Judo star off to Commonwealth Champs

KIRSTEN Chananie has attended Westville schools throughout her schooling career and has always been a keen sportswoman, participating in netball, tennis, softball, athletics and swimming until taking up judo in Grade 6 at Westville Girls’ High School.

She represented South Africa on numerous occasions all over the world and is proud to have her full Protea colours. Kirsten was the South African Champion in both the U18 and U21 63kg categories in 2014 and is currently ranked number one in the country in both the U21 and senior divisions. Kirsten has just got back from the SA Champs, having picked up two silver medals. She was also selected for both U21 and senior (U30) teams to represent South Africa at the upcoming Africa Championships.

Kirsten was recently nominated by KZN Judo for the Elite Athlete Development Programme. This programme is a partnership between the Department of Sport and Recreation in KZN and the Prime Human Performance Institute. The Elite Athlete Development Programme is a landmark high performance and sports transformation programme that gives sports science and high performance assistance to KZN’s top sports talent, enabling them to reach their full potential on the national and international stage.

Kirsten sets high personal goals and pushes herself to excel in all areas of life – particularly in terms of academics and sport. Besides focusing on her final year at school, she will be focusing her judo training on the upcoming Commonwealth Championships.

It is with these achievements that Westville Girls’ High School has chosen Kirsten as its SPAR Star of the Month.