Bathurst traditional games team headed for nationals need support
Seven players to compete in kgati skipping contest
Aseven-member indigenous games team from Bathurst have been invited to participate in the national African Traditional Games (ATG) competition in Durban for nine days in September, Heritage Month.
They will be competing in kgati skipping rope.
In kgati, two people hold and turn a rope that is between 3m and 5m long, while members of the team take turns to perform their skipping routines.
Accompanying their routines are songs, rhymes and stories. Kgati athletes perform creative and entertaining dance moves that require them to be agile, fit, well coordinated and with an excellent sense of rhythm and timing.
The Bathurst team’s coach is Siphokazi Mkrakra, who was recognised by the province for her contribution to the community. She coaches netball and junior soccer, helping out at local schools and then coaching her teams. She recently added African Traditional Games to her coaching repertoire.
“I learnt about ATG from the late
Nomazwi Mbundwini, who was an official from the department of sport, recreation, arts and culture,” Mkrakra told Talk of the Town.
She is thrilled to be taking the team to KwaZulu-Natal. But while transport and accommodation are provided, the team has to cover its other costs. These are:
Takkies: seven pairs at R450 each; Socks: Three pairs each for seven athletes at R150 a pair;
Food for the trip and at the competition: seven athletes x nine days at R200 a day per person;
Toiletries (soap, face flannel, sanitary towels, blister plasters and so on), times seven at R300 each.
The Bathurst Ratepayers and Residents Association (BARRA) circulated the list of expenses and asked their members to consider supporting the home team. On their return from Durban, the ATG team would give various public performances for their sponsors.
“If this appeal raises more than is needed for the trip, Mkrakra wants to cast a concrete slab for a proper netball court in Nolukhanyo.”
To donate, pay Bathurst Development Trust, (a registered NPO) quoting your name and ATG trip as a reference under Detail. Sasfin Bank, Acc No. 30000196257, branch code 683000, Swift code SASZAJJ.
For more information contact Mkrakra on 065-913-5159.
Rainfall and temperatures in Port Alfred for the week Wednesday August 30 to Tuesday September 5, 2023 (Rainfall in millimetres and temperature in degrees Celsius)
● Wednesday: 0 (13°C)
● Thursday: 0 (13°C)
● Friday: 0 (13°C)
● Saturday: 3 (12°C)
● Sunday: 0 (11°C)
● Monday: 0 (13°C)
● Tuesday: 1 (14°C)
● Total: 4mm
● Seven-day mean temperature 12.71°C (Median 13°C) ● ●
YTD 496mm MTD 4mm
Rainfall and temperature measurements, recorded at 6am in Forest Downs, Port Alfred by Emil Jurgensen.
Average for September 57.24mm