BOITUMELO KOKWE
TuksCueSports turned a year old in February and was founded in 2019 as UP’s first cue club. Cue sport consists of pool or snooker and is commonly associated with bars and clubs, and many believe that it is not a professional sport. This reputation is what TuksCueSports wanted to change with its formation in 2019.
TuksCueSports focuses on blackball pool (also called reds and yellows), which is a variation of eight-ball pool and after only a year, it has already achieved success. TuksCueSports finished first at the intervarsity competition – hosted by the University of Pretoria – in 2019 and second at the intervarsity competition held by University of Limpopo (UL) in 2019. They also competed at the tournament held by University Sports South Africa (USSA) for the first time.
In a March 2019 article about TuksCueSports, PDBY spoke to the club’s chairperson David Malangu, who said the reason for the formation of the club was because he asked himself why “[Tuks] does not have a pool club […] as almost every other varsity has a pool club [and that] there is also a varsity competition for pool”. He also mentioned that the reason for the formation of the team was because of the need for Tuks pool team and because he wanted to change the view people have of pool being “a bar sport”, as it also has its own leagues and players that can compete at a professional level.
“TuksCueSports finished first at the intervarsity competition …“
According to the TuksCue website, the club participates in numerous competitions and leagues. They participate at the annual USSA Tournament, the Intervarsity Quarterly Supa Pool Tournament, and the Gauteng Blackball Tournament. They also have internal leagues, including the TuksCueSports Social League, Weekly Individual Tournament, and the Quarterly Individual tournament.
Both students and non-students are eligible for membership at the club. The memberships offered are junior and standard memberships, which allow members to practice and play at Corner Pocket for free, from 12:00 to 16:00, although Tuesdays are excluded for the standard membership.
More information about TuksCueSports, the programs they offer, how to join, and the people to contact can be accessed on their website at https://www.up.ac.za/tukscuesport.
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