Alrighty, so it’s been a heckuva week. The world continues to be weird – and the world of sport continues to be even weirder.
That’s why every week we take a quick look around and round up the most interesting sports writings out there…so you don’t have to.
Anyway, here’s what we found out in the last 168 hours or so…
Lockdown Level 1: More Party, More Problems?
So…tomorrow (or midnight tonight, which is the same thing, really) we head into Lockdown Level 1, to live out our last month (fingers crossed) of the National State of Disaster in a less…restricted way. Open borders (kind of), bigger gatherings, a four-hour curfew, an extra day of alcohol sales, and the ability to go to the office for work (ugh) – those are some of the good things we can all look forward to (responsibly, of course). And what does it mean for sport? Not much that’s new, really. Sporting activities, including both professional and non-professional matches by recognised sporting bodies, are allowed – but spectators aren’t. Neither are international sporting events. So business as usual, mostly.
Rugby Returns – Now Let’s Fix It
So SA Rugby is back in business from 26 September 2020 – here’s what you need to know. This year will see the battle for two trophies: From 10 October to 21 November, seven teams will slug it out for Super Rugby Unlocked honours. Points will be carried over to a new-look Currie Cup, which kicks off on 28 November. But as for SA’s place in international rugby…well, that’s a little less sure. But maybe that’s a good thing, since we have plenty to sort out here first. The Southern Kings are in liquidation, the Cheetahs have contract issues, and then there’s Black Lives Matter, and SA Rugby’s lackluster response. Stormers coach John Dobson says they’ve been discussing BLM-related issues, and that players can’t be forced into action because: “It’s all about education and understanding.” Well, yeah…but effective education should lead to action, right? We’ll see.
Football: Accounting, Apologies & Assassinations
Okay, so good news first: The SAFA NEC has received an administrative report from SAFA CEO in which among other things, the Association is set to realise more than R60m surplus. Also good news: SA’s women footballers continue to kick ass abroad. And SAFA has confirmed upcoming matches for Bafana Bafana. Internationally, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says he doesn’t want to fight with Lionel Messi and he’s made peace with what happened – now he’d like it if everyone else did, too, because he has no intention of resigning, petition or no. And while that’s all interesting, it’s also happening in a week where a SAFA official was murdered in KwaZulu-Natal in what has been reported as an execution-style killing. FIFA has expressed condolences. SAFA is shocked. And that’s that, right?
Athletics: #LetHerRun & The “Purr-Fect” Finish
Caster Semenya may have lost her appeal against World Athletics’ 2019 rules preventing women with above average natural testosterone levels from participating in 400m, 800m, and 1500m events unless they take medication to lower their testosterone levels, even though those rules rely on some. But SA human rights groups and many others are uniting behind her – and others like her – in the #LetHerRun movement, to combat the strange ideas about the science (and indeed the ethics) that are behind World Athletics’ take on sport and gender.
Meanwhile, Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk made a winning return in Switzerland, and SA sprinter Akani Simbine became the first 100m runner to dip below 10s this year, winning the Diamond League race in Rome. And in the 100m final at the Balkan U20 Men’s Athletics Championship in Turkey, a stray cat became an internet sensation after darting across the finish line, forcing runners to attempt to dodge the feline intruder. Watch where you’re going, guys.
Wait for it ?
This brave cat really rode its luck at the end of a 100m sprint ? pic.twitter.com/vMqmDx0jMN
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) September 15, 2020
In Other News…
On the local front, the Western Province Cycling today hosted its first road race back: as they headed out to the beautiful Slanghoek Valley for what is considered one of the most stunning races on the WP Cycling annual calendar. This event was scheduled to take place last Sunday, 13 September but blowing windy conditions had none of it. So the race was rescheduled for today. We’ll keep you up to speed on that later. And Cape Town Tennis entered its second weekend of matches since play resumed following the easing of coronavirus-enforced lockdown restrictions.
With level 1 kicking off tomorrow, we may see more and more sporting codes at amateur level resuming play. You’ll be the first to know as and when that information is available.
And that, in short, was the week in sport.
So…did we miss anything? Why not let us know at info@capeat6sport.co.za? Or if you want to know more about what’s happening in sport, why not check out the latest issue of the Cape At 6 magazine?
