Sporting excellence was acknowledged and celebrated at the CPUT annual Sports Awards.

During the gala event, which took place at the Bellville Campus, close to 60 awards were presented in categories ranging from honorary colours to merit awards for national squad selections.

MOTIVATE: Guest Speaker, Anne Siroky, encouraged CPUT’s sports stars to continue to work hard. Siroky is a renowned South African volleyball player, who has won numerous awards for her sporting achievements

Scooping this year’s coveted Sportswoman of the Year was basketball player Sophy Ngobeni, while javelin star Robert Oosthuizen walked off with the Sportsman of Year award, for a second year in a row.

Both students enjoyed a successful sporting season, having qualified and competed in top local and international competitions.

A third-year Public Relations student, Sophy took to the stage several times during the Sports Awards, having also clinched an honorary colours award in recognition of her selection on the Limpopo Women’s Basketball team as well a merit award for securing a spot on the national student basketball team.

“This is an honour,” says Sophy, who attributes her success to hard work and the support of her team mates and manager.

TEAMWORK: The male Chess Team walked off with the Team of the Year award. Here they are pictured with Loki Manise, the HOD for Students Affairs (middle) as well as their team manager and coaches.

A second-year Agriculture student, Robert, who has completed in the Olympics as well as other international student events, says self-discipline and the will to practice is his secret to sporting success.

Robert has his sights set on competing in the World Championships in Beijing next year and says he is already working towards that.

CONGRATULATIONS: Marli Visagie and Roche Naude scooped merit awards in the national squad selection category. The duo are members of the CPUT women’s 7’s Rugby Team. Here they are pictured with representatives from Nedbank and HG Travelling Services, who were sponsors of some of the prizes.

Other top achievers included the Hockey Club, who was awarded the Club of the Year award and the male Chess Team, who walked off with the Team of the Year award.

Acting Dean of Students, Advocate Lionel Harper, commended students for their sporting achievements.

Harper says sports offers students the opportunity to develop outside of the classroom and says CPUT is committed to extending and broadening sporting opportunities at the university.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

This first-year Management student looks the picture of health but one glance at his toned stomach reveals the scars of over 25 operations.

Martinique Du Preez was once dubbed the Miracle Boy by surgeons at Groote Schuur Hospital because he beat the odds to receive not one but two kidneys. His miraculous story is even more special because he then went on to earn his place on the South African Transplant Games team and last year broke five SA Transplant records in one day.

Martinique says he astounded even himself when he broke those records at the Transplant National Games. The sporting codes he broke are 100m sprint, 200m sprint, javelin, long jump and ball throw.

“I just went to enjoy myself and as I kept breaking the records I felt that it couldn’t be me doing these things,” he says.

“It was even more surprising because in the past I have struggled to qualify for the team.”

Martinique says the standards for Transplant Athletes are equally stringent to that of regular ones.

“The standards are always high whether you are a transplant or paraplegic athlete. So the athletes you see at these games are the best of the best,” he says.

Martinique was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure when he was 13 years old. He received his first kidney donation from his mother however that organ was rejected after only six hours.  The likelihood of finding a second suitable donor was slim because of his rare blood type AB+. Then news came that he was a match for a donor kidney from a young man his age who was fatally shot on the Cape Flats.

Martinique is now raising funds to attend the World Transplant Games to be held in Malaga Spain in June. 

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT