Spar Superstars Northglen News 2024

CHLOE Riddle is an ambitious and gifted sportswoman and excels in sports across the board.

The Northlands Primary School Grade Five learner plays netball, hockey, beach polo and is involved in swimming, athletics and cross country at her school.

This year, she performed admirably at the Northlands Primary School Championship Gala where she broke the U11 freestyle record (held since 2001) at the Northlands Primary School Championship Gala. She also placed second for U11 in the 1 200m at the Umlazi Trials for athletics.

To go with her record-breaking efforts, just last year, she broke the inter-schools 800m for U10 in athletics and was the Durban & Districts Cross Country winner for U10 and has been awarded the Victrix Ludorum for swimming since Grade One.

Chloe is also her age group champion for cross country running.

“I was aiming to break the butterfly record, but I broke the freestyle record at the gala. I was really pleased with my results this year, and I hope to continue excelling in the sport,” she said.

Chloe has also completed two Midmar Mile, this year completing the swim in 34.01 minutes. In the past two years, she has also completed two Capital K open-water swims.

She represents netball, hockey and swimming in the schools A teams for her age group.

“My future goal is to play hockey professionally and hopefully play for South Africa and England. I look up to Alan Paton and his sons, Wade and Tainem, who have represented South Africa. They’ve both excelled in the sport, both locally and internationally, and I hope to one day make my family and country proud,” she said.

Chloe trains five days a week and does a combination of training methods.

WHEN Lamees Kolia picked up her first bow and arrow at the age of 10, she had no idea that one day she would place first in the country for archery at the National Archery Championships.

Lamees is in Grade Seven and attends Crawford International La Lucia.

She now has her National and Provincial Colours in all three categories of archery: South African National Indoor and Field Archery Association outdoor field archery 9m, South African National Archery Association indoor 9m, and South African National Archery Association outdoor 20m.

“I came first in the country at the 74th National Archery Championships held at Marks Park in March in Johannesburg. I had won many gold medals at provincial level before, however, I had never won gold before at national level,” she said.

“I feel incredibly proud and honoured to have placed first in the country. I worked really hard and was very dedicated to the sport. Having placed first made all the many sacrifices so worthwhile. The feeling of standing at the top of the podium was one of immense joy and satisfaction, but it also fuelled my determination to continue improving and aiming for even greater successes in the future,” she added.

Her next goal on her archery ‘bucket list’ is to compete at the international level and represent South Africa on the global stage. Lamees aspires to participate in prestigious tournaments, such as the World Archery Championships and the Olympics, and to compete against the best archers from around the world.

“I also aim to continue honing my techniques, improving my consistency and pushing my limits to achieve even greater success in future competitions. Ultimately, my archery journey is a continuous quest for growth, excellence and pushing the boundaries of what I can achieve as an athlete and as a representative of my country in the archery community,” she said.

FOR as long as she can remember, Grace du Plessis has been breaking out in song and dance, performing for her family in their lounge from a young age.

Since then, she knew she was made to wow audiences with her dancing, acting and singing skills.

The Grade Seven Chelsea Preparatory School learner also achieves brilliant academic results, consistently attaining a 90% and above aggregate. She is also the chairperson of the school’s Executive Council for 2024 and is vice-leader of the Early Act Service Team.

“During my performances at home, I watch how it made my family happy, so I knew it was something I wanted pursue. I joined the Minette de Klerk Dance School and learnt ballet, tap and modern dancing. More recently, I learnt hip-hop which I absolutely love because I feel I can express myself more,” she said.

Her role models are her dance teachers, and her favourite actress is Zendaya Coleman who is a dancer, too.

“When I finish school, I would like to get into directing musicals and dance,” she said.

When Grace is not moving to the beat, she likes to crochet something which she learnt from online tutorials and also through advice from her grandmother.

GABRIELLE Pillay’s love for art started at the age of two when she found herself intrigued by colours, shapes and patterns.

From there, the Grade Seven Glenashley Preparatory learner saw herself progress to pencil sketches of people, objects and places. Her latest sketch is of Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi, whom she says is one of her heroes.

“I believe art is my superpower, and I use it as a way to express my feelings and emotions and as a way to relax and de-stress after a long day. The one thing I love the most about art is that it’s not about the final product. It’s about the journey that you go though to create a piece of art and the emotions that it captures and the joy it brings to me and others who see it,” she said.

Some of her favourite pictures are her sketches of Siya Kolisi and Zendaya Coleman and her self-portrait.

“No one else in my family can draw or is artistic, and I haven’t attended art lessons. I believe this is my God-given talent. My parents have always encouraged my creativity and love for art,” she added.

KEANA Sing has big dreams and hopes to one day become the best footballer in the world.

The Greenwood Park Primary School Grade Six learner was recently selected for the KZN U13 Girls who will be competing at the Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT) in Limpopo in August this year.

It is a first accolade for the young star who says her goal is to help her team win.

“I’m looking forward to playing in an all-girls’ team as I play in the boys’ team for my club. I would love to help my team win at the IPT, but I know it will be a challenge. I’m very happy to have been selected because I only recently started playing football,” she explained.

Keana represents Greenwood Park Football Club outside of school and often plays with her younger brother, Riley, in the team.

“My brother is a really good player and is supportive of me. For the club, I play as a defender in the right-back position, but I feel happier playing upfront as a striker,” she said.

The 12-year-old added that she is also inspired by the South African women’s team, Banyana Banyana, and football mega-star Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Cristiano was the first person to inspire me to play. I used to watch football on TV with my cousin, and I remember watching him play. I just love his style and how skilled he is, and I remember asking my mother if I could sign up for the football team, and she was right behind me,” she said.

Outside of football, Teana also competes in swimming and athletics at her school.

She also competed at the recent Hamptons Inter-School gala where she placed first in 50m freestyle, 25m backstroke and 25m freestyle.

FROM the first time he picked up a bat at a young age, Keyaan Naicker knew cricket would be one of his lifelong passions.

To underscore his love for the sport, the Durban North College (DNC) Grade 10 learner has been making headlines on the cricket field.

The 15-year-old, who recently represented the Reservoir Hills/Outer West Hub at the KZN Cricket Union, the provincial Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the Sunfoil Hubs U16 Tournament was named ‘Batsman of the Tournament’.

He scored 161 runs with two half centuries and was also selected for the Dolphins Hub U16 Team which played in the final of the tournament held at the end of March.

Keyaan, who also plays for his school’s first team, was recognised as ‘Bowler of the Season’ at DNC despite being a wicket-keeper batsman.

“I’m really proud of my recent achievements. It goes to show that all the hard work you put in pays off. It is a huge honour to have been named Bowler of the Season for my school and Batsman of the Tournament at the Hub tournament. I scored 95 off 38 balls in one of the games at the Hub tournament, and it was the highest score made by any batsman at the tournament,” he said.

His future aspirations are to one day become a professional cricket player, but he also prioritises his academics over cricket.

“Since the first time I picked up a cricket bat, it has always been a passion for me. I grew up surrounded by cricket – my parents love the game, and my mother’s brother also represented a provincial side when he was younger. The feeling when I play on the cricket pitch is just amazing because I have a special connection to the game. My favourite player is Keshav Maharaj. The way he carries himself on and off the pitch is something I hope to aspire to and maybe one day represent my province and country,” he said.

Outside of cricket, Keyaan has a love for angling.