The characteristic plastic trumpet, which has no clear origin, is said to have first appeared at soccer games in the late 1980’s, according to Philani Mabaso, communications officer for the Durban-based side AmaZula Fl.

Popularised by Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates fans, it has become a symbol synonymous with South Africa and the successful Fifa World Cup.  Despite healthcare warnings by Phonak, the hearing systems manufacturer, about its negative effect on the eardrum, the ‘vuvu’ has been predicted to be the most popular instrument at future world sporting events.

Not all in favour

According to guardian.co.uk, the ‘vuvu’ has already been banned from the running of the bulls in Pamplona, (for rather obvious reasons – I’d rather a bull in my path see red than hear a shrill trumpet blast)

Introducing myself as a South African in Europe over the vacation was extremely gratifying. Despite the fact that it normally lead to a free round of beers , it allowed me to watch South Africa from a world perspective- and see what impression Africa made on the rest of the globe.

African footie fever

Listening to British commentary during the Ghana- Uruguay match was hilarious. Far from subtle, the commentators egged Ghana on to point where they were leaping around their studio in response to foul hand balls and poor refereeing.

I have never experienced such blatant bias, or seen such passionate fervour on all sides to witness African victory.

Countless taxi cabs in London had the FIFA logo painted on them, and almost every pub was adorned with South African flags and Zakumi mascots.

The Times was the first English newspaper I opened. It had a 16 page South African supplement.

BBC presenters, using ghastly pronunciation and thick English accents would constantly ask things like: “ Do you know your Camerons from your Cameroons? Do you have your vuvuzaylas ready?”

10 000km away and watching the world cup on British ‘telly’ and big screens in Amsterdam was eye- opening. I sensed an overwhelming response from Europeans and travellers to the “African experience.”

A compelling example is the moment where a group of soccer fans in a pub applauded the closing ceremony. A new light has been shined on us, and the vuvuzela blows the chorus for South Africa on the global stage.

Words by Carina Truyts

Scenes similar to those of the recent Soccer World Cup were relived as Rhodents donned their overalls, blew their vuvuzelas and chanted their way through the cold winter evening’s events.

Prior to the main fixture of the night, two other local games were held. Founders House beat Jan Smuts 21-0, while the Hill went down 17-0 to the Dream team.

Yet all attention focused onto the Rhodes-UCT match, with a smaller contingent of UCT supporters struggling to make themselves heard above the noisy home fans.

Play-by-play

On the field, both teams seemed evenly matched during the opening stages in a very physical encounter. The Rhodes XV then upped the tempo, managing to score a converted try and penalty going into the halftime break.

The “Babas” continued their good form into the second half which saw an entertaining brand of running rugby being played. Despite a late UCT try, the Barbarians managed three tries against their illustrious opponents, emerging 22-7 victors on the night.

The supporters remained vocal throughout the entire evening, and an enjoyable time was had by all.

“It was a great game, and the atmosphere was electric!” said Brendon Jeacocks, a local fan.

This encounter served as a good warm up game for all the players involved as the Internal Rugby League continues over the forthcoming weeks.

Words by Fabio De Dominicis

SA Tourism

When I stepped into a Diski dance class, I was prepared for humiliation. I’m no good at football, let alone a spirited and energetic dance routine derived from township footie tricks.

But I was in for a surprise: instead of tripping over my feet, the Diski steps had me feeling totally pumped and just itching to blast my vuvuzela like a mad Bafana fan.

Along with Zakumi, vuvuzelas and makarapas, the Diski dance was an iconic and uniquely South African part of the FIFA World Cup 2010.

It was choreographed by Wendy Ramokgadi, who wished to create a dance that was ‘truly South African’ and reflected the rhythmic style of our country’s football.

“When these people come to our country, let them come and feel the rhythm of Africa,” she said.

The steps are all modelled on a typical township style of football and inspired by the way children practise their skills, even without a ball.

Actions of ducking, weaving, passing and kicking the ball translate into a high-energy dance routine, often performed to Shakira’s “Waka Waka”.

