Join in jukskei fun and games

Jukskei is for all people of all ages. With this in mind, the Suidkus Jukskei Club invites all South Coasters to join them at Margate Country Club on Wednesdays, for a morning of fun and laughter while being introduced to the game.

Chairman Pieter van Reenen said a warm welcome would be extended to all. All you have to bring is a hat, comfortable shoes and a bottle of water. There are 10 courts available and the club will provide the equipment for your first month or two.

Play takes place every Wednesday from 08:30 until about 13:00. For more information contact Pieter on 076 2185595 or Colin Kapp on 083 6584848.

Jukskei is a folk sport that was developed over 270 years ago in South Africa and is believed to be a predecessor to the American game of horseshoes. It is played in a field that has two sand pits separated by a patch of grass in the middle.

The objective is to knock down the target peg (that is placed in one of the sand pits) over a fixed distance with two wooden pins, known as skeis. When a peg is struck, that team scores three points. If the other team also strikes a peg, it cancels the three points of the first team.

After all players have played their two skeis, the captains of both teams will determine which team’s skeis are lying closest to the peg, which will give a score of one point per skei. A set consists of 23 points that are achieved by the combined score of pegs (three points) and lays (one point) at the end of a completed round.

In 2001, jukskei was chosen by the South African Government as one of the sports to be included in the Indigenous Games Project. All the provinces commit to taking part in the annual Indigenous Games Festival, sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture. This takes place in September on Heritage Day. The other indigenous sports are dibeke, diketo, morabaraba, kho-kho, drie stokkies, iintonga, kgate and ncuva.

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