Author: Stephen Kisbey-Green

A cold, wet and windy Saturday 8 September would see the South African Cross Country Championships take place in Port Elizabeth. A number of local athletes would brave the elements and the tough routes in their quest to be selected for the South African Cross Country team. From Port Alfred, seven Kowie Striders club members took on the cross country challenge, performing very well across the board. Lithemba Jekana came 23rd in the Boys 13 category, while Mpho Nxabazi finished 83rd in the Boys 15 category. They were joined by Ayabonga Saul, who came in 86th place in the Boys…

In the midst of Trading Live for Nelson Mandela week, Archie Mbolekwa Primary School were visited by the first team and coach from Nombulelo High School for a soccer training day on Tuesday 24 July. The U13 A team from Archie Mbolekwa trained alongside the first team from Nombulelo for an hour long training session, where they played against one another on a small field and learnt tactics and skills from one another. Mandilakhe Klaas, Nombulelo’s coach, believes that learning the basics of soccer is vital to a young child’s life. “These days, football is a career,” said Klaas. “Not…

Local bodybuilders have been selected for the Eastern Province team to take part in the SA Bodybuilding Championships scheduled to take place on 22 September in Jansenville. These Grahamstown (Makhanda) athletes were selected on the back of their stellar performances at the EP Natural Bodybuilding Championships in Algoa Park in Port Elizabeth on Sunday 2 September. Abongile Deliwe came second in the Light Weight division, while Danie September won the Special division. They are joined in the EP team by Odwa Simayile, who came first in the 21 years u/65kg and Orren Jacobs, who won the Welterweight division. If these athletes continue…

Local CrossFit studio, the Fitness Box, hosted to the second annual Grahamstown Games on Saturday 1 September. The day, organised by Dynamic Events, consisted of teams of four (a pair of men and women), competing in five events at the workshop complex in the Industrial area. The teams that took on the challenge had to conquer an obstacle course, a 16-minute CrossFit bootcamp workout, and another 16-minute Ergo rowing relay. All this had to be finished by each before the team could attempt both a trail running relay and a cycling race. Two members from each team had to cycle…

Elsworth Burger, who first picked up a squash racket 10 years ago, only regained his interest in the sport in 2015, after an injury forced him to stop playing. The 41-year-old has since developed a love for the game of squash once more, through social games. After being spotted for his talented, the SAPS Sergeant in Crime Intelligence was invited to join Willows Squash Club, which he is currently playing for. In 2016, he joined SAPS squash. Since then, Burger has made the Eastern Province Squash Team in  2016, 2017 and 2018. This year, the tournament was held in Johannesburg from…

As the nation celebrates women and their place in South Africa, Grocotts Mail, East Cape Shotokan-Ryu and Joza Karate Club have teamed-up to offer free karate lessons for girls (seven years and older) and women. In this spirit, focus and appreciation must be given to the women that have been practising karate for some time. Maureen de Jager After what some might consider a late start to karate, Maureen de Jager has earned her third dan black belt, the prize for dedicating 14 years of her life to the discipline. “I wish I had started when I was a youngster,” said De…

After months of preparation for the GBS Mutual Bank Mountain Drive Half Marathon, runners finally descended upon Mountain Drive on Saturday 25 August in their attempt to conquer the mountain. More than 400 runners, and one dog, took off from Graeme College to tackle the tough 21,1km route. After only an hour and seventeen minutes, the first runner made his way back to the finish line, taking first place in the men’s category. Melikhaya Frans, from Port Elizabeth, crossed the finish line running backwards, after realising that he was the winner. “The race was easy,” said Frans, “especially the first…

As the nation celebrates women and their place in South Africa, Grocotts Mail, East Cape Shotokan-Ryu and Joza Karate Club have teamed-up to offer free karate lessons for girls (seven years and older) and women. In this spirit, focus and appreciation must be given to the women that have been practicing karate for some time. Nolusindiso Yakeni After training for 14 years, Nolusindiso Yakeni has earned her brown belt at just 20 years old. Yakeni believes that karate is empowering for women. “There are bullies and men that abuse women,” said Yakeni, “so karate can help us to defend ourselves.” Despite…

The Eastern Province team heading to the South African Cross Country Championships on Saturday 8 September has taken a distinctly local flavour, with a large number of Kowie Striders and other Grahamstown (Makhanda) runners making the squad. The Kowie Striders running club have a large contingent of seven runners in the EP squad, with six of them coming from their development runners group. These seven runers include Avril Byleveld, Rebecca Nelson, Sizakele Dayimani, Mpo Nxabazi, Sticks Stiglingh (Kowie Striders’ chairperson), Aya Saul and Lithemba Jekana. The development runners programme was started two years ago, by the newly appointed chairperson at…

With only one week to go before the GBS Mutual Bank Mountain Drive Half Marathon, here is the taper week of Grocott’s Mail’s 12-week training programme, created by Terri-Lynn Penney: Monday easy 30min jog Tuesday easy 30min jog Wednesday easy 30min jog Thursday 20min Friday rest and Stretching Saturday race Sunday rest Terri-Lynn Penney is a local triathlete, having great success around the province, nationally and internationally. Having recently completed her 14th Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, Grocott’s Mail asked Penney for her go-to training programme for a 21km. With the GBS Mutual Bank Mountain Drive Half Marathon just 12 weeks away,…