Spar Superstars Berea Mail 2024

The Spar Star for Gordon Road Girl’s School is Grade Three learner Mia Ramsurup, who participated in the South African Junior Closed Chess Championships in Benoni, Gauteng, from April 27 to May 1, and was placed first in her division.

“We played two games a day – one at 09:00 and the other one at 16:00. I played in the U8 division, and my mom came with me. When I played my first opponent, I was nervous, but by the end of the first game, I started to feel a bit more excited about getting through the rounds and trying to win in my category,” said Mia.

She won 8/9 rounds in her age category and is now the best in the country in her age group.

“To qualify for this competition, they graded them based on the games that played competitively from September 2022 to September 2023, and Mia was the highest-rated player in the U8 division in KwaZulu-Natal,” said Mia’s Mom, Sunisha Naidoo.

Mia plays chess competitively through her school and is also privately tutored by her coach, Lethu Zulu. “She has a quiet confidence, and she’s an unassuming young lady, strong-minded and a thinker. She is dedicated and self-motivated and challenges herself to exceed her own expectations,” said Zulu.

The eight-year old started playing chess at the age of five. “I learn a lot from playing chess – it’s a good learning game, and I have so much fun playing. It also teaches me patience and helps me focus, and because of how I have learned how to focus in playing chess, it helps me focus in other parts of my life, like school.”

“We are all so proud of Mia. Her father was so happy when I told him she came first, and when she went up to receive her prize, she was very nervous – more nervous than when she was playing in a game! When she won in a round, she would just be so calm and tell me, ‘I won’. She was also very kind to the other kids and very respectful to them even after she would win a game,” said Sunisha.

Mia’s next goal is to play in the South African Youth Chess Championships from June 15 to June 23 at the Kopanong Hotel and Conference Centre in Gauteng. “It was a toss-up between the World Cup and the Youth Chess Championships, and she’s chosen the Youth Chess Championships. If she wins, she will be named the Women’s Candidate Master (WCM),” said Sunisha.

GRADE Three Eden College learner Shivar Sokay participated in the AMASA National Maths Championships held in Cape Town on May 4 and achieved 1st position in SA (Top Achiever) in his level and age group.

He represented Abagility Maths Club SA, which he has been attending since 2022. The nine-year-old says the competition requires the learners to use an abacus to solve math problems. “We had an abacus and math papers with a list of math problems going down, and we had to work on an abacus to get the answers.”

The child math enthusiast says he has always enjoyed it. “I have always enjoyed math. I like that I can use my abacus at these competitions and work out the sums in a different way. Being a part of Abagility Math has also helped me do well in math at school.”

Sokay participated in the AMASA Regional Championships in 2022 and 2023 where he also obtained Top Achiever. In 2023, he qualified at Level 6 to compete at Nationals.

He also wrote an international grading paper on Level 10th Kyu, which he is currently on. This will be recognised by AIAMA (AbacusKing International Abacus Mental-Arithmetic Alliance) should he obtain the pass mark of 70%.

“Level 10th Kyu is the tenth level at Abagility Maths. I went from level 1 to 6, then 10th Kyu, and then I will reach 9th Kyu and gp all the way to 1st Kyu,” said Sokay.

According to the Abagility Maths Club website, the Advanced Abagility programme consists of 10 levels, starting from 10th Kyu and moving up to the most advanced level, being 1st Kyu. These Kyus cover multiplication, division, addition and subtraction on the abacus as well as advancement on school-type maths. Each level develops and grows from each previous level.

Sokay says he has amazing supporters around him. “My biggest supporters are my mum, my dad, my aunty and my uncle. She [who is she???] was very proud of me when I got first place and said she’s happy I came first three years in a row – this year, last year and the year before.”

The math prodigy has big dreams. “I want to become an engineer when I get older, and next year, I hope I can come first again.”

IN Grade One, Zamangwe Zwane had a dream of representing her country in action netball at an international tournament.

Fast forward nine years later, and that dream is now a reality as the St Henry’s Marist College matriculant has been selected for the U19 Mixed-Action Netball South African Squad.

The tournament is set to take place in South Africa next year.

“Netball has been a big part of my household since I can remember. My older sister played, and I was always immersed in the sport. I even modelled my game after her, and we even play the exact same position. Grade One, though, would’ve been my first introduction to the sport. I think, my first week of school, I was placed in a team, and I absolutely loved it. Being selected to represent the U19 team is a massive honour for me. I’ve been dreaming of putting on the green-and-gold, and to do so in front of a home crowd is even more amazing,” she said.

Zamangwe has also represented her province in action netball since the age of 11. She also recently represented the Ethekwini District U19 team at the Telkom Netball Championships

Aside from action netball, she also plays indoor hockey and is involved in the performing arts. She is also the deputy head girl and has an honours blazer.

While netball is a large part of her life, Zamangwe sees her future in the arts.

“I see myself getting into the film industry, either in directing, producing or even acting. I’m currently rehearsing for our school play, and last year, I had the honour and opportunity to direct one,” she said.

DURBAN High School’s (DHS) Thapelo Nxumalo was one of the stand-out performers recently at the SA Kids Junior Golf Open.

The Grade Nine learner placed second in South Africa at the tournament in the 13 to 14-year-old division held at Bosch Hoek Golf Club.

