, in response to students who were in urgent need of funding, assisting students whose needs have not been met by NSFAS funding.
The Old Mutual ‘More Than Yourself’ campaign gives an opportunity to join with others to do great things, by donating directly to a cause of your own choice and start fundraising to improve communities.
The Two Oceans marathon, which initially started out as a training run for Wits lecturer, Caroline Wostmann, turned into the biggest win she has ever achieved. Wits Vuvuzela caught up with her to reflect on her win in Cape Town and Comrades preparation.
Photo: Facebook: Caroline Wostmann
At dawn last Saturday morning Caroline Wostmann set out in the cool Cape air for what she thought would be a training run. Three hours, 41 minutes and 23 seconds later, she crossed the finish line winning the Two Oceans marathon as the first South African woman in 14 years.
Wostmann, a Wits finance and management accounting lecturer, said her immediate reaction after she won was that it was God’s will for her on that day as it was something she was not expecting.
“I was just feeling so, so good, I was having one of those days when everything felt easy,” she said.
Wostmann started training for the Two Oceans as part of her preparation for the upcoming June Comrades Marathon.
“I wasn’t planning on using Two Oceans as a race,” Wostmann said. “I was going to use it as training but I felt so good on the day, it turned into a race and I was definitely racing at the end!”
“I planned to run at my easy running pace,” she said. “If I was comfortable after 42kms I thought I’d pick up the pace and if I was lucky enough, get into the back-end of the top 10 in just under four hours.”
Wostmann said she ran with various groups of people along the route and enjoyed chatting and running alongside them.
She said she realised the seriousness of her position when she moved into third position and “picked up the pace and pushed harder”.
“I didn’t comprehend as I was running that there was a possibility I could win it,” she laughed. “Until right at the end when I moved into first place.”
“When I went into the lead, from that point, I thought, wow, I am winning the Two Oceans Marathon and there is no way I am going to let anyone pass me now!”
Wostmann said she does not have a pre-race ritual, however sticks to a diet of high-protein shake and bananas before a marathon.
“My husband and my two kids are my biggest supporters,” Wostmann said. “My husband is fantastic with supporting me, from taking the kids to school when I have early morning runs, or riding alongside me with water.”
Wostmann and her daughter Gabriella, 7, on a run through the muddy Sabie trail. Photo: Twitter @11Caz11
“My kids are so accommodating,” Wostmann said. “It’s always: Mommy are you going to run now? And not: Mommy do you have to go run now?”
Wostmann began running seven years ago after the birth of her first daughter Gabriella in order to lose weight. Once she became fitter, she joined the Midrand Striders running club.
“There were so many people at the club who ran the Comrades that’s what got me inspired,” she said.
Wostmann has run four Comrades marathons. She secured 6th position last year and was the first South African woman over the finish line.
This is Wostmann’s second Two Oceans Marathon which she ran as part of her Comrades preparation. Her training consists of running an ultra-marathon every two weeks (for the past eight weeks), a two-hour long midweek run and a weekly hill training session.
UKZN took the 2015 Varsity Shield trophy beating Wits in a close game. After having lost two previous matches to Wits, it was third time’s a charm in the finals for the UKZN team.
PINK POWER: 2015 Varsity Shield winners, FNB UKZN players and coaches celebrating the with their gold medals and the trophy at Wits Stadium Monday night.
After a nail-biting final the University of KwaZulu-Natal rugby team beat Wits 24-29 taking home the 2015 Varsity Shield trophy at Wits stadium yesterday evening. With back and forth banter in ball possession for the first 15 minutes of the game, UKZN’s right flanker and captain scored- after which they were dominant throughout the match.
“It came down to the little details and maybe we just wanted it [the win] more,” said UKZN head coach Ryan Strudwick.
UKZN’s defense was impressive as it broke the Wits offensive line multiple times as they pushed forward to attempt tries. The winning team focused on their defence during the past week’s training as it has let them down in the last few games according to Strudwick.
“Obviously we are disappointed. Every final has pressure and we couldn’t handle it,” said Wits head coach Hugo van As.
With Wits losing plenty of balls in front of the try-line, Van As admitted there were many opportunities, but his players just couldn’t pull through.
UKZN captain and overall player of the tournament, Lwazi Ngcungana, said that his team won because they were much more clinical and switched-on in the game than their opponents.
“We were also motivated in the fact that we couldn’t lose three times to Wits in one tournament,” said Ngcungana.
The Wits team’s desperation to win led to many unnecessary mistakes in the last 20 minutes, until hooker Ferdinand Kelly, dropped over the try-line with two minutes of game time left. Still, this spark of good play came too late.
“We have a very young side and yet we had a good season. We just weren’t able to put our play into action tonight,” said Wits captain Richard Crossman.
Caroline Wostmann, a Wits University Accounting lecturer, is the first South African woman to win the 56km ultra-marathon race after 14 years. She has previously run the Comrades marathon and has made her mark in South African road-running.
Wits University Accounting lecturer, Caroline Wostmann won the 56km Two Oceans woman’s race this morning, with a time of 3:41:18.
Media reports indicated that Wostmann was the first South African woman to win the 46th consecutive Two Oceans Marathon race since Gwen Van Lingen’s win in 2001.
Wostmann tweeted a photograph of encouragement to her fellow runners last night before they took to the road this morning.
Caroline Wostmann tweeted this photograph last night, to encourage her fellow marathon runners. Photo: @11Caz11 (Twitter)
South African sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, tweeted a photograph with Wostmann in June, acknowledging her “excellence” and referred to her as a “superwoman.”
Fikile Mbalula presented Caroline Wostmann with a cheque after the Comrades Marathon. Photo: Twitter @RSA Min of Sport
The 56km ultra-marathon, described as the “world’s most beautiful race” by participants and supporters on Twitter, followed the “back-up” route over Ou Kaapse Weg and through Tokai, due to the recent Cape fires near Chapman’s Peak, and ended at the University of Cape Town.
Wostmann, who ran the Comrades marathon in June last year, took the overall 6th place with a time of six hours and 51 minutes.
Congratulatory messages have poured in all morning for Wostmann from news agencies, politicians, family, friends and proud Witsies.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 ended in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday. The 49 match schedule took international fans and participating teams on a roller coaster ride of emotions for a month and a half. This culminated in Sunday’s final in which Australia beat New Zealand on their home turf.
The 2015 Cricket World Cup was nothing short of exhilarating as New Zealand and Sri Lanka kicked off the group stage matches. From seeing Bangladesh earning a spot in their ever first World Cup quarter-finals match, to the teary-eyed South Africa Proteas who made their way home after the semi-final knockout against New Zealand, the Kiwis batted their way into the final against Australia.
Here are 7 of the most memorable moments of the #CWC2015:
1. Martin Guptill of New Zealand made 237 runs, the highest score in World Cup history, against West Indies. This took his team to the semi-finals.
2. Australian captain, Michael Clarke dedicated the team’s victory in the final to the late Phillip Hughes, 26-year-old Australian cricketer who died tragically from an injury sustained during a cricket match last year.
https://youtu.be/ALBpAWd96Lw
3. The South African team – the Proteas – were reduced to tears after being knocked out by New Zealand, who reached their first final in the history of the CWC.
The Proteas heartbroken after losing in the semi-final against the Blackcaps. Photo: 2015 Cricbuzz.com
4. Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lankan left-handed batsman, was the first man to ever score four consecutive centuries in the Cricket World Cup.
Kumar Sangakkara scored his 4th consecutive century in the World Cup in a match against Australia. Photo: BBC Sport
5. Tim Southee of New Zealand picked up 7 wickets for just 33 runs against England during the round-robin stage of the CWC 2015.
