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SAM MUKWAMU The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives, and sport has been no exception, particularly in a time when people are desperate for the escape and stress relief that sport can provide. In order to limit the spread of the virus, countries across the globe enforced restrictions on public gatherings and suspended non-essential activities, including sport. These restrictions have not only inflicted a significant financial hit to the sports industry, but have changed the way we participate in and view sport for what could be a long time. According to The World Economic Forum, the global value of the sports industryRead More →

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CAITLYN WALSH The University of Pretoria has had many famous athletes through their institution, with some even making their way to the Olympic Games. The first name that many should recognise is Caster Semenya. Caster Semenya first began her journey of becoming a middle-distance runner when she moved out of Limpopo to UP and joined TuksAthletics in 2009. According to TuksSport, in 2018 the University of Pretoria named Semenya as the Athlete of the Century at the TuksAthletics Centenary gala dinner, which celebrated a century of UP sporting brilliance. Caster Semenya won an Olympic gold medal in 2012 and 2016 and earned herself three goldRead More →

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CJ BARNARD AND CHRIZAAN PRETORIUS The Delta Drone TuksWomensRugby7’s team has – like most other sports – seen a drastic decrease in activity in the last few months. In spite thereof, the team has recently received an invitation to participate in next year’s Melrose Sevens tournament in Scotland. Riaan van der Merwe, TuksWomensRugby7’s head coach, was excited when they received word that the team has been invited, and noted that “as far as I am concerned, it is one of the most prestigious events on the international sevens rugby calendar.” This prestigious tournament is regarded as the birthplace of sevens rugby and was first heldRead More →

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PRIDE MATHEBULA Rynhardt van Rensburg, a Tuks 800m athlete who has represented South Africa at the 2015 World Championship in Beijing, as well as the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, aims for specific numbers in his plans to challenge the stopwatch next year. Van Rensburg reiterated that “the aim is to consistently run times of one minute and 44 seconds or faster. It ought to be good enough to ensure [he is] up there with the front runners”, van Rensburg is optimistic about his upcoming challenges. Athletes use challenges to motivate themselves, and for van Rensburg it is achievable as he set this one himself. InRead More →

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  BOITUMELO KOKWE TuksArchery is the UP archery club that offers two forms of target archery, namely rebound and compound archery – the difference between the two being their bows. Archery can be classified into different categories being field archery, target archery, traditional archery, bowhunting, bowfishing, mounted archery, and 3D target archery. Competitiveness is a major factor in archery. This is being demonstrated through world championships, national championships, local tournaments, and international and local rankings of archers and teams. World rankings, released by the World Archery Foundation (WAF) in June, reveal the competitive nature attached to archery. The WAF ranks the best archers in theRead More →

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Compiled by: CHRIZAAN PRESTORIUS AND BOITUMELO MAKAEPEA Onthatile Zulu Zulu studies BCom Business Management and is part of TuksHockey, with various national awards such as FNB Player of the Tournament in the 2019 Varsity Hockey Season. She is also part of the African women’s hockey team that qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Akani Simbine Simbine of TuksAthletics, is a South African sprinter and a University of Pretoria graduate with a Bachelor in Information Science. He won numerous medals on the national and international stage. He competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, where he won gold medals. He also won the men’sRead More →

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CHRIZAAN PRETORIUS Andries Nigrini, Luke Bushell and Kieran McKenna, all students at the University of Pretoria, won third, fifth and sixth place in the recent 2020 FISU Virtual World University Cycling Cup. The tournament was held on 24 June, while the cyclists completed a distance of 55,5 km with an elevation gain of 1000m on the same track used for the 2018 World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria. The track offers more consistent gradient climbs as change compared to South African courses. All three cyclists told PDBY that the overall experience was quite exciting and a good compromise for FISU, although practically done on a trainerRead More →

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  BOITUMELO KOKWE Elrich Engelbrecht is an Underwater Hockey player, and is the coach and Coach Coordinator at TuksUnderwaterHockey. PDBY spoke to Engelbrecht about TuksUnderwaterHockey and what Underwater Hockey is. What is TuksUnderwaterHockey about? TuksUnderwaterHockey is a family who love water and is a sports team with people who enjoy having a good time. What is the major difference between Underwater Hockey and other types of hockey? The major difference between underwater hockey and other forms of hockey are that it is the only three dimensional sport in the world. Thanks to that, there are three referees in the pool court, instead of one. YouRead More →

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BOITUMELO MAKEPEA In March 2019 it was announced by the International Netball Federation (INF) that South Africa will be hosting the 16th Netball World Cup in 2023. This prestigious tournament will be held in Cape Town and it will be the first time that such a tournament will be held in Africa. South Africa was also the first African country to host the Soccer World Cup in 2010. Considering the history of South Africa as a whole and in sports, this is a very important milestone. During apartheid, many sporting facilities were available exclusively to white people due to discrimination. South Africa was banned fromRead More →

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 KYRI ELISSEOU The Springboks arrived earlier than any other team in Japan, ready to avenge their exit from the 2015 World Cup semi-finals. The technical prowess of Rassie Erasmus combined with astute team selection and implementation of the rush defense has yielded successful results and a long-awaited match against the All Blacks. The rise of Cheslin Kolbe as a match-winner has been a revelation this world cup. Kolbe, a lithe and small winger born in the Western Cape, stands 171 cm in an arena of giants. His attacking of the high ball was brilliant, beating much taller men like the 196 cm Sergio Parisse, againstRead More →