The final bell sounded as the curtain came down on the Ndlambe Cross Country Development & Schools League’s 2024 season at the tranquil Alexandria Christian Academy setting on Saturday.
On a sunny morning with hardly a breeze to speak of, runners from as young as 7 to the ripe old age of 75 took to the loop course over various distances with plenty of gusto to put in one last effort in the fourth and final race of the season.
The event’s unique format allows individuals to enter the four races hosted at different venues over the season, even if they do not belong to a club. The league is run under full jurisdiction of EP Athletics and serves as a qualifier for selection to the EP team.
The league is the brainchild of athletics doyenne Sticks Stiglingh of Kowie Striders assisted by coordinator Vuyo Nkayi of Upper Ego Athletics Club. Their programme was piloted by Eastern Province Athletics in 2022, gained traction last year and in 2024 established itself as a valuable component of community sport in the region.
Rising 17-year-old Kowie Striders star, Thandolwethu Matsalo, of whom great things are expected in the future, and who won both his races at the EP Cross Country Championships earlier this month, was once again at his best, winning the main and final 8km race of the day in a time of 26:34.
He was followed by Lithetha Gcume (29:41) and Mhlahli Mgagu in (31:45). In the 4km for senior men first home was Kenton star Butshabethu Kayi (13:35), 2nd place went to Xabiso Mazantsi (13:40) and 3rd to Siyabonga Saul in 14:04. The 4km senior ladies recorded Liesl van Zyl (18:54) in first position, followed by Siewa de Vos (21:40) and Jana Jordaan (22:19).
Stiglingh said they had seen a steady increase of between 20 and 40% in race participation since the programme got off the ground in 2022.
“At this race [in Alexandria] for example we had 164 runners in total participating, compared to last year’s 108. So it’s slowly building up after a slow start in 2022. Another positive move is that the chairman of EP Cross Country has decided to utilise this last league race as preparation for the team that is going to the SA champs [September 7 in Vanderbijl Park].
Stiglingh said since the league’s humble beginnings in 2022, which had taken a huge amount of work in terms of talks and negotiations with various stakeholders, the cross country development league had proved to be an allround success.
“One example is that township schools have started to participate and join in informally … to such an extent they have asked Vuyo [Nkayi] to supply names of those athletes who are coming out on top and select a team for the Sarah Baartman schools athletics championships. So they are utilising our system to select their teams. “
Stiglingh says there is no formal athletics competition taking place in the Ndlambe region so their EPA accredited Cross Country league, is filling a crucial gap when it comes to ensuring that young running talent doesn’t fall the wayside and has something to aspire to.
“Our programme is an ideal opportunity for local kids who do not have the funds to be able to run the leagues … because you must remember that if you want to be in the EP team you have to run two leagues plus the championship to be in the team. This league counts for those two, which means you don’t have to travel all the way to Gqeberha to run the leagues in the metro,” he said.
He said previously this had meant that it was not possible for athletes from Ndlambe who did not have the funds to travel to Gqeberha three times in an effort to qualify to run for EP.
“Matsalo was the EP Cross Country athlete of the year because he won two silver medals at the SA Championships last year. We [Ndlambe] have never had a junior athlete being recognised as Athlete of the Year for the whole province. If we did not have the league in place Matsalo would not have had the opportunity of showcasing his talents.
“Matsalo is a class act, and another positive is that he is taking some of the youngsters under his wing and showing them that it can be done … that you can do it even if you are from a disadvantaged community like he is,” said Stiglingh.
Such is Matsalo’s athletic prowess that Stiglingh says the young runner might go to the Junior World Championships this year as a 17-year-old.
“Last year the chairperson of SA Cross Country invited him to a race up north but we decided he just attends to observe what goes on there which he did and now we have decided we might go for it this year.
“Another youngster to watch is Sam Jardine [of KFS] who won his 2km race for senior boys (07:54) about 14 seconds ahead of Kean Scott (08:08) and Tristan Lange who didn’t quite make it last year at the EP champs but perhaps was overawed by the occasion.
“An indication of the impact the programme has had on local athletics is that the Ndlambe area had 17 athletes in the EP team last year of which 13 originated from Kowie Striders’ development programme. But it’s not just about the athletics but it’s the runners’ interaction with the running community at the venue that is helping them to become even better persons.
Event coordinator Nkayi said the 4th running of the event this season had ended on a spectacular high indeed.
“We have wrapped up the season on a high with a new record of 164 athletes participating in the Alexandria event.
“We are proud to say that it was a huge success this year with visible growth compared to previous years and we are looking to expand the programme in 2025. We are happy to report that EP Athletics had used our Alexandria event as a training camp for its contingent for next month’s SA Championships.”
Nkayi said the prize-giving ceremony will be hosted on August 30 at the Port Alfred Country Club.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, August 22, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays
