Many individuals perceive pool as just a recreational game – something one plays at a bar or in the man cave. However, to members of CPUT’s supa-pool teams, it’s more than just leisure. It’s a competitive sport where they can test their skills against opponents from other universities nationwide.
CPUT supa-pool men’s team recently took first place overall in the 2024 USSA National Institutional Supa-Pool Championships. CPUT recently hosted the 2024 USSA Supa-pool Championships at the Western Cape Ultimate Pool Centre, Bellville.
Sport Development Officer, Quinton Summers, who was the chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, said the venue was “a positive new addition to this event”. “Hosting the event off-campus at a community venue meant that USSA supa-pool was exposed to the community more than it would have been.”
There were six participating universities: CPUT, Sefako Makgatho University, the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the University of Limpopo, Rhodes University, and the University of Fort Hare, and each university brought two men’s teams and a female team for the five-day tournament. Summers said: “The competition was exciting, on each day the excitement in the venue could be felt.” The men’s team won the men’s section by beating UWC in the final. Unfortunately, the ladies did not make the knock-out stages but one of CPUT's players, Perseverance Mashilo was the best women’s player of the tournament.
Even though Perseverance did not make it to the knockout stages her scores in the round-robin part of the event were the best. This earned her the award. The CPUT Supa-Pool team Manager, Ricardo Geduld, and Coach, Beauren Simon worked tirelessly behind the scenes to earn the team the success and the respect they deserve at the USSA level.
The overall Women's Individual winner – Shanice Van Vuuren (UWC), made the knockout stages and won the final. Summers clarified that the scores in the knockout stages don't impact the points scored leading up to that stage of the tournament. The UWC was the winner of the women’s section. The Player of the Tournament, (men) was Kevin Martin, meanwhile, the overall team of the tournament was the University of Limpopo.
