In urban areas, the privilege of having schools in close proximity to one another and the opportunity for inter-school sports competition that this brings is often taken for granted. But for learners whose schools are in the rural pockets of an urbanised province like Gauteng, it can be lonely.

Because of the isolated locations in which they find themselves, it is difficult for these learners to participate in regional leagues for the sporting codes they have at their schools.

Players from Tikelo Primary Farm School watch from the bench as their teammates play a football match at the Gauteng Farm and Rural Schools Sport Festival at Vaal University of Technology, Sedibeng on 11 October 2019. (Photo: Yanga Sibembe)

Those inter-school athletics tournaments which are as normal as the sun rising in most districts? Not possible for farm and rural schools. A lack of infrastructure, long distances between schools and high transport costs makes this a luxury they cannot afford.

This situation means schools in rural locations are often sidelined when it comes to participating in structured sports events that could unearth raw talent.

Johannes Nyathi (far right) watches on as his volleyball team takes on another at the Gauteng Farm and Rural Schools Sport Festival. (Photo: Yanga Sibembe)

“Most of the farm schools don’t have the resources for sports. So, it’s a good thing to expose our learners to such facilities whereby they get an opportunity to play on a real sports field like this one,” says Johannes Nyathi, the principal of Onderstepoort Primary School in Tshwane.

On Friday 11 October 2019, the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation hosted the Farm and Rural School Sport Festival at the Vaal University of Technology, Sedibeng, aimed at giving rural schools an opportunity to compete with other schools.

The volleyball team of Zikhethele Secondary School in Devon at the Gauteng Farm and Rural Schools Sport Festival. (Photo: Yanga Sibembe)

Girls and boys from primary and high schools in Devon and Bantubonke in Sedibeng; Kwa-Sokhulumi in Tshwane and Hekpoort in West Rand gathered to compete against one another, some probably stepping onto the lush greenery of a sports field for the first time.

They competed in codes including football, volleyball, netball, chess and the indigenous codes of kgati (rope-skipping) and morabaraba, a traditional two-player strategy board game.

Nkosinathi Mayisa, a grade 10 pupil at Zikhethele Secondary School in Devon, told of his joy at attending Friday’s event.

“It is an honour to be here because we do not get this chance normally. But we’re always hoping that someone will open doors for us so that we can attend such events. We are not here to win, but we’re here to have fun.”

However, there were some glitches.

Mohapi Nkutshoeu, coach of Onderstepoort Primary School football team, cut a frustrated figure as his side waited for their first opponents of the day, who were nowhere to be found.

“Occasions like this are good for the kids that are here, for development; but then the one thing I’m most disappointed about is the organisation. I feel that given the level of preparation we’ve… put into this, it could have been a lot better, cause right now it’s chaotic. I don’t even know who my opponent is,” Nkutshoeu told Daily Maverick.

Nyathi, also the coach of his school’s volleyball team, although aware that their opponents don’t get much practice, bemoaned the quality of the volleyball, as well as that the rules of the game were not being enforced as they should.

He should know: he played volleyball as a learner and has been coaching the sport for more 18 years.

Patrick Motsa, deputy director of school sport in the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, said a possible reason for the poor quality of the event was that due to financial constraints there was no continuity in events such as the Farm and Rural School Sports Festival.

The festival is supposed to be an annual event. This was the fifth. However, the fourth event was held all of three years ago.

“Our benchmark for this event is not consistent. You know, we have other games where we’ve been doing them every year. So, it’s easy to have a baseline.

“You know what you did last year, you know what you’re doing now, you can compare, you see the turnout, you see the standard, and you compare. But for this one, the last time we did a farm and rural festival was three years ago,” Motsa told Daily Maverick.

The department is looking to work around inadequate financial resources by encouraging farm and rural schools to participate in sports that don’t require a significant amount of resources. Sports like morabaraba and kgati.

Who knows, maybe in the near future a learner from a farm school can represent South Africa at the Rope Skipping World Championships, and bring back medals, like the team that recently came back with bounty from the championships in China.

However, in the long term, there has to be a solution on how to further develop and provide infrastructure to schools on farms and rural areas, so that a day on a proper sports pitch is not such an unusual experience.

“If events like this one can be organised whereby we as farm schools only play against each other it will help us so that even when we go challenge the mainstream schools, we are on their level as well,” said Nyathi. DM