Sport, like time, waits for no man. Or woman, for that matter. We may still be in lockdown thanks to COVID-19 (please stick to the regulations and stay safe), and many sporting activities may have been placed on hold…but that doesn’t mean there’s not a whole lot of sporting news to share.
That’s why every week we take a look around and round up some of the most interesting sports writings out there – just for you.
Here’s what we uncovered this week…
Celebrating South African Sportswomen
It’s Women’s Month in South Africa, in case you didn’t know (and happy SA National Women’s Day by the way). The perfect time to celebrate the groundbreaking (and record-breaking) achievements of Africa’s sportswomen and women in sport, from national to international level. That’s just what celebrated sport activist Cheryl Roberts has done with her newest publication: African Soil Sportswoman. The first continental women and sport publication of its kind, published in Africa, by an African for and about Africa’s sportswomen and Africa’s women and sport, the publication covers sports from athletics to volleyball, and everything in between. And tune in on Twitter today to see Cheryl and GSport highlight SA women in sport. And don’t forget to vote in the prestigious 2020 Momentum gsport Awards, the 15th edition of the longest-running women’s sports awards in South Africa. It’s your last day to vote for some of SA’s finest – and Babalwa “Bee Beast” Latsha, captain of the Springbok Women’s Rugby team, international professional rugby player and Cape At 6 columnist – is up for a record three awards.
Black Lives Matter: SA Sports Figures Speak Out
The resurgent #BlackLivesMatter movement has inspired activism to combat racism, white privilege and gender discrimination – not just in the United States, but around the globe – as the Mail & Guardian reports. And sport has been a part of it from the start – from American footballer Colin Kaepernik taking a knee to Nascar driver Bubba Wallace taking to the race track in a BLM car – and inspiring changes even in that traditionally white, Southern sport’s supporters. And in South Africa, the movement continues to grow: from SA cricketer Lungi Ngidi to former Proteas Captain Faf du Plessis; from World Cup-winning rugby captain Siya Kolisi to UWC Rugby coach paul Treu; dozens of sporting bodies and hundreds of coaches, captains and activists continue to join the cause. Even EFF leader Julius Malema mentioned it at the party’s 7th birthday celebrations. But few have been as outspoken as the 39 SA sportswomen, representing a range of sports, from athletics to fencing to rugby, from junior sport to international level, who signed an open letter saying : “Enough is enough.”
Global Gymnast Alliance Against Abuse
For decades, US women’s gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, sexually abused hundreds of gymnasts – most of them minors. The new Netflix documentary Athlete A details how he was finally brought to justice; and has brought renewed focus on a sport where physical and psychological abuse has become normalised – and where the competitors tend to be young girls, at an extremely vulnerable stage in their lives. Juliet Macur reports for the New York Times on horrific stories of coaches body-shaming gymnasts, stifling their emotions, using corporal punishment on them and forcing them to train with injuries, using the pursuit of medals as a way to rationalize shameful behavior. But now, gymnasts from Australia to New Zealand to the UK are speaking out, tagging posts with #GymnastAlliance to share their own experiences in the wake of a new documentary that highlights verbal and physical abuse by coaches.
Footballers Return To The Field
The most popular sport in South Africa is restarting after a five-month suspension with the Nedbank (FA) Cup semifinals behind closed doors at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, as EyeWitnessNews explains.Minnows Baroka and Bloemfontein Celtic meet in the first match, followed by a high-profile clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits. All 57 cup and league matches will be staged in Gauteng, the province hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed nearly 10,000 lives nationally, the highest death toll in Africa. The Absa Premiership resumes three days later, at another Soweto stadium, with defending champions Sundowns tackling Orlando Pirates in pursuit of a third consecutive title. Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has stressed that health protocols have to be strictly observed or he would close down football again. That’s welcome news after the Lucky Star Cup – regarded as South Africa’s biggest grassroots football competition – was officially cancelled. And more good news: South Africa’s women footballers in European football helped their pro clubs win this women’s day weekend!
And that’s a wrap. Happy Women’s Day – and here’s to another week in sport!
Did we miss anything? Are there interesting developments you think we should be talking about? Why not let us know at myolisi.gophe@gmail.com? Or if you want to know more about what’s been happening in sport during lockdown, why not check out the latest issue of the Cape At 6 magazine?
