Kabelo Selebogo
Team North West U-14 boys were the talk of the town after defeating seven provinces and losing only one match at the South African Schools Sports Winter Championship in Benoni last week.
Their outstanding performance earned them the most points at the week-long championships and walked away with the gold medal.
U-14 girls khokho team added a silver medal to Team North West medal tally after finishing as the second best in the country.
North West U-17 wheelchair tennis’ superb performance secured them a silver medal after losing to Gauteng in the finals. The team comprised players from Meerhof Special School, Hartbeespoort.
The wheelchair tennis team beat the odds, as they played the tournament without a coach. Their mentor was hospitalised after a car accident before the tournament.
Soccer girls U-15 finished fourth after losing in the semi-finals.
The Games took place simultaneously in Benoni and Boksburg and also featured other sporting codes such as hockey, rugby and jukskei. The Gauteng leg was the second, following SA Schools Winter Games in Cape Town the previous week.
Competing in Cape Town were players in chess, volleyball and netball. North West finished sixth in the combined standings for both legs.
“I am proud of my boys’ accomplishment. We have worked very hard to bring the gold medal home,” said Stephen Koloke, U-14 boys’ khokho coach.
“We are glad as the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation (ACSR) that our athletes came to the party and showed their counterparts what they are capable of. The performance we got from khokho bodes well for our build-up to the national Indigenous Games in September,” said ACSR spokesperson, Shuping Sebolecwe.