The South African Kids’ Golf organisation, which was founded in 2004, was formed as a stepping stone to competitive golf for young players across the country.

Thapelo’s second-place finish comes months after winning the KwaZulu-Natal Junior Golf Masters Tournament in November last year.

“I was excited with my performances, but I did not expect to finish second. I want to use the momentum to go one step further next year. I had competed at the same SA Kids Junior Golf Open, but this was by far my best result. What helped me this year was shutting out the negativity and just believing in myself. I told myself not to be nervous, and that helped me progress in the tournament,” he said.

Thapelo, who plays for the school’s first team, has a handicap of 12.5. Golf handicaps are a number that represents the golfer’s ability.

A member of Royal Durban Country Club, Thapelo said he started playing golf in 2021.

“My mom would take me down to the course because I had a general interest in the sport, and I would just watch the golfers tee-off. One of them noticed me and kindly donated a pair of golf clubs, and I started playing from there. The club members have been so supportive of my journey and are always offering me words of encouragement,” he said.

The youngster’s future goal is to emulate the success of golfing great Tiger Woods.

“I would love to play on the PGA Tour and compete overseas. My favourite player is Tiger Woods, and I would watch YouTube videos of him. He was an inspiration for me and someone whom I hope to emulate on the course and maybe one day win a major tournament like he did,” he said.

THE Spar Star for Durban Girl’s High School is Grade Twelve learner Tayla Bruce, who won the women’s 5km title at this year’s World Ocean Day Swim that took place on Saturday, June 8.

Tayla said she was thrilled with her win but said it was demanding. “It was very cold when we got in, but it got better. It was fine for about 400m of the race, but then it picked up and was pretty choppy for the entire race. It was quite a hard swim, but it was good.”

She said she was nervous heading into the event because her training wasn’t quite where she wanted it to be, but it worked out well. “I wanted to win, and I got it, but it was more of a training thing, and it was good for my training.”

She said she felt inspired by swimming for a cause. “I started swimming in the ocean four years ago, and doing all of these little swims makes me realise we need to look after it. We swim in such beautiful waters, but we need to look after them. It’s nice to know you’re swimming for something. It motivates you a little bit more,” she said. Seventeen-year-old Tayla finished the 5km in first place among the female swimmers, with a time of 01:17:14.

Tayla, a matric learner at Durban Girl’s High School, where she is also captain of swimming, has been successfully taking on the challenges of open water swimming for the past four years, following on from her inaugural swim at the Capital K 1km event at Midmar Dam in 2019.

“I have been swimming since I started school and decided to try open water as a change and variation to the conventional pool swimming. I took on the Midmar swim with no great expectation, and when I was done, my coach informed me that my time was good enough to qualify for the nationals,” said Tayla.

Those nationals were at Jeffrey’s Bay in 2020, where Tayla took on her first 3km swim. While it was new ground, she admits she never felt out of her depth, and a new swimming bug had taken hold.

“My longest swim to date is a 10km which I did at last year’s KZN Champs at Midmar,” she said. “It’s a huge mental challenge, and I find not too many girls swim this distance, making it quite lonely in the water at times. I repeated the distance at the nationals at J-Bay and clocked 2:15 for my effort.”

It’s all about a strict and disciplined training regime: Tayla is in the pool every morning before school, Monday to Friday, with an afternoon session thrown in, as well. Her biggest challenge is not being able to train in the environment of open water swimming.

“Training in the pool gives you stamina and endurance, but it’s vastly different to the lagoons and bays where most of the open water swimming events happen. The World Ocean Day Swim adds a new dimension by being a full ocean swim where there are swells, winds and currents to deal with, asking for and demanding more effort and focus,” she said.

OPEN Air School learner Luthando Maphumulo headed to Muizenburg, Cape Town, to compete in the 2024 Sea Harvest SA Para Surfing Championships from May 25–26 and came out victorious, placing first in his division in the final heat of the contest.

Maphumulo says he didn’t expect the big win at his first major competition. “The competition took two days. The first day was the semi-finals, and I competed in the Visually Impaired 2 Male Division. I was competing with two other competitors, and I obtained first place. My reaction was very casual because I wasn’t hoping for much, but I was also excited that I made it to the finals. On day two, the waves were very nice, and I came first in the finals, and my coaches were very proud of me.”

The 19-year-old said the experience was life-changing. “It was my first big competition, and I really enjoyed it. I got more than what I wanted out of it, in and outside of the water, because I was able to experience great triumphs with my friends, as well. I swim with Made for More. I’ve been with them for three years now.”

“Surfing is bigger than my life. I get to understand the ocean, I respect how big the ocean is, and in a bigger sense, it has taught me that some things are just out of my control, and I must just go with the flow. I enjoy surfing because it teaches me important life lessons that I wouldn’t have learned without it,” said Maphumulo.

He has hopes of competing overseas. “For the future, I hope that I can compete internationally. There’s a competition coming up in California this year, and I also hope to create a name for myself on social media so I can get a bursary for my tertiary studies. I want to make an impact and inspire learners who are differently abled and show them that they can do what they really want to do if they are passionate about it.”

“My friends are my biggest supporters, and my family is also supportive. I live away from home at a hostel, so my friends are really the closest people to me,” said Maphumulo.