Super chess school excels again

Merafong’s chess stars from Hlangabeza Primary School in Khutsong have recently been rewarded for their hard work once again. The Gauteng West District (D2) recently held the school sports awards at Propracticum School in Krugersdorp. Dignitaries and provincial directors from both the Department of Education and the Department of Sports attended the event. The purpose of the evening was to honour those who had excelled in sports last year. The awards were presented to learners, coaches, administrators, sports codes and schools. Hlangabeza Primary School came back with three awards – Saidi Nombulelo (primary school female athlete of the year), Fihla Lonwabo (primary school male athlete of the year), and the

u.13 chess team (school team of the year). Eazy Tshabadira was also a finalist for the coach of the year. The awards followed great achievements last year. Fihla Lonwabo did well in various competitions from local to international and Saidi Nombulelo also had a good year, representing the school at provincial and national level. Unfortunately, she couldn’t take part in the African Youth tournament due to a lack of funds. She also won numerous

competitions throughout the year and is currently Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s u.14 girls’ champion. The u.13 chess team won all their tournaments, including the provincials. Both the girls’ team and the mixed team also produced individual players who did very well. This means that, as district award winners, both learners and the team will represent the D2 district at the provincial awards. Hlangabeza Primary is very proud of the achievements of these learners who are now at Badirile High School. Even though they are at senior school now, they still come back to practise at Hlangabeza. One of the finalists was Nhamuave Eleazar (high school male athlete of the year) who was representing Badirile High School. He is currently at Prestige College in Hammanskraal and was selected by the Department of Sport for a ministerial bursary. Talent identification scouts spotted Eleazar while he was playing for the u.13 chess team of Hlangabeza in 2015. This team went on to become the national champions.