Plain's talented crop of primary school athletes gear up for WP championships

Schools' athletics is well underway across the city, with every race, every meet a step towards the ultimate goal: national glory. In athletics, there’s a saying: you’re only as good as your last race. Every time athletes step onto the track, it’s a fresh test — and that’s exactly the kind of pressure star sprinters Nuhaa Van Niekerk, 12, a Grade 7 pupil at Parkhurst Primary, and Ridgeville’s Zozibini Mpako, 11, a Grade 6 pupil, carried with them when they lined up for their respective races at Saturday’s Metro South Primary Schools athletics championships at Blue Downs Stadium.

Although considered among the favourites based on recent performances, the two had their work cut out for them, knowing hype means nothing if they don’t cross the finish line first.

Ultimately, both won their respective races to qualify for a spot at the upcoming Western Province championships, to be held at the same venue on Saturday, February 27.

The two follow in the footsteps of several athletes from the area who have gone on to make their mark at national level in recent years, including Parkhurst alumni Lamicah Adamson, former Montague and Mondale High hurdler Naeem Jack, and Eastridge’s Tamzin Thomas, a former pupil at Imperial Primary.

For Nuhaa, who has been offered a spot at Paarl Gimnasium next year, a good start is as important as a great finish. “ I just want to be first out of the blocks because my family takes days off from work just to come and watch me, “ she said.

While happy to have the opportunity to attend a prestigious school, the youngster has mixed feelings about the next chapter, choosing to complete her primary schooling at Parkhurst instead of joining Gimnasium this year.

“I am excited and nervous at the same time, happy and sad, but looking forward to building a new journey at Paarl Gim,” she said.

With the primary school athletics season in full swing across the city, things are set to move up a notch with Saturday’s championships at the newly refurbished Blue Downs Stadium. Behind the scenes, teachers, coaches and volunteers have been working hard to make sure young athletes get their chance to shine.

Metro South Primary Schools athletics convenor Paul Naidoo said Metro South incorporates schools in Mitchell’s Plain, Guynyacroft, Wynberg and the False Bay areas.

“Each area is divided into groups — Mitchell’s Plain has six groups of eight schools each, making it the biggest in the Metro South schools district,” he said. “Guynyacroft has two groups with a total of 24 schools; Wynberg has three clusters with 30 schools, and False Bay has 24 schools.”

Each cluster hosted its own inter-schools athletics meeting over the past few weeks since schools reopened in January, with the top two athletes at the various cluster meets booking their spots at last Saturday’s championships.

In total, he said, about 116 schools take part in athletics across Metro South every year, showing just how strong participation is at primary school level.

But while the talent is there, running these events comes with real challenges. Naidoo said one of the biggest problems is the lack of proper facilities in the area — a longstanding gripe echoed by many involved with schools’ athletics in Mitchell’s Plain over the years. Athletes often have to travel further than competitors from other districts just to compete or train.

“Coaching is another hurdle. Many schools do not have qualified athletics coaches, and some don’t even have suitable grounds for training," said Naidoo.

“Because of this, some schools cannot enter athletes in all events simply because there is nowhere safe or suitable to practise,” he said.

While creating opportunities for young athletes to shine remains their number one priority, hosting competitions also comes at a cost, he said.

Although the City recently upgraded the Blue Downs facility, incomplete work meant organisers had to spend extra on security due to open sections around the stadium. Clusters are responsible for paying for services such as medics, security, cleaning staff, tents and sound equipment. “For some schools, these costs are difficult to manage,” Naidoo said.

The question of costs is closely related to the issue of funding — or a lack thereof — with schools having to fund their own athletics programmes, with little or no outside sponsorship or government support. This is why, said Naidoo, an athletics facility in Mitchell’s Plain would go a long way in helping to develop track and field in the area.

“I believe there should be more investment in school grounds, proper equipment, and specialised coaching. It could make a huge difference,” he said.

“Get the government to invest in the school ground projects to make it conducive to doing athletic training, and get schools the necessary equipment,” he said.

While these and other challenges are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future, he said it’s good to see athletes like Nuhaa, Zozibini and others achieve success despite their circumstances.

Ridgeville Primary School athletics coach Ryan Matroos said he’s happy with his star sprinter’s performance at the weekend, considering she was plagued by an Achilles tendon injury for most of last year and was only able to return to training earlier this year.

“I'm pleased with the outcome, but there are things that we need to work on so that she can be in shape as expected,” he said.

Zozi, he said, first obtained Western Province and Western Cape colours in 2024 and made her first appearance at the national primary schools athletics championships in Limpopo that same year, competing in the 80m and 100m sprints.

Although finishing in fifth place at the nationals, she returned in 2025 and broke the girls’ under-11 WP 100m record at Green Point Stadium, as well as the Western Cape 100m record. She finished with a silver and bronze medal at last year’s national championships, then went to Germiston for the SA Nationals, where she claimed silver in the 100m and bronze in the 80m before injury sidelined her.

“She underwent physiotherapy, and we were given exercises to do. By December 2025, the pain from the injury faded, and in January, we started training again,” said Matroos.

Northwood Primary School sports coordinator Donay September said preparing for athletics is a team effort that requires all hands on deck. The school dominated their cluster meeting a few weeks ago and had seven athletes qualify for Saturday’s WP championships. The school is one of four in Mitchell’s Plain with a dedicated sports programme hosted by sports development NGO Run4Schools, whose coaches, along with teachers, helped prepare their athletes, said September.

“We are grateful enough to have the Run4Schools coaches at our school. Every year, we analyse what worked the previous year and what we can improve on,” he said.

“In a nutshell, our athletes thrive because, as a school, we are in unison for the betterment of our kids,” he said.

With athletics dominated by schools from the northern suburbs, September is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.

“Realistically, we are hoping to get at least one of our athletes through to the Western Cape championships,” he said. “Sometimes our resources, as opposed to more affluent schools, hinder this ambition, but with what we have, we try the best we can,” he said.