Cape Town - UWC’s volleyball scene is continuing to thrive, despite having no proper volleyball facilities.
Two of its students and its head of volleyball are heading to Maceió, Brazil, this week to represent South Africa at the World University Beach Volleyball Championship.
UWC head of volleyball, Elmien Cloete, was selected as head coach of South Africa’s beach volleyball team at the championship and was leading UWC students Tamlyn Thomas in the women’s section and Lukholo Jooste in the men’s section, with Nelia Thembe of Tshwane University of Technology (women’s) and Danilo von Ludwiger from the University of Pretoria (men’s).
The championship is being hosted by the International University of Sports Federation (Fisu) and officially started on Tuesday, with Team SA squaring off against 23 competing countries until the end of the competition on September 10.
Cloete, who started at the university in 2009 as a sports administrator for volleyball, netball and basketball, said that traditionally, the UWC volleyball teams had always been a force with which to be reckoned.
Director of Sport at UWC, Mandla Gagayi, agreed.
“The recipe to our volleyball success lies in the genuine support we give to our students and staff. UWC has no proper volleyball facilities but the support we give always pushes our teams to perform beyond expectations.
“They do this with full appreciation that we all have to do with what we have, and must never allow our circumstances to define our destiny.”
Jooste and Thomas are pursuing degrees in education.
Their passion for volleyball began when they were at school.
Jooste said: “Being exposed to such a level of beach volleyball is a privilege, as we look to learn a lot from other countries that play top beach volleyball regularly because, for us, opportunities like these only come once in a while.”
Thomas said it was an honour to be chosen for Team SA, especially knowing their sacrifices and hard work over the years had paid off.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za