Even though most people are born with an ability to play sport, it doesn’t mean everyone will be a future sports star, earning a living through the sport they love.
Some athletes are able to represent their regions and even provinces but without a guarantee that their talent will see them on big sporting stages such as the World Cup. However, sometimes, these sporting codes can pave a way for a future in other professions. Many have benefitted from this and with competitions like Varsity Netball, they may be able to launch their careers elsewhere through the television exposure.
VUT and UCT have not been doing well in this year’s Varsity Netball but that doesn’t mean the performance on the court will impact much on their performance in their academics. Instead, playing in front of a lot of people, with matches broadcast, can improve their confidence on court and on campus too. The players will be known as ambassadors for their universities and with that, it can draw attention on those schools for many different reasons. They also become the stars and celebrities on campus, the younger players will have people to look up to and become encouraged to join a team. This in turn will help them academically, as they say, healthy bodies equal healthy minds.
As the #FeesMustFall campaign has taken a fresh start, having good ambassadors can rope in sponsors for students who can’t afford their fees. This is when scholarships and sponsors should come in and assist as the same people who will improve the country in different spheres. This will decrease the number of ugly scenes we are seeing in different universities for the fight of access to higher education.
And with the number of teams improving every season (Maties and UJ in particular), the competition becomes more exciting and not reduced to a three-way competition. This also helps increase the pool of players that can be selected for different teams on the national level. With the upcoming Diamond Challenge and Fast5 competitions, the national selectors have a platform where they can select players to represent the country at international level.
By Busisiwe Mokwena, Daily Sun and Sunday Sun Sports Reporter
