Some say sport is a metaphor for life…or is it the other way around? Either way, that belief has never been more relevant than it is now. 

Initially activities in sport, as it was the case in life, were abruptly suspended as the pandemic soared. Then there were webinars, virtual events, e-sports, and spectator-less events. It has been a strange year indeed. But things are slowly but surely going back to normal – under the circumstances – just like life in general. 

While some sporting codes are still reluctant to resume formal operations (understandably so given the various waves of the pandemic), particularly at grassroots level, others have grabbed any opportunity provided by authorities to do what they love the most. That is: to play. 

It’s been good to see codes like athletics, football and rugby at university level resuming activities And it’s been inspiring to be able to watch the world’s greatest athletes come together for the long-delayed 2020 (2021) Olympics. 

After sport was financially, physically and mentally ravaged by the coronavirus in the last 18 months, the sector seems to be dusting itself off and is able to reimagine to survive what has been termed as the “new normal”.  

But as they say, there are many ways to skin a cat. Sport is not all about play, play and play. There is also a science aspect of it, as Warren Lucas has demonstrated. And it’s also about development and outreach, as his sister Raedene Lucas shows. 

And most importantly, sport is supposed to make a difference in society. So it’s also been good to see that sportswomen, in particular, have stood up to be counted – and to make sure that this new normal doesn’t repeat old mistakes. 

Women like Mitchell’s Plain gymnast, sport scientist and hip-hop dancer Kiahra Ventura, who’s trying to inspire her fellow youths to dream bigger. Or rugby superstar (and Laureus Sports Ambassador) Babalwa Latsha, who’s working to help young women find their best selves through sport. Or world tennis icon (and comic book star) Naomi Osaka, who showed sportswomen everywhere that it’s okay to not be okay. 

This Women’s Month edition of Cape At 6 is dedicated to these amazing women – and many others, who make a difference on the field and off it for some of our favourite examples of these inspiring women).  And we hope that their example will inspire other young women (and men, for that matter) to see the greatness inside themselves, and let it shine. 

And we’ll be right here to celebrate it. 

So happy reading, everyone. And Happy Women’s Month!