The beginning

Before the World Cup, it was taught to children in schools across the country and used as a marketing tool to boost anticipation and spirit for the forthcoming tournament.

Entire stadiums got to their feet to duck, dive and dribble the Diski during Bafana’s warm-up international matches. Once the tournament was underway, dance troupes performed it on stages outside the match stadium, often inviting members of the crowd to join in.

The World Cup may be over now, but the Diski dance is just one of the cultural legacies it has left behind in South Africa, and in the hearts of foreigners who were here to experience it.

Learn it

The five major steps are the juggle, the header, the Table Mountain (holding the ball behind your head with a flat back), the Trepa (flicking the ball from the back of your neck, over your head and onto your feet) and finally, the Bridge (passing the ball from your right foot over your left and back again).

Watch this video to learn the full diski!

Words by Chelsea Geach

In this edition we have our opinion vlogger, Julien Fievez , talking about South Africa post World Cup.

Semenya’s coach, Michael Seme admitted after the race that she had not been training one hundred percent throughout the testing by the International Association of Athletics Federations. He also disclosed that she was not entirely fit, resulting in a time of almost 10 seconds short of her national record in Berlin 2009.

This victory for Semenya is the beginning of a new and fair chapter in her athletic career.

“I am thrilled to enter the global athletics arena once again and look forward to competing with all the disputes behind me,” she said in a statement released by her lawyers.

Speculation

The University of Pretoria student was first considered over her gender during August 2009 just before the World Championships 800m final due to the teenager’s rapid improvements over the distance.

Semenya was allowed to keep her gold medal but the IAAF withdrew her participation in competitions until the results were clear. Yet the announcement was continuously delayed until only a few weeks ago.

The ANC and Winnie Mandela amongst other authority figures encouraged fellow South Africans to back their girl all the way through the saga.

Sticks and stones

But that did not stop the speculation from arousing throughout the world during the 11 months of tests.

An Australian newspaper even accused Semenya of being a hermaphrodite which created anger filled uproar in South Africa. Yet, even though the world conjured up their own explanations for the TUKS student’s unbeatable streak, the IAAF did not disclose the results which remain confidential.

Since, Caster Semenya has won her second 800m race in four days following her return to the track. She is reported to return to South Africa to continue her training for future races taking place in August this year in Europe.

Words by Lauren Flynn

A fore-taste of the much-anticipated World Cup showpiece took place on Saturday, 17 April as a “Mini World Cup” 7-aside soccer tournament took place on Great Field.

The tournament was hosted by the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA), and included 12 teams split into 2 groups, with each team given the name of a country that will be present at the upcoming World Cup in June. The likes of Italy, Brazil, Germany and South Africa were all well-represented, with teams donning the colours of their adopted country.

The format of the tournament saw each team play 5 group games, with the top two sides from each group making it through to the semi-finals.

The first semi-final was a match-up between Argentina, being represented by Piet Retief, and South Africa, who were represented by a side from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) who had been invited to play at the tournament. It was a very close and evenly-matched encounter, with the visitors just pipping Retief 1-0.

The second semi-final was an even closer affair as “Team AK47”, representing Portugal, and “Team MSA”, playing as the Netherlands, battled it out for the remaining final spot. After regulation time, the scores remained level at 1-1, leading to a penalty shoot-out. In this format of the game, a penalty shoot-out takes place with the ball 15m away from an empty net (roughly 1m wide) from which the striker has to score – easier said than done! Portugal succumbed under the pressure, resulting in the Netherlands going through to the final as 3-1 winners.

The final was a heated encounter, with emotions running high as players gave their all for ‘World Cup victory’, albeit in a friendly tournament. Once again, goals were scarce as each team matched their opponents, with both sides employing a strong defensive structure, and chances were few and far between.

After a rather scrappy 20 minutes, the dreaded penalty shoot-out loomed. The pressure of the final was clearly evident as a total of 10 penalties were missed, yet Team MSA kept their cool, being crowned eventual winners with a 3-2 score line, meaning that the Netherlands had emerged as the victorious country.

