The very popular mass relay meeting of Uitsig High School in Centurion – the 14th since its inception – was presented again with great success last week, after it could not take place due to the Covid crisis last year.

This event, officially known as the Uitsig/Itec Relay Event 2022 this year, has become a very popular institution on the school’s athletics calendar over more than a decade, as participating schools use it as preparation for their respective inter-high events.

Despite the interruption in the presentation of the event last year, the support of schools from at least three different provinces ensured that last week’s resumption of Uitsig’s unique relay event was again a huge success.

About twenty schools have entered relay teams for the event, which was presented at the new Pilditch track in Pretoria West.

The teams were divided into two categories, namely medium and large schools. Each school therefore had boys and girl’s teams in the five age groups from u.14 to u.19 that participated in their respective categories. This classification ensures a greater degree of fair participation, because schools basically compete on an equal footing.

About 14 schools from Pretoria and surrounding areas were part of the event, while other participants travelled far to test the strength of their relay teams. There were schools from Limpopo, the East Rand, Johannesburg and Potchefstroom in the North West.

The event kicked off with four 4x400m relay races for u.19 teams in the various divisions (medium and large schools), after which 4x100m relays in all age groups started.

Apart from the fact that the event was completed without problems or hitches due to the good organization of Uitsig High School, this school also deserves credit for the great effort they put in beforehand to get the track and stadium ready to make the event possible and to accommodate all the teams.

Strict Covid regulations were maintained during the event and no effort was spared to ensure the safety of the athletes and spectators. Even the batons were sanitized after each race.

Only one event record was broken, when the u.15 girls from Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool won their race in the 4x100m event in 50.41s.

The final winning teams in the various categories were as follows:

• Medium School Boys – Hoërskool Ben Vorster (Tzaneen)
• Medium School Girls – Hoërskool Hans Moore (Benoni)
• Large School Boys – Hoërskool Waterkloof (Pretoria)
• Large School Girls – Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria
• Medium School overall winner – Hoërskool Ben Vorster (Tzaneen)
• Large School overall winner – Hoërskool Waterkloof (Pretoria)

At the end of the event, two unique races took place, during which star athletes from different schools teamed up in two teams (one for boys and one for girls) to try to improve the event record for u.19 teams.

The girl’s team was made up of Petri Nienaber (Hoërskool Eldoraigne), Cassidy Lacy (Hoërskool Waterkloof), Hannah van Niekerk (Afrikaans Girls’ High School Pretoria (Affies) and Kelly Hope (Curro Hazeldean). They recorded a time of 49.36s which was only a fraction of a second slower than the existing record of 49.0s.

The boys team consisted of Malcholm George from Hoërskool Waterkloof, Sakhile Basi from Pretoria Boys High School, Christo van Rensburg from Hoërskool Eldoraigne and Kallie Hope from Curro Hazeldean. They chased a record time of 41.57s, but unfortunately could only record a time of 44.4s.

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