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

Swimmer Kevin Paul Of SA Wins Gold

South African swimmer Kevin Paul has won a gold medal on Day 1 of the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Kevin Paul and Denys Dubrov competing for the gold (Photo courtesy of Bob Martin/EPA)

Competing in the Men’s 100m breaststroke, Paul started in the fourth lane after going strong in the heats leading up to the final race. With a strong start off the block and a good streamline under the water, Paul lead the race. However, Ukrainian Denys Dubrov on Paul’s right in lane 3 and Duncan Van Haaren of the Nederlands in lane 5 were catching up to the South African with a good pace.

Dubrov touched the wall first ahead of Paul at the 50m mark and Paul was put under pressure as the white cap of the Ukrainian had the advantage over him. However, in the final 15m, Dubrov and Paul were neck-and-neck, with Paul giving it all he had.

Just 8 years on from winning his first Paralympic medal, Paul reclaimed the title he lost in the 2012 London games in a thrilling finish just outside of World Record time at 1.04.86, just 0.0.24 milliseconds ahead of Dubrov. Paul won gold, Dubrov won the silver and Van Haaren claimed the bronze.

The 2016 Rio de Janiero games will continue until 18 September.

Song of the Week

Sugar Man - Rodriguez

Marquez Leading For The Win

Marc Marquez is the current leader in the MotoGP 2016 championship, leading 53 points ahead of Valentino Rossi. The reigning champion of 2015, Jorge Lorenzo, is behind by 59 points to Marquez.

The 23-year-old Spaniard has won the championship two times before in 2013 and 2014. Marquez is considered to be the youngest rider in recent history to have broken numerous records including fastest laps and back-to-back consecutive wins in one championship. However, like all sporting heroes, Marquez had to start at the beginning.

Marquez joining Repsol Honda KTM

Marquez was born in Cervera, Catalonia in Spain, and made his debut in 13 April 2008 at the 125cc 2008 Portuguese Grand Prix. He was just 15-years-old as the time and achieved his first podium on 22 June 2008 at the British Grand Prix. 

At the French Grand Prix in 2009, Marquez achieved his first pole position at a factory KTM rider and was the youngest Spanish rider to take a pole position or a podium in a motorcycle racing world championship.

His first win was on 6 June 2010 at Mugello, and following victories were at Silverstone, Assen and Catalonia and thus made Marquez the youngest rider to win four successive races. His fifth win in succession was at the Sachsenring making him the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 1997 to win successive races in 125cc racing.

In 2011 Marquez moved into the Moto2 class as the sole rider of the new team Monlau Competicion run by his manager, Emilio Alzamora.  

Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez - Repsol Honda teammates

In 2012 it was announced that Marquez had signed a two-year contract with the Repsol Honda team in the MotoGP class, replacing the retired Casey Stone alongside Dani Pedrosa as his teammate from 2013 onwards. 

Marquez has often been quoted saying that Rossi was his childhood sporting hero and inspired him to get into the sport. However, in 2015, the two friends soon became rivals. 

During a pre-event press conference at Sepang, Rossi said, “From Phillip Island, it’s clear that Jorge has a new fan.” The Italian rider accused Marquez of helping Lorenzo to beat his teammate. With Marquez sitting only a few centimeters away, Rossi continued speaking against his former friend. He elaborated saying, “Marc has played with us, doing everything in Lorenzo’s advantage… The Australian GP was really interesting, with many top riders fighting and 50 passes. But if the race was so hard fought, we need to ask Marc Marquez. He was playing with us a lot. His goal was helping Lorenzo to escape and take as many points as possible from me!”*

Marquez, visibly embarrassed replied “I did my race. I don’t know why Rossi is saying this. I did an incredible last lap. I can help my teammate, not Jorge Lorenzo.”*

Then onwards, during the Sepang, Malaysia race, a collision incident became the focus of attention when Rossi seemly kicked Marquez’s bike causing him to crash out of the race. Further investigations, however, confirmed that Marquez’s bike handle unfortunately clipped Rossi’s foot causing it to come off the peg. Nonetheless, Rossi received 3 penalty points which were enough to enforce a start from the back of the grid for the final race of the season in Valencia. The riders were warned of their behaviour but Lorenzo took the world title.

The break leading up to the 2016 championships was surely needed as racers came back calm and collected and their underlying stories seemed to fade away.

Meanwhile in South Africa, the reopening of the iconic Kyalami Racing Circuit represented the much needed impetus to economic growth in the area, particularly for tourism. The Sport and Recreation Minister of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula, said he felt positive about the Kyalami revival. “The restoration of Kyalami Racetrack is good for motorsport development and for motorsport in South Africa,” he told IgnitionLive. “We thank the private sector for their continued support for motorsport.” Perhaps the revival of Kyalami Racetrack is the necessary link to get MotoGP and other classes to consider the track as one of the circuits to visit during future championships. Mat Durrans, a co-host of The Bike Show addressed Toby Venter, the owner of the Kyalami track, saying, “Brilliant track, well done! You’ve probably not got any cash left, shame about that. But bring us some international racing!” The South African Bike Festival, hosted previously this year in May, featured various dealerships including Yamaha who displayed a replica of Valentina Rossi’s YZR-M1 Monster model. This event is said to draw in more tourists and recognition globally, possibly attracting the racers to South Africa.

Rossi and Marquez shake hands

Even though some friends become rivals, they say that a feud can’t last for long. This statement rang true at the end of an emotional Catalunya race in June dedicated to Luis Salom after his tragic death during a practice session.

It seems this helped bring a sense of perspective to the riders when Rossi and Marquez were seen shaking hands for the first time since 2015.

More than halfway through the championship already, fans of MotoGP eagerly anticipate what might happen next.

The next MotoGP race will be held at the Silverstone Circuit in Great Britain this Sunday, 4th of September.