The winning ‘Dutch’ captain Ahmed-Faraz Yousuf, known as “Aks”, was clearly overjoyed, describing the tournament as “awesome fun”, and was really proud of his team mates.

Both finalists received medals, while the Netherlands were also awarded a trophy that was sponsored by Cadbury’s Chocolate.

Players from various teams all agreed that an enjoyable day was had by all, commenting that although being a social event, a high level of commitment and passion was displayed. Jason Keen, a member of the ‘German’ team, described it as a “fantastic day of football” and was impressed with the high standard of soccer that was played.

The members of MSA were also commended for hosting a well-organised event, ensuring the success of a fun-filled day.

Although the ‘Netherlands’ were the eventual winners, it must be noted that ‘South Africa’ did make the final – is this a sign for the World Cup proper? We’ll have to wait until July 11 to find out…

Soccer action

The Rhodes University swimming pool was the place to be last Saturday as it played host to an entire day of inter-res waterpolo.

Experienced and inexperienced waterpolo students united to form an entertaining yet competitive inter-res sporting event.

With sweltering temperatures reaching the mid-thirties, most of the students participating were overjoyed, expecting a relaxed and “chilled” day at the pool – yet this was definitely not the case!

“I was surprised to see how much skill, strength and speed the teams had,” said an impressed Chase Le Roux of the Oppi Men’s team.

Competition was fierce, with both men’s and women’s teams battling it out against each other, displaying a number of skilful twists, turns and powerful shots, playing for the pride of their respective houses.

The students were playing at such an intense level that Darryn Van Huyssteen, from Goldfields, was heard comparing a team mate to the professionals, stating that his best memory was to watch team-mate “Michael (Menzi Jali) Phelps save a goal.”

A total of 28 teams took part in the event, which consisted of two six-minute “chukkas” based on a knockout format.

Beit House took the honours in the girl’s section, pipping Newhouse 4-2 in the final.

“I couldn’t believe we actually won!” states Christy Kantor, a Beit team member.

Things were more interesting in the men’s section though. After the knockout stages, Goldfields, Chris Hani as well as the Oppi Men’s team had equal number of points, and therefore had to take part in a three-way final.

Team Oppi proved too strong for their on-campus counterparts, defeating Chris Hani 3-0 and then beating Goldfields 5-3 to take the overall honours.

Le Roux admits to being “surprised by Chris Hani’s skill” and was very cautious of the talented Goldfields team.

Kim Kroon, the Inter-res Rep on the Aquatics Committee, described the day as very successful and was pleased at the smooth way in which the event took place, allowing an enjoyable day to be had by all.

The supporters loved the game as much as the players did, however they felt that there wasn’t enough support.

There will be an inter-res gala this week, so we asked the Oppi waterpolo winners how confident they were in winning this competition: “Jan smuts has their strong swimmers while we have the advantage of numbers and a greater selection.”

By Lauren Jenae Vankeirsbilck and Fabio De Dominicis

Every person’s body is different and there is no guarantee what reaction your body will have, especially if you are ‘stacking’ (mixing steroids).

“The higher the dose, the greater the risk” says the pages of the British national formulary.

One of the most commonly used steroids among teens is anabolic steroids which is similar to the male hormone, androgen.

The most powerful component in steroids is testosterone. This increases endurance, strength and muscle mass but research has not shown steroids to improve skill, agility or performance.

Effects

Not many facts are known about the long term effects of steroid use and users might not begin seeing them straight away. Consumers have been known to become victim to hair loss, acne, delusion, paranoia, growth stunt, osteoporosis and mood swings involving anger, depression and aggression.

More immediate effects differ between genders. For women it is an increase in masculine qualities and a decrease in femininity. It is a similar concept with men, just vice versa. Studies on men have shown signs of testicular shrinkage, breast growth, impotence and sterility.  Steroids may also stay in your system for as long as a year.

Alternatives

Supplements, although they might be better for you, have not been proved to be much more effective. The best alternatives appear to be strength training and eating correctly.

By Cara Attewell