Song of the Week

Young Blood - The Naked And Famous

Song of the Week

Footloose - Kenny Loggins

Song of the Week

I'll Be There For You - The Rembrandts

Song of the Week

My Favourite Game - The Cardigans

Song of the Week

Don't You Want Me - The Human League

Song of the Week

Centerfold - J. Gelis Band

Song of the Week

What I Like About You - The Romantics

Song of the Week

Barbie Girl - Aqua

Song of the Week

Perfect - Simple Plan

Song of the Week

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

Guy Martin Breaks Wall Of Death Record

Guy Martin has broken the Wall of Death world record.

The 34-year-old is known for his career as a motorcycle racer is the Isle of Man TT and for presenting his own show called Speed with Guy Martin. Martin completed the record with a speed of 78.15mph, after initially setting a pace of 70.33mph, on a BSA engined bitsa that he built in his own workshop. 

Guy Martin on the BSA engined bitsa

The Wall, which was purposely built for Martin's attempt, was described as something that many should fear, let alone take to it on a motorbike. "It's like a Colosseum," said Ken Fox, Martin's trainer for the stunt. "You expect to see lions and gladiators."

Martin attempted the stunt on live television and fans were amazed when he achieved success.

Guy Martin on the Wall of Death

Having trained for over a year for the record attempt that has to be postponed when he broke his back at the Ulster Grand Prix last August, Martin was obviously delighted with the successful outcome.

Bit it was back to basics for the truck mechanic the next morning. "Back to work tomorrow" he smiled. "I've got a R620 (Scania) with a headlight problem that needs sorting in the morning."

Fast Food and Sporting Sponsorships Are Cause For Concern

The increase in food industries sponsoring sporting events and sport initiatives should be a cause for concern. Students and children are the main target of fast food companies which some would consider to be morally wrong, however, the companies cover themselves by saying that they sponsor sport and encourage exercise.

A documentary series currently running on BBC Education, channel 184 on DSTV, called The Men Who Made Us Thin, investigates how exercise, dieting and the overall importance of health has been made into a business and marketing scheme.

Jacques Peretti, the host of the show and investigative reporter and filmmaker, goes all the way back to take a look at the sponsors of the 2012 London Olympics, and looks at how the world’s largest McDonalds concords next to the Olympic stadium. Peretti says, “Don’t think the irony wasn’t lost on us, watching the fittest athletes on the planet as we stuffed our faces with Cadbury's, Coke and fast food.”

The Olympic rings hang gloriously from Tower Bridge in central London

Coco-Cola, McDonalds and Cadbury are reported to have put millions of pounds into the games between them. However, we have to stop and ask the question: Why are they all food companies?

The answer is the fact that it’s not just sport. Sponsorship of food companies is everywhere. In the United States of America, sports sponsorship by food companies is bigger business than anywhere else in the world.

Joni Freetop, a specialist who works with obese patients to find non-surgical treatments, has become increasingly concerned about the connection between sport and the food industry.

He says, “Coco-Cola pays for playgrounds. McDonalds provides jerseys to kids. And yes, of course it’s about sales, but it’s not just about sales. Underlying all of these efforts, I believe, is the perpetuation of the belief that exercise causes weight loss. That ‘all of our products are safe and fine and wonderful so long as you also exercise’.”

Photo courtesy of: see link

This underlying theory refers to the Energy Balance. This implication is that if you do enough exercise, you can eat what you like.

In an interview with Joni Freetop, Jacques Peretti asked the question: Why does the food industry promote the idea of exercise, what’s in it for them besides sales?

Freetop replied with, “The obvious, of course is sales, but what’s in it for them as well, is smokescreens, for legislation. So if somebody out there suggests that perhaps we should stop allowing the sponsorship of sport, or that we should have a sugar, sweet and beverage tax, or ban advertising targeting kids with food, well they can say ‘You know what, it’s not about us, it’s exercise. Let’s focus on that!’ or the very least they can say “You know what, we’re part of the solution. We are helping by helping people to exercise!’ Because as the CEO of Pepsi once said, “If people just did what they’re supposed to, exercise, this problem wouldn’t exist.” And that’s just not true.”

