South Africa: UCT Sport Reflects On Its Transformation Journey

As South Africa commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 16 June 1976 student uprisings, voices from across the University of Cape Town's (UCT) sporting community are reflecting on a shared question: How far has sport come in advancing transformation, inclusion and access? And what still needs to change?

For student leaders, former athletes, staff members and sports administrators, the answer is complex. They point to significant progress made since apartheid, when opportunities were sharply divided along racial and gender lines. Yet they also acknowledge persistent barriers linked to inequality, funding and access that continue to shape who participates in sport and who succeeds.

Their reflections reveal a common theme: sport has never been only about competition. It has been a site of struggle, belonging, leadership and social change.

For instance, when former student athlete Edwina Brooks arrived at UCT in 1990, South Africa was entering a period of political transition. Nelson Mandela had just been released from prison, but apartheid's legacy remained deeply embedded in institutions across the country.

"It was a completely different place," Brooks, the director in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, recalled. "We were in the minority as black students, and many aspects of campus culture felt alienating. You didn't feel like you were at an African university."

A social work student who graduated in 1994, Brooks still found a sense of community through sport. Initially competing in athletics, she later became one of the pioneering members of UCT's women's football team.

At the time, women's football was still largely absent from university campuses.

"There was very little women's soccer at universities in the early 1990s," she said. "A few of us got together and helped start the team."

The early years were difficult. Competing against established clubs in the Western Province League, the team suffered heavy defeats.

"We were beaten all the time. Sometimes by 17 or 18 goals. But for us, playing was the greatest thing."

Despite the setbacks, Brooks and her teammates persevered. Supported by volunteer coaches and driven by a desire to create opportunities for women, they gradually built a competitive team.

More importantly, they became part of a broader movement for sporting and social transformation.

"We felt like we were part of a transformative process," she said. "Football was already having conversations about reunification and sport for all. It felt meaningful to be involved in that."

Today, she sees a vastly different university. Student demographics have changed, women athletes enjoy far greater opportunities, and many of the formal barriers that existed during apartheid have disappeared.

"We've definitely come a long way," she said.

Sport as a space for activism

For Associate Professor David Maralack, chairperson of UCT's Sports Council, sport's transformative power extends well beyond the playing field.

Growing up in Steenberg during the 1970s and 1980s, he remembers a society where political gatherings were restricted, and communities were fragmented by apartheid policies.

"Sport clubs became places where people could gather and engage with community issues when there were very few opportunities to do so," he said.

According to Associate Professor Maralack, sports clubs often served as community hubs where people developed leadership skills, organised collectively and built solidarity.

"Sport was the one thing that allowed communities to integrate. It created a collective spirit and a sense of shared purpose."

As a student during the apartheid era, he experienced firsthand the contradictions of university life. While racial barriers often limited access to facilities and opportunities, sport remained one of the few spaces capable of bridging divisions.

"We still identified ourselves as UCT students, even when we weren't always allowed to participate equally," he said.

Maralack believes one of the greatest lessons from the generation of 1976 is the value of resilience.

"We trained in the streets, on beaches and in forests. We didn't wait for perfect facilities. We worked with what we had," he recalled.

Today, he channels that philosophy through Athletics for Community Transformation, a volunteer initiative that supports talented athletes from disadvantaged communities.

"We've had young athletes competing at national championships without proper equipment," he said. "Sometimes all they need is a pair of spikes and an opportunity."

For Maralack, the future of sport at UCT depends on creating those opportunities more intentionally.

"We need to be more deliberate about how we support sport," he said.

He advocates for stronger development pathways, expanded scholarships, improved high-performance programmes and deeper partnerships with alumni and sponsors.

"Sport can be a powerful branding asset for UCT, but more importantly: it can change lives."

Progress and persistent barriers

Current Student Sports Union (SSU) vice-chairperson, Phelo Ngobese, represents a generation of students benefiting from opportunities that previous generations fought to create.

A third-year Bachelor of Commerce accounting student and netball player, Ngobese believes UCT has made significant strides in making sports more inclusive.

"From what I've seen, sport at UCT offers a very wide variety of sporting codes," she said. "We have about 36 official sports clubs, which really speaks to inclusion because there is something for everyone."

She highlighted the university's efforts to create opportunities for both elite athletes and recreational participants.

Using netball as an example, she pointed to the existence of high-performance pathways alongside social leagues that welcome players regardless of ability.

"If you're really trying to be a student-athlete, there's a high-performance pathway. But there are also social leagues where there is no discrimination based on ability. If you want to play for the love of the game, you can do that too."

Yet Ngobese argues that access remains uneven across sporting codes.

While some sports are relatively affordable, others require significant financial commitments that place them beyond the reach of many students.

She pointed to water polo, yachting and other water sports as examples.

"Some sporting codes have high affiliation fees, and those fees don't cover all the costs incurred during the year," she explained. "Students often have to pay significant amounts out of their own pockets."

For many students reliant on NSFAS funding, these costs create substantial barriers.

"There are significant barriers to entry, not because of the colour of your skin itself, but because of the effects of apartheid and the fact that historically black families often don't have the same disposable income as those who predominantly participate in some of these sports."

Ngobese believes transformation cannot be measured solely by participation figures.

"It's about whether students can actually afford to stay involved and compete."

The view from the sidelines

Few people have witnessed UCT's sporting evolution as closely as Robert James Adonis, a facility attendant at UCT Sport.

After 37 years at the university, including more than two decades at the Sports Centre, Adonis has become a familiar figure to generations of students.

"The more money you pump into clubs, the more results you will get."

Looking back on nearly four decades of service, he believes meaningful progress has been made, but transformation remains incomplete.

"We fight for our rights, and we're still fighting today," he said. "My feeling is that we're supposed to be in a better environment; in a better system."

Like Ngobese and Maralack, Adonis sees funding as one of the key challenges facing university sport.

"The more money you pump into clubs, the more results you will get," he said. "They get sponsors; they get support ... That's the difference."

He believes greater effort is needed to identify and nurture talent among black and coloured students.

"There is talent in our black children and our coloured children," he said. "We are supposed to look after them."

Adonis is equally passionate about the role sports plays in student well-being.

Throughout his years at the Sports Centre, he has watched students turn to sports as a way of managing academic pressures and building friendships.

"There's a reason why sport is here," he said. "Students come from lectures and assignments, and they are stressed. When they come and play sports, it helps them."

For him, sports facilities are more than venues for competition - they are spaces where students find belonging and community.

"Students come first," he said. "You must give freedom and space to the students because it's important."

An unfinished journey

Despite their different experiences and generations, Brooks, Maralack, Ngobese and Adonis share a common belief: transformation is not an event but a continuous process.

Brooks sees the legacy of 16 June in the courage of students who continue to challenge inequality.

"The legacy of 1976 gave us courage," she said. "It taught us to ask questions, challenge injustice and imagine a better future."

Maralack believes the resilience of earlier generations remains a vital lesson.

"If we can combine that resilience with opportunity, support and a sense of collective purpose, the future of UCT Sport is incredibly bright."

Ngobese hopes her generation can build a more visible and accessible sporting culture that attracts greater investment and support.

"Our mission has been to increase visibility and engagement," she said. "We believe that by getting the word out about sport at UCT, we can attract sponsors and show people that UCT Sport is something worth investing in."

Read the original article on UCT.

South Africa: UCT Sport Reflects On Its Transformation Journey

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