On 20 October 2022, Department of Human Movement and Higher Certificate in Sports Sciences students in the Faculty of Education hosted an athletics day for their students on the Groenkloof athletics field. The event included long jump, athletics and relay races.

The athletics day was held for first- and second-year Human Movement Studies and Sports Management students. One of their practical modules is athletics and, as part of their final assessment, they had to compete in the athletics day, for which they were divided into groups. The first-year students competed in the 100 m, 400 m, 1 500 m and 4 x 100 m relays, while the second-year students competed in the long jump. The officials on the day were the Higher Certificate in Sport students who had completed an accredited Athletics South Africa Officiating course and officiated at the event to earn sports practical hours.

University of Pretoria lecturer and former Olympian, L.J. Van Zyl, indicated that the athletics day was very beneficial as it also taught students how to organise a sports event. Even though a few mistakes had been made, he was proud of their overall performance. Second-year student Lucian Bekker, who is enrolled for a BEd degree and started doing long jumping while at high school, was the winner of the long jump  (6.70 m), and his group also won the men’s relay. Bekker believes that if he is scouted by the right coach and remains humble he might one day represent South Africa in the Olympics.

First-year BEd student and TUKS netball player Sune de Jager, who won the 100 m race and came second in the women’s relay competition, said that she had stopped running to join the netball team because team sports are more fun.

Her advice to people who want to participate in athletics is to make sure that they are mentally strong and to compete because of their love for the sport.The event highlighted the students’ passion and their remarkable talent. While the cameras captured amazing moments, staff and student spectators were entertained by TUKS cheerleaders showcasing their talents by dancing to great music that enhanced the atmosphere.