Peretti then asked: What is wrong with promoting exercise even if they lose weight as a result of it? It’s still a good thing to exercise.

“Absolutely!” Freetop agreed. “There really is nothing better you can do. We need to promote exercise because of health benefits, but we have to stop telling people that it’s going to make them lose weight.”

So as a result of this idea enforced on the public, people feel bad about themselves when they do exercise and can’t lose weight.

Derek Yach, who previously ran the global health policy for PepsiCo and is now the Senior Vice President of The Vitality Group, part of Discovery Ltd where he leads the Vitality Institute for Health Promotion as Executive Director says, “I think that is an issue, I think there is this very intuitive sense that 'can we not just solve the obesity crisis by going for a couple long runs in the park. And let’s just do that, we don’t have to do much else'. And this is not a devious plot by corporations, it’s a deeply felt sense, I think, by many people out there that we can just increase our activity because the hard stuff is making fundamental changes in your diet over the long term.”

Coco-Cola accepted that they had a responsibility on both sides of the Energy Balance equation, however, they still say that if people want to maintain a healthy weight they must burn off the calories they consume. They released a statement saying that in relation to the Olympics, 73% of the drinks they sold were water, juice, smoothies or low or no calorie options. McDonalds said that they were committed to educating people on the importance of physical activity. In the UK they play an active role in local causes such as community football. Cadbury said that they sponsored the Olympics because it was the biggest UK event of that generation, and if people were to buy chocolate it made sense to buy a brand like Cadbury rather than an overseas one.

So overall, it seems that food companies were all in agreement with the fact that their product was probably not the best to have in a diet alone, however, they emphasised the fact that their consumers hold the responsibility to exercise. This, therefore, further pushes the ‘you need to exercise to lose weight’ concept on the public, whereas we know that that is not specifically the case.

Students or parents of young children are now urged to consider what message the fast food company is feeding them, rather than just what product they are buying into. Even though it can be said it’s just business, the public suffers the consequences of the ‘just business’ ideals in relation to overall health.

Therefore, consider what you eat, as it could be eating you up inside regarding how you feel about yourself at the end of the day.

Song of the Week

Hey, Soul Sister - Train

Marquez is the 5th time world champion

Marc Marquez has won the 2016 MotoGP World Championship at the Twin Ring Motegi track in Japan. This is the Spaniard’s 3rd MotoGP championship with two other in championships in both Moto3 and Moto2 under his belt.

Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda

The 23-year-old qualified second on the grid before the race, leading with a total of 248 points in the championship, 52 points ahead of Valentino Rossi and 66 points ahead of the 2015 MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo. Marquez’s win was one of the most unlikely considering the battle for the championship in this season.

 Marquez had a good start which allowed him to steal the lead from Rossi before the first corner of the 2.983 mile circuit. However, by the second corner Marquez was pushed back to third position with Lorenzo in first, before overtaking Rossi in the fourth corner.

The battle for second was getting feisty between Marquez and Rossi with Marquez aggressively overtaking Rossi every opportunity he got.

Eugene Laverty crashed out on lap 22 of the 24 lap race, but caused no inconvenience to other racers.

Marquez then boldly overtook Lorenzo, showing the crowd that he was on the charge and achieving the fast lap of the race thus far with a time of 1:45.577.

On the following lap Rossi overtook Lorenzo on the same corner Marquez made his move, pushing Lorenza into third position after his extensive lead from the start.

Jack Miller was the next racer to then go down on the first corner of lap 18, his 4^th crash of the season.

Valentino Rossi was the next rider to crash on turn 10 of the track, his right leg stuck under his Factory Yamaha bike. Rossi, however with the help of marshals, was able to get up and restart the bike, re-entering the race in 19^th position. But after all the effort, Rossi pulled into the pits with some bike problems evident. The cause of the crash was just a front end of the bike wash-out, causing him to go off track and into the gravel.

Hector Barbara was the next rider to crash out of the race on lap 16.