Southee picked up 7 wickets in a match against England. Photo: morningringer.com
6. South Africa’s AB de Villiers annihilated the West Indies bowling attack when he scored 162 runs off 66 balls.
AB de Villiers hits the ball out the park during a match against the West Indies. Photo: G Rajaram
Australian captain, Michael Clarke hoists the trophy, celebrating their 2015 Cricket World Cup win, in their home ground of Melbourne. Photo: icc cricket world cup 2015
The Wits Football Women’s team showed a resurgence in form in their match against Tshwane University of Technology-1 on Wednesday night. Playing on home soil, the team managed to net 5 goals, producing their best performance this season.
Both teams came into this game on equal footing on the league log. TUT-1 had played to a two-all draw with Vaal University of Technology (Vanderbijlpark) two weeks ago while Wits played to a one-all draw with the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
The team played defensively against UJ but showed confidence in their match on Wednesday, pushing forward with every possession of the ball. Linah Maphanga and Siphesihle Zungu made a strong partnership by ensuring that with every touch of the ball they had, an opportunity to score.
“This result shows that we are getting better game-by game”.
When speaking to Wits Vuvuzela last week, Zungu shared how nervous she had been during the last match because she is one of the new players on the team. It seems she has warmed up to the task and this showed in her performance last night.
Wits coach Jabulile Baloyi explained the game had given the team a more positive outlook for the rest of the season. She said “Even though we were satisfied with the draw, this result shows that we are getting better game-by game”.
With Wednesday night’s win, the go into their next match again Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI), their first away game, looking to move to the top of the table. “We’re going back to the drawing board in terms of looking at where our weaknesses were because we didn’t play that perfectly we sure need to work on some departments,” Baloyi said.
The goals of the evening were scored by Maphanga who scored the first two goals, Hlengiwe Tshirunga who scored another two goals and Zungu who scored the final goal of the night against TUT-1 women.
FLYING FRISBEE: Members of the Zone Rangers and Voodoo Kudus watch as their teammates battle it out during Monday night’s league match. Photo: Michelle Gumede
The Voodoo Kudus had a bumpy start to the year but are hopeful they will win a few matches during the remainder of the summer league.
The Wits Ultimate Frisbee team played top Johannesburg team, the Zone Rangers this week in the second match of the season and lost 15-1.
Voodoo Kudu treasurer Jayson van Kerckhoven told Wits Vuvuzela this week about the team’s aspirations for this year.
Van Kerckhoven said there have been “a lot of changes” on the first team due to at least ten players graduating or moving to the Wits Alumni team, Skyveld.
The Voodoo Kudus played Skyveld in last Monday’s league match losing by just one point.
“It was a really close match … We really want to win against them in the near future though because they’re a home grown team too,” he said.
According to van Kerckhoven, the team also has a new coach who is an ex-player for one of South Africa’s top frisbee clubs, The Ghosts.
“We really want to win against them in the near future though because they’re a home grown team too.”
“Our coach aims to keep our team fresh and has encouraged us to improve a lot. We really want to do better than we did last year.”
This year the Voodoo Kudus will be going to nationals in Bloemfontein, taking place on the weekend of April 25.
“All teams from across South Africa, universities and league teams will be competing. There are seventeen teams and we’re hoping to come within the top 10,” said van Kerckhoven
The Voodoo Kudus came 13th in last year’s national championship.
Ultimate Frisbee practice is every Friday at 4.30pm and training before league matches takes place on Monday’s at 6pm at the Walter Milton Cricket Oval.
“It’s a cool and dynamic sport and it also keeps you fit. Who doesn’t love throwing a frisbee?” van Kerckhoven said.
The Voodoo Kudus will be playing the University or Pretoria this Monday night at 7.15pm at the Walter Milton Cricket Oval.
