The University of Cape Town (UCT) Students’ Representative Council’s (SRC’s) launched ‘SADC University Sports’. This launch will take on the form of a week long SADC University Football tournament, a SADC University Sports Science Exchange and a SADC University Cultural Exchange between the University of Mauritius (UoM), Polytechnic of Namibia (PON), Cape Peninsular University of Technology (CPUT)
and UCT. The SADC University Sports Science Exchange will be held at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) on Monday the 19th of August 2013, the SADC University Football tournament will be hosted at the UCT Football Astro turf between 18h00 and 22h00 on consecutive evening’s between Monday the 19th and Friday the 23rd of August 2013 and the SADC University Cultural Exchange will be hosted during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies on evening’s of Monday the 19th and Friday the 23rd of August. BACKGROUND:
On the 10th of April 2013, Mr Hafeez Toofail, the President of UoM’s Students’ Union for 2012/2013, wrote to Mr Darren Brookbanks, the Sports and Recreation Co-ordinator on the UCT’s SRC, proposing the establishment of a ‘Sports Exchange’ between UoM and UCT’s Football teams. One month later, Mr Brookbanks received word from Mr Salom Andreas, the Sports and Recreation Co-ordinator of the Polytechnic of Namibia (PON) SRC for 2012/2013, detailing PON’s interest in creating a similar sports exchange between PON and UCT’s Football, Netball and Volleyball teams. Alas, by the 10th of May 2013, ‘SADC University Sports’ had informally been created through the international relations and co-operative commitment between the UoM Students’ Union, PON’s SRC and UCT’s SRC to build on the regional internationalisation of Sports and Recreation by sustaining partnerships for development through sports and academic exchanges, cultural collaborations and social interactions between universities located in the SADC region. SADC UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT:
In the same year that the Republic of South Africa hosted the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Football tournament, the biggest international Football tournament on the African continent, it is contextually appropriate for ‘SADC University Sports’ to be launched through a Football tournament between UoM, PON and UCT. Ergo, between Monday the 19th and Friday the 23rd of August, ‘SADC University Sports’ will be launched through a Men’s and Women’s SADC University Football tournament hosted by the UCT SRC at the UCT Football Astro turf on UCT’s Lower Campus. SADC University Sports’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be held in the UCT Football Clubhouse. The SADC University Football tournament programme is as follows:
Monday, 19 August: 20h00: CPUT v UoM (Men); 22h00: Opening Ceremony
Tuesday, 20 August: 18h00: CPUT v PON (Women); 19h00: CPUT v PON (Men); 20h00: UCT v UoM (Men)
Wednesday 21 August: 18h00: UoM v PON (Men)
Thursday 22 August: 18h00: UCT v PON (Women); 20h00: UCT v PON (Men)
Friday 23 August: 18h00: FINAL (Women); 20h00: FINAL (Men) 22h00: Closing Ceremony
SADC UNIVERSITY SPORTS SCIENCE ACADEMIC EXCHANGE:
This year’s SADC University Academic Exchange between UoM, PON and UCT will take on the form of a Sports Science Academic Exchange. Alongside many other departments, UCT is internationally acclaimed for the innovation and research that the Sports Science Department continues to produce as the department continues to push the boundaries of Sports Science and High Performance applied knowledge. On Monday afternoon the 19th of August, UoM and PON student athletes, coaches, managers and attendant staff members will be given a tour of the SSISA by qualified Bio-kineticists before receiving a private lecture theatre presentation from internationally revered academic and Head of the Sports Science Department at UCT, Professor Tim Noakes. SADC UNIVERSITY CULTURAL EXCHANGE:
Beyond the friendships and connections established between UoM, PON, CPUT and UCT student athletes, coaches, managers, attendant staff, SRC’s and Sports and Recreation Department’s, UCT’s Namibian and Mauritian Students’ Societies will set up cultural stalls around the UCT Football Astro Turf on Monday evening the 19th of August and Friday evening the 23rd of August as a means of extending cultural traditions, customs and social interactions between all SADC universities in attendance. These UCT societies will also play a part in the Opening and Closing ceremony formalities. SADC UNIVERSITY SPORTS GOING FORWARD:
The UCT SRC hopes that international relations and co-operative commitments between the UoM Students’ Union, PON’s SRC, UCT’s SRC and respective Sports and Recreation Departments will continue to build on the regional internationalisation of Sports and Recreation by sustaining partnerships for development through sports and academic exchanges, cultural collaborations and social interactions between universities located in the SADC region. In furthering UCT’s strategic goals of expanding it’s internationalisation as an Afropolitan centre of research and learning between the SADC region and the rest of the world, we hope that next years SADC University Sports event will grow to include the Universidade Agostinho Neto, University of Botswana, Universite de Kinshasa, National University of Lesotho, Universite Nord Madagascar, University of Malawi, University of Mauritius, Universidade Uduardo Mondlane, University of Namibia, University of Seychelles, University of Swaziland, University of Dar es Salaam, University of Zambia and the University of Zimbabwe