Looking back at the championship leader board, with Rossi out of the race and with the possibility of Lorenzo finishing 5^th, Marquez fast gaining the championship. Andrea Dovizioso currently in 3^rd and Aleix Espargaro in 4^th chasing down Lorenzo.

However, with Lorenzo being battered and bruised after a horrific crash during the qualifying stage before race day in Japan, a question mark was hanging over his head wondering if he could keep up the pace as Dovizioso started closing in on the current champion.

The battle for 4^th place was then the focus during lap 17 between Espargaro and Maverick Vinales. Vinales won the battle overtaking Espargaro and grabbing the last podium position.

It was only when Lorenzo then crashed out of the race, five laps before the end of the race, that Marc Marquez’s championship win was made final.

Marquez took the win for the first time ever in Japan with a time of 42:34.610, followed by Dovizioso in second, behind by 2.992 seconds. Vinales finished in third.

This is what Marquez had to say about his win in Japan: "It's incredible! Before the race I didn't expect to be Champion, and I said that here it would be impossible. However, when I saw that Rossi was out of the race, I decided to push hard for the victory. I was riding my hardest, and when there were three laps to go, I read on my pit board that Lorenzo was also was also out; on that same lap, I made mistakes in four or five corners, as it was difficult to stay focused! I'm very happy because this title is very special considering some of the crashes I had last year, and also because it came at Motegi, Honda's home. Honda has worked so hard this year, and you could see the fruits of that effort also at this track, where we've struggled in the past. I myself also improved during the season; for instance, I learned how to better use the front Michelin tyre. It has been a demanding year, but a fantastic one. It's great for my team, and of course I don't want to forget my grandmother, who passed away this year and would be very happy with this World Championship. Now we can just enjoy it and go into the last three races with maybe a more 'Marc Marquez' style.''

When interviewed by SuperSport correspondents, Rossi said, "First of all, I would like to say that I'm OK, fortunately no problems. On the other hand, it's a shame, because I was quite strong and I had a good pace. Unfortunately, my start was not fantastic and I lost positions to Marquez and Lorenzo. After that, Marquez was a bit faster than me to overtake Lorenzo, I lost a bit more time behind Lorenzo, but the pace was good. I was able to push a lot to try and catch Marquez but unfortunately I lost the front. Sincerely, I felt nothing - not too fast, too wide or too deep - but I lost the front and logically I made a mistake."

When asked about the Australian race at Phillip Island, Marquez told crash.net that "It's fantastic to arrive at Phillip Island with no pressure for the championship as the track is one of my favourites in the calendar along with Austin and Aragon. It's so fast and flowing and you really have a lot of fun riding there. One of the main issues to take into account there is the weather. It's usually very cold during this period of the year ad always windy, something that you feel a lot, especially at the end of the final straight. You have to find a setup to make the bike as stable as possible. We'll try to win some more races before the end of the year as there are also the Constructors and the Team titles to think of."

The next MotoGP race will be held at the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island on Sunday, 23rd of October.

Song of the Week

I Try - Macy Grey

Song of the Week

Where Is The Love? - Black Eyed Peas

GradStar Awards Celebrate Top 100 Students

The Top 100 undergraduate students in South Africa were celebrated this week at the GradStar Awards, hosted by the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg on the 27^th and 28^th of September.

The GradStar Awards is an annual event produced by BlackBark Productions (creators of the Rising Star Awards) and GradConnection that recognises the Top 100 students across South Africa and connects them with potential employers, and in turn giving employers a a chance to develop long lasting relationships with the top talent.

Out of 3,500 other applicants, a strict and rigorous selection process decided the Top 100 students who not only excel academically, but who are also well rounded and possess leadership skills.

The assessment process was designed to select candidates based on readiness for and ability in the workplace. The initial selection process involved students submitting application forms, then completing psychometric tests, and based on the results of the test, they were then invited to complete an online interview.

Six of Monash University South Africa students were part of the Top 100 including Tsholofelo Gomba, Seannah Head, Mamodikwe Kungoane, Wura Makinde, Muhammad Raafay Siddiqui and Kirsten Olivia Smith. For their full profiles, click here.

