Wits honours their sports stars
BRAAMFONTEIN – Wits Basketball wins big at this year's sports awards.
After a year of blood, sweat and tears in the various sports fields, the University of the Witwatersrand hosted their 2019 sports awards. The awards were held on 26 September and the year’s best sports stars, clubs and achievements were celebrated in the evening.
Big winners on the night included Wits Basketball’s Everisto Pasipamire, who walked off with the highly-prized Sportsman of the Year and Varsity Sports Player of the Year whilst the Basketball Club was duly honoured with the Club of the Year award.
Wits Tang Soo Do’s rising powerhouse Anushka Monema was awarded full blue colours along with landing a nod as a finalist for the much-sought Junior Sportswoman of the Year gong. Monema was also a finalist in the Sportswoman of the Year category of the 2019 Gauteng Sports Awards. The martial arts star Monema shared her thoughts over her 2019 achievements, “Tang Soo Do for me is one of the few sporting codes which have managed to allow me to express myself for who I am. It has helped get the best out of me.”
Kamal Ramburuth-Hurt, a former Wits Sports Council chairperson and star hockey player at Wits Hockey, received the nod for the Breaking Boundaries award. This was in recognition of the work he has done in developing hockey at various social and recreational levels at Wits University and beyond. He shared the symbolism of winning these awards by saying “I think the award is about a contribution towards something which is bigger than just what you do on the field but also about the contributions made off the field.”
The awards ceremony was one of class and celebration. Wits congratulated all the nominees, players, clubs, and team staff that ensured that this year was a great year for Wits Sports.
Below is a full list of winners of the night:
- Sportsman of the Year, Everisto Pasipamire
- Sportswoman of the Year, Robyn Johnson
- Junior Sportsman of the Year, Saluleko Mathonsi
- Junior Sportswoman of the Year, Shakeerah Jacobs
- Club of the Year, Basketball
- Mel Siff Sportsmanship Award, Daniel Kasende, and Chad Futcher
- Varsity Cup/Sport Player of the Year, Everisto Pasipamire
- Student Sports Administrator of the Year, Caleb Palmer
- Rising Star Female, Michelle Dykman and Simone Van Reenen
- Rising Star Male, Michael Van Den Berg
- Social Media Presence, Tang Soo Do
- Committee of the Year, Tang Soo Do
- Breaking Boundaries Club, Tang Soo Do
- Breaking Boundaries Individual, Kamal Ramburuth-Hurt
- Golden Oldie Male, Conor-Terah Brockschmidt
- Golden Oldie Female, Rosanne Bentley.
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