CHALLENGE: TUT player Nkosenhle Ntshangase on the attack. Photo: Samantha Camara
Wits Football Club Men suffered yet another defeat after they lost their second match 2-0 to fifth placed Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) at the Bidvest Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Wits coach, Karabo Mogudi explained how disappointed he was at the result of the game. He said “Football is an honest game, it really shows you your weaknesses and if you’re lacking in anything, it’ll really show up”.
The pitch was damp as the rain had fallen quite heavily earlier in the evening. The grass was quite slippery, making it difficult for players to keep steady and upright on the pitch.
ATTACK: Neo Makua dribbles past the TUT-1 defense. Photo: Samantha Camara
In the first few minutes neither team asserted themselves as ball possession was equally distributed.
A counter attack by TUT in the 15th minute led by Senzo Mtshali with the assistance of Shirinda Vogani almsost put them in the lead. Future Gumede eventually took the shot that went wide of the post.
Wits player Innocent Magasela found himself at the end of a hard tackle in the 18th minute of the game which left him in serious pain, giving Wonder Frank an opportunity to show his skills after Magasela had to be taken off.
In the 27th minute of the first half, the perseverance of the TUT side and an error by Wits gave the TUT combination of Mtshali, Vongani and Gumede an opportunity to move towards Wits goals from the left hand side of the Wits defence resulting in a surprising goal by Bongi Mkhabele. Placing TUT-1 in the lead with 13 minutes of the first half remaining.
The second goal of the match came in the 79th minute of the match after both teams had a series of back-and-forth attempts. Gumede, who had been a headache for the Wits defence throughout the game, led an attack from the middle. Vongani stole the ball from the Wits mid-fielders and went through the right hand side of Wits’ defence to score a goal that can only be described as beautiful, sealing the fate of the Wits side.
Coach of the winning side TUT Maude Khumalo said: “I am very happy with the way the boys played, they listened to my instructions, they played as a team and they worked hard.”
Both Wits teams will play away against Midrand Graduate Institute on the 24th March at the Makulong Stadium.
FROM ZEROS TO HEROS: Henrico Botes (on the floor) scored the ultimate final goal, sending The Clever Boys to the quarterfinal of the Nedbank Cup with 3 goals. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
Bidvest Wits are through to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup after defeating University of Pretoria (AmaTuks), 3-0 at the Bidvest Stadium on Tuesday night.
The opening goal came from Dutchman Cornelis Kwakman in the 39th minute who landed a lead goal at the back of the net from a set-piece. Sibusiso Vilakazi came in the 56th minute and doubled their lead when he dribbled past Grant Kekana and shot past Washington Arubi.
Striker Henrico Botes added a goal in the 63rd minute after receiving a pass from Ben Motshwari.
Commenting on the first goal scored by Kwakman, Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt said “It broke the ice” for the game as both sides tried to break the deadlock in the opening minutes of the game.
“It was a hell of a goal wasn’t it? Jeez I mean he scored three goals and couple of weeks ago he scored one just like that. Fantastic goal!”, said Hunt.
Although The Clever Boys managed to break the deadlock, Hunt said the first half was “edgy” in terms of performance.
“We couldn’t get our passes and our movement and synchronization going. But we got much better in the second half as the game went on. We just lack a little bit of confidence, I guess after last week. All in all it was a great performance in the second half,” said Hunt.
Hunt hopes that his team maintains better “consistency” in the next games after suffering back-to-back Absa Premiership League defeats in recent games.
“I know the potential in the team. I mean from Tuesday to Tuesday we went from heros to zeros because we beat Sundowns and then we lost two games and then we won again,” added Hunt.
The opening proved to be difficult as both sides were determined to break the deadlock. The first chance for Bidvest Wits came after just 20 minutes when Sibusiso Vilakazi passed a promising shot to Papy Faty whose attempt went over the post.
AmaTuks tried to score straight after but Moeneeb Josephs was too quick for Geofrey Massa’s header.
