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Maybe the #MadibazAwards Should Be Renamed “Spar Netball Sports Awards”

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At the Madibza Sports Awards ceremony last night, held in the Mandela University Sport Complex, the Spar Netball Team dominated the awards returning again and again to the stage to receive accolades for their on and off field achievements.

The two top awards went to:

  • Sportswoman of the Year: Jeanie Steyn (netball). Steyn is a Fine Arts Master’s student. Syen also won the Student Sport Personality of the Year award.
  • Sportsman of the Year: Tristan Stubbs (cricket). Stubbs is a B.Com student currently with the Proteas Cricket Team at the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.

NMU certainly seems to be dominating in what are termed ‘Cinderella Sports’ – Netball, Water Polo, Judo, Karate, Golf, Hockey and the like.

Do I see a plan here? Is NMU concentrating on building a large base of a winning culture with the long hanging fruit known as ‘Cinderella Sports’? A Cinderella sport is one that has less than 10 000 officially registered participants.

A sport like Netball has shone as a result of long term sponsorship from SPAR and it showed on the night of the awards with the following being awarded either to the team or individual players:

  • Sportswoman of the Year
  • Club of the Year
  • Sports Team of the Year
  • Student Sport Personality of the Year
  • Community Outreach of the Year
  • Silver Medalists at USSA

Other winners:

  • Coach of the Year – Delaine Mentoor (water polo)
  • Technical Official of the year – Gordon Draai (athletics)
  • Student Administrator of the Year – Hildah Dikhudu (football)
  • Student Coach of the Year – Lwazi Maoitiza (judo)
  • Junior Sportswoman of the year – Mihlali Hewu (judo)
  • junior Sportsman of the Year – Kamva Dyakala (hockey)
  • Director of Sport Award – Ashleigh Vaughan (water polo)
  • Administrator of the Year – Karl Du Preez (golf)
  • USSA Silver Medalists – Water Polo
  • USSA Bronze Medalists – Karate
  • USSA Silver Medalists – Judo

The keynote address was by Solomzi Nqweni – a Grey High School and Mandela University alumnus who had a very promising cricket career cut short on the day of the 2019 World Cup final when he was diagnosed with a disease that tries to kill your immune system – GBS. The exact cause of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) remains a mystery. Named after the French physician who first described the disorder in 1859, the disease affects around two in every 100 000 people each year. A sufferer’s immune system attacks their peripheral nerves, causing the rapid onset of muscle weakness. The outer limbs are the first to fail as the wave cascades in towards the vital organs.

After extensive rehabilitation Nqweni now has recovered 65% of his mobility and is back in Gqeberha as the man in charge of the newly opened Boardwalk Mall.

Madibaz Sports Awards 2022
Madibaz Sports Awards 2022

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.