Expect a titanic battle this coming weekend as the University of Johannesburg (UJ) hosts the second meeting of the action-packed Varsity Sports Programme.
The track and field facilities at Johannesburg’s Westdene UJ Stadium just after 5pm on Monday 14 April will be packed with some of South Africa’s top athletes, as they battle it out for individual and team honours.
It is said that this is the excitement of United States College sports – only in SA style.
The Varsity Sports Programme, now well into its second year, has given young athletes an ideal platform to strut their stuff.
“South Africa is a country of sports lovers,” says Trent Key, Marketing and Sponsorship Executive for Varsity Sports.
“Many promising young athletes are involved in the programme and have excelled in individual and team events. With the 2016 Olympics squarely in our sights, many of our participating students are stepping up to the plate already.”
Varsity Sports is one of the offerings of Advent Sport Entertainment & Media (Pty) Ltd (ASEM), which is headed by SA rugby legend Francois Pienaar. Francois may have left the fields of SA rugby, but his dynamic presence is the driver behind this exciting programme.
“The sports-loving public, and the sportsmen and women participating in the six sporting codes on offer, owe a round of applause to our valued sponsors,” says Duitser Bosman, CEO of Varsity Sports.
“The ongoing support and commitment of FNB, Cell C, the Famous Brands Group, Samsung, and the Edcon Group has helped to ensure that our younger athletes are able to participate at the highest level. The support from SuperSport also has given the fans a chance to see our athletes in action by televising the Varsity Sports events every Monday evening on channel 210.”
The next two athletics events will take place at Stellenbosch University on 21 April and the University of Pretoria on 28 April.
Participating universities across all six sporting codes are: The University of Limpopo (UL), Free State (Kovsies), Pretoria (Tuks), Stellenbosch (Maties), NMMU (Port Elizabeth), North-West University (Pukke), Rhodes University, University of Fort Hare (UFH), Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Vaal University of Technology, University of Cape Town (UCT), University of the Western Cape (UWC), University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
“Sport is very important to most, if not all, South Africans,” added Bosman.
“In addition to creating an exciting platform for our potential Olympians, the six-code programme serves as a means of integrating sportsmen and women from every background. It’s really heartwarming to see the team spirit, both on and off the track.
“So get yourself down to the track, this is an event not to be missed.”
Dewald Stander (UJ) will be out to improve on his 2013 performance during Monday’s event.
Dewald, the SA U/23 champion has proved his ability already by passing the elusive 55m mark in the discus event – a certain sign of a good performance from him.
His UJ teammate, long jumper Zarck Visser, who was placed fifth in the world in 2013, is now rated first in the world. This is an incredible achievement by the young Welkom athlete, who holds a personal best of 8.35m.