The Clever Boys, who fielded the 16-year-old Liam Jordan last night, managed to hold on to their lead and secured themselves a place in the quarterfinals.
Post-match interview with AmaTuks coach Sammy Troughton
SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER: FNB Wits standing side-by-side singing the national anthem before kick-off. Photo: Anlerie de Wet
FNB Wits gets closer to the finals, defeating FNB UKZN again, with a score of 40-26, after a tough game in the Rugby Varsity Shield cup, last night.
Wits scored the first try of the game within 10 minutes putting them in the lead by eight points.
UKZN did not back down and after a sloppy move from Wits their captain, Lwazi Ngcungama, leveled the scores when he was given a chance to score a penalty.
However, Wits scored another try shortly thereafter through their centre Marx Koch and just before half-time Ayabulela Mdudi gave Wits in a comfortable lead of 16 points when he scored Wits’s third try.
At the half-time break, Wits coach, Hugo van As said Wits was making a lot of mistakes, receiving a lot of yellow cards that could be avoided.
“We’ll cut down in our mistakes. A lot of penalties against us, a lot of discipline issues, not sure of the interpretation of the law… if we want to get continuity we would have to pick up on our discipline,” said the coach.
“It was a tough one…I think we showed them too much respect we let them come at us we didn’t play our game tonight,”
However, Wits was not the only team making mistakes as UKZN Coach, Ryan Strudwick also admitted that his team was struggling with defence, making the rest of the game a bit hard.
In the second half of the game, UKZN picked up its pace after a “stern talking” from their coach.
UKZN, toughened their defence and their handling, giving Wits a run for their place at the top. They [UKZN] were sitting on 21 points, putting them just 11 points behind, when Marius Louw scored a try. Siphatisene Dube’s try a few moments later brought them even closer to Wits, taking UKZN up to 26 points.
Wits closed the game a with Brandton Hewitt’s try followed by Tommy Damba’s conversion in the last 10 minutes of the game, Wits Captain, Richard Crossman admitted that they did not play to their “maximum” capacity.
“It was a tough one…I think we showed them too much respect we let them come at us we didn’t play our game tonight,” Crossman said.
Ngcungama said they played a “scrappy game” and was “really disappointed” as the captain of the team but hoped to do better so that they stand a chance to make it to the finals.
Wits hopes to not only have a place in the finale but to take the finals home while UKZN has to play and win against Fort Hare on March 30 to be guaranteed a place in the finals.
Croxley Wits Cricket Club lost by two wickets in their league match against Randburg Cricket Club last Sunday.
The teams were evenly matched but Randburg managed to limit Wits’ total to 184.
Randburg coach, Kurt Human said his team’s performance went according to plan. “We wanted to come in here and try and restrict them … what we wanted was to bowl first and get four wickets down earlier on,” he said.
Tiro Madiseng, Randburg captain added, “Patience was the key for us. We’re hoping to get as close as possible to the top because they bit us the first time.”
Wits captain Nono Pongolo said their batting was not what they had hoped it would be, “we let ourselves down with the bat, losing soft wickets”.
The second half of the match saw Wits bowling soft balls giving Randburg the chance to score easy runs.
“Thanks to the bowlers we got a decent score that gave us a fighting chance. We fought well, but they wanted it more in the end,”
After a short break Randburg lost 4 wickets in quick succession, slowing their pace.
Even though Wits managed to push a little more, the team was a little too late when Randburg finished the game with a total of 191-8.
“We had a couple of half chances we did not hold on to, if we held on to those two or three chances we could have had three to five wickets down by now,” said player-coach Neil Levenson said.
“Thanks to the bowlers we got a decent score that gave us a fighting chance. We fought well, but they (Randburg) wanted it more in the end,” Pongolo said.
Even though Randburg managed to score 13 more points in the league for winning the game, Wits still remains in second place.
Wits still has two more games to play until the Gauteng Premier league is over.
