#EASTERSPORTSFEST: Learners encouraged to dream and never doubt their abilities

Former Lions centre Howard Mnisi encouraged the learners participating in the St Dunstan’s College Easter Sports Festival to be disciplined, courageous and never doubt their potential to achieve greatness.

Mnisi was addressing the 29 competing schools at the opening ceremony of the three-day festival on March 30.

“Believe in yourself and abilities. Trust your training, team and coaches. Success is not only determined by wins but the relentless pursuit of excellence. Be disciplined, courageous and never doubt yourself to achieve greatness,” Mnisi said.

Mnisi, who has two caps for South Africa A, reminded the learners about the link between sport and education, saying the skills they learn on the field are equally valuable in the classroom and in life.

“Remember sport and education goes hand in hand. The skills of teamwork, leadership and resilience you learn on the field are equally valuable in the classroom and in life. By excelling in sport, you are not only honing your athletic ability but also developing your character and values that will serve you off the field.”

Mnisi was joined by former national hockey player Lisa-Marie Deetlefs, Proteas netball player Zanele Vimbela and indoor hockey player Steve Paulo, who also shared words of motivation with the players.

Deetlefs said the festival reminded her of the moment she started dreaming.

“To dream big is having the courage and ambition to strive for something great even if it’s impossible. It’s about setting goals that are beyond what you think you are capable of achieving and pushing yourself to reach them,” she said.

The festival, which started on March 28, was officially opened by the St Dunstan’s College rector Warwick Taylor, who said they are delighted to host all the schools taking part in the tournament.

“Thank you to the number of teams who have travelled as far as Zimbabwe and KZN to be here. Your trust in our ability to deliver a superb experience for all is not taken for granted. We have worked hard as a school to deliver a deliver a memorable experience for all spectators and participants,” he said.

On the field, it was another entertaining day as the players gave their all while the learners continued to belt out their anthems and war cries.

Entertainment continues on the field

On the netball courts, St Dunstan’s College (SDC) defeated neighbours Benoni High School (BHS) 15-9 in their derby. SDC also beat St Francis College 33-4 in their second match and won 19-11 against Jeppe Girls.

BHS made up for their earlier loss with a 16-13 win against Thomas More College (TMC). Unity Secondary School was defeated 17-16 by Veritas College but beat St Peter’s College 23-15 in their second match. They lost their third match 9-26 to Reddam Bedfordview while SDC beat Jeppe Girls 19-11 to continue their winning streak.

However, the SDC rugby team couldn’t continue the school’s winning momentum. They were thrashed 32-7 by Heritage. The Zimbabweans scored two tries in the first half and led 13-0 at the break. They added two more touch-downs in the second half and SDC scored a consolation try late in the match but it was too little too late as they suffered their second match.

Lomagundi College beat BHS 40-22, St George’s College Zimbabwe defeated Springs Boys 26-17 and Reddam Bedforview grabbed a 31-10 win against St David’s 2^nd team.

On the astros, St Dominic’s College beat St Peter’s College 4-0 and were held to 2-2 draw by Hellenic. BHS girls lost 3-0 to Kingsmead and the BHS boys narrowly lost 1-0 to TMC.

The festival continues tomorrow.

For the full results and fixtures, download Easter Sports Festival App on https://urlgeni.us/MyFest. The code needed to access the app is SDEasterfest.

Also Read: Sports excitement at St Dunstan’s College over the Easter weekend

Also Read: Entertaining first day sets Easter Sports Festival in motion

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