Mamodikwe Kungoane, who is completing her Bachelor of Public Health degree says, “GradStar 2016 was one of the most beautifully overwhelming experiences. I feel honoured to be amongst so many bright stars. One of the things I appreciate the most is binding with stars from my very own campus.”

Seannah Head, a second year student who is double majoring in Business Management and Psychology says, “I thought it was such an eye opening experience that really made me feel inspired and energised to take on new challenges. I felt awesome being surrounded by such excellent minds and felt really grateful to be blessed to take part in such an amazing experience.”

Wura Makinde, who is completing her Bachelor of Business Science in Accounting says, “I found that GradStar was an extremely enlightening, empowering and humbling experience. I got to meet and learn from so many phenomenal people. It reignited my desire to succeed and made me realise that I want to do more, care more and contribute more to our society.”

Tsholofelo Gomba, a second year student double majoring in Applications & Network Development and Business Systems says, “I enjoyed meeting all those wonderful people from various universities. I’m disappointed that there weren’t many organisation focusing on IT though.”

In agreement, Kirsten Olivia Smith, who is double majoring in Journalism and Psychology says that she was disappointed that there weren’t more exhibitors and potential employers present at the event. “I was expecting the SABC or Tiger Brands companies to be at the event because I’m interested in marketing and journalism. But it seemed like the event only focused on accounting firms, banks and law orientated companies” says Smith. However, she states that “the GradStar Awards was an amazing opportunity to connect with students from other universities” and that she is honoured to be part of the Top 100 undergraduate students in South Africa.

The programme patron, Dr David Molapo, was recently tasked by the Office of the President and the Department of Education with the responsibility of putting together 16 events celebrating the 40^th Anniversary of Youth Day on 16^th June 2016. Dr Molapo fully endorsed the GradStar Awards by saying, “This is a worthy programme, designed to uplift the student youth at this time of unrest and provide an aspirational platform to assist them in achieving their potential. I urge you, as the employers and educators of South Africa, to support this initiative and help create this exciting network of young people.”

The ’10 of the Finest’ were then selected of the Top 100 students in a four phase judging process conducted during Day 1 by Dell Young Leaders Programme, Fasken Martineau, PwC and FNB. The winners were then announced during the Gala Dinner and formal award ceremony.

Students were then able to stay overnight at the Protea Hotel in order to rest up before the second day of the GradStar awards which involved numerous workshops, talks by guest speakers and exhibitors, and meeting with mentors from the Rising Star Awards programme.

Raafay Siddiqui says, “It’s one thing to achieve and another to be recognised for it. To be recognised as one of the Top 100 university students in the country is incredible. Not only does it allow for one to feel appreciated but to become motivated to always excel and pursue the most enlightening of goals.” Siddiqui then commented on the event saying that the programme was wonderful and that “it created a space to learn and network with some of the best business minds in the country.” However, Siddiqui mentioned that the programme lacked speakers and individuals from non-business related entities and thus some students could not connect with the leaders they were presented with. He then commented on the Rising Star Mentorship programme saying that it is “a great idea and will definitely be of benefit to students looking to enter the workplace.” Overall, Siddiqui says that he enjoyed the stay, the workshops, as well as the company of the other Top 100 students and will forever “cherish the opportunity to network and create friends with the cream of the crop of South Africa.”

South African Wins Moto3 Championship

Brad Binder has won the 2016 Moto3 World Championship at the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain. The South African is the first to win for his country since Jon Ekerold in 1980, 36 years ago.

Brad Binder proudly waving the South African flag on the podium (Picture: Getty Images)

The 21-year-old qualified fifth on the grid before the race, leading with a total of 229 points in the championship, 111 points ahead of Jorge Navarro. Binder needed either a second place finish or race win in order to become world champion.

Binder had a good start which gained him a position up by the fifth corner of the track. Soon after, he made his way up to third before the end of the opening lap, with Spaniard Jorge Navarro leading the pack and Italian Enea Bastianini in second position.

Gabriel Rodrigo then started chasing Binder down for third place, but Philipp Oettl was the one to make a bold move and separate the two, overtaking Rodrigo and slipping in behind Binder. It didn’t take Oettl long to then overtake Binder, forcing him to trail behind in fourth place.

The battle then continued between Binder and Oettl, with Binder relying on a slipstream in order to keep up with Oettl’s pace. However, after Oettl and Bastianini ran slightly wide, Binder was able to grab second position behind Navarro, but then passed him on the main straight of the track at the end of lap 9, the halfway mark of the race. Binder then led the race with a battle between Oettl, Bastianini and Navarro taking place behind him. But just as Binder thought he was safe, Bastianini overtook him on the corner while Ottel fell behind into tenth place. The two championship contenders continued to battle it out until the penultimate lap, when Navarro overtook them as they both ran wide.

It wasn’t until an extremely tense and exciting last lap of the race that Binder’s championship win was truly reliant on Binder’s skills as a rider. Binder, Navarra and Bastianini all showed dedication towards their fight for the championship, almost head-to-head on the final corner, but it was Navarro who took the win with a time of 39:56.973, followed by Binder in second, behind by only 0.030 seconds. Bastianini finished in third.

Brad Binder told The Times that he would have liked to win the championship with a race victory, however, he had to settle for second place. Even so, Binder was crowned the Moto3 champion of 2016. Still celebrating his victory with the rest of South Africa cheering him on and his parents who had flown out to Spain to watch the race, Binder says, “We lost the battle but won the war.”

Dave Petersen, a former MotoGP racer, told Eyewitness News that Binder deserves every inch of success and that he worked his way up to international glory. Petersen says that “Brad started at the very bottom end of the ladder in terms of motorcycle racing and he’s been an incredible inspiration.”

Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula, says that Binder has been working towards this for years and that his victory is historic for South Africa. He says, “We can only be proud as the nation salute to him, to his family and to his friends. It’s a great weekend for South Africa, our flag is flying very high.”

Brad Binder will be racing in the Moto2 series in 2017, after it was announced that he had signed a deal with Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport. The next Moto3 race will be held at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday, 16^th of October.

Team South Africa Brings Home 17 Paralympic Medals

The South African Paralympic team has brought home 17 medals in total after returning home from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Seven of these medals were gold.

South African Paralympic team during Opening Ceremony in Rio (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Competing against 4000 athletes from 176 countries, the South African team was only 40 strong.

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula says, “The story of the Paralympic is a great story. It’s the story of the triumph of human spirit. You are not disempowered by your disability.”

The 25-year-old Paralympian swimmer, Kevin Paul says, “The first thing I looked at is when is my 100m breaststroke and I saw it was on Day 1 and that I’d be the first South African competing and inside of me everything was just like ‘Come on, we’ve got this we can get the ball rolling for team South Africa’.”

Kevin was born with Poland Syndrome which means that he is missing some muscles on the upper left side of his body. He has been swimming since the age of three and has never seen himself a disabled but rather differently abled than others.

Kevin knew that if he wanted to win gold he had to completely devote himself to the training. Paul left in his final year of a law degree to focus on winning gold. Paul told Carte Blanche that “at the moment you’ve been waiting for, you’ve trained, you’ve made sacrifices and now it’s all going to come down to this one moment in your life.”

Anrune Liebenberg, a silver medal Olympic runner who was born with deformed arm says, “I love what I do. Every time I run a get goosebumps and my heart pumps faster.”

“I actually don’t think people have disabilities and my favourite movie is Soul Surfer when she says ‘Being normal is overrated’. That’s how life is. We’re all different and unique and God made us like that”, says Liebenberg.

Inspired by the crowds, Tyrone Pillay who was born with an abnormality of the left foot, put everything behind his last throw in the men’s shot put final. The shot made 13.91m which was a new South African and African record. Pillay’s prize money for winning the bronze medal was R80,000 and he plans to donate it to Jumping Kids, a NGO that helps disabled children with prosthetic limbs. “It’s going to empower them and change their lives dramatically. I think people don’t realise the benefits of prosthetic legs. One, they’re going to be able to walk, they’re going to be able to go to normal schooling. They’re going to be self-sufficient and I think that’s key” says Pillay.

Jumping Kids has helped 14-year-old Paralympic sprinter Ntando Mahlangu by providing him with prosthetic legs after he was confined to a wheelchair. Mahlangu, who is from Mpumalanga says, “In 2012 I got a bit interested in sports and that’s where the dream began.” The 2016 Rio Olympics was Mahlangu’s first Paralympic race, making it to the men’s 200m final where he won the silver medal. “It was a really good competition and it was a very, very, very good race.”

Kevin Paul concludes by saying, “Every single athlete has a story to tell and it doesn’t matter if you come last or first, just being a Paralympic athlete for team South Africa means that you’ve basically won a gold in life.”

Song of the Week

Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles

Diversity in sports should be based on merit, not quotas

The issue of quotas in South African sport has been a topic of discussion on campus this past week amongst sports clubs and sporting fans. Racial diversity in Monash South Africa sports has been compared to the enforced quota laws that attempt to increase the number of ‘non-white’ players in South African teams. 

During the Apartheid era, ‘non-white’ athletes were banned from participating in sport and teams were selected based on race. As a result, South Africa was excluded from international sports due to sanctions. However, after 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic elections, the playing fields were levelled and South Africa could compete globally once again. Quota systems were then introduced to ensure that black players were included and given opportunities to participate, especially in most traditionally race-skewed sports such as rugby and cricket. 

In April, the Sports Minister of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula, announced to press that he will no longer beg for racial transformation but will start forcing the country’s sporting federations to fulfil racial quotas. He publicized this during the release of the third Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport Report for 2014/2015. Even though the system imposes equality within sports teams, the methods have been met with mixed reactions. Due to some sporting bodies failing to include more black players in their teams within the past year, Mbalula told press, which included Stephen Grootes from the Daily Maverick, that he has “resolved to revoke the privilege of Athletics South Africa (ASA), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Netball South Africa (NSA) and South African Rugby (SARU) to host and bid for major and mega international tournaments in the Republic of South Africa as a consequence of the aforementioned federation not meeting their own set transformation targets, with immediate effect.” Mbalula concluded by saying that he will review his decision when considering the results of the 2016/2017 Transformation Barometer next year.

The controversial South African Springbok rugby team in 2015 – Photo by Rajesh Janilal/AFP/Getty Images

Johan Smith, the Head of Sports and Wellness at MSA referred to the quota system saying that “if you look at the representation in sport codes like rugby, cricket and netball at national level, you will notice that quality players are being selected from all race groups. So, I will say that the process is necessary and successful.” Siya Mnyanda of The Guardian also agrees with the purpose of the quota systems saying that they are a way to “reverse the apartheid policies of racial division and systemic disadvantage”.

In contrast, Samo Nxumalo, the Student Representative Council Sports Officer says that “no one ever wants to stick out like a sore thumb and that’s exactly what these quotas are doing”. Nxumalo explained that teams are ‘forced’ to include black people in their leagues and that “it just gives the impression that it’s not that they want them there, it’s because they have to have them there.” She added that South Africa prides itself in the diversity it offers but it now seems like “pretend” diversity. Nxumalo commented saying that players want to be part of the team simply because they are good enough and not because the team doesn’t want to face law suits.

MSA is known for its diversity amongst students and has a vast variety of sporting clubs and societies. However, when the diversity was called into question, Nxumalo explained that sports clubs are diverse “but not diverse enough”. She elaborated saying that rugby is one of the only sports that break the stereotype as majority of their players are black. 

Considering what solutions could be proposed to address the issues against the quota systems, Nxumalo says that sports should be promoted as a whole and that every race should be treated “based on merit and not colour of their skin.”

As the controversial topic of the quota systems is still continuously met with mixed reactions, especially in the eyes of rising sports stars who want to be noticed for their talents, sometimes the agreement over sporting merit while pushing ethnicity aside is all it takes to get people to come together and join as one with a positive future-orientated attitude for South Africa.

For Fikile Mbalula’s full speech, click here.

Song of the Week

Extreme Ways - Moby

Song of the Week

Leave Right Now - Will Young