When Covid-19 immersed our world in a pandemic on 20 March 2020, we knew that the effect on our school curriculum would be enormous. It was only after two years, two months and two days and after 4,004,201 South Africans had contracted the virus, of which 107,977 have died, that the government called off certain national health regulations. This includes the wearing of masks and the limitations on numbers at large gatherings.

A balancing act

This cleared the way for the reopening of that part of the curriculum whose value is often underestimated: namely culture and school sport. When we talk about the school curriculum, there is the misperception that it only refers to the academy, the attendance of classes and examinations. Yet already in 1918 Franklin Bobbit, an American educationist, called the curriculum a course of experiences which includes academy, culture and sport.

Because I used to play rugby and cricket myself, and have always had an interest in various sports, I tried to maintain a balance between my studies and my participation in sport. I encouraged my students to do the same.

As a teacher, it was a joy for me to spend time with learners on the sports field after school. One got to know a side of the children you would otherwise never have discovered. In this way, I got to know many “problem children” on the sports field that led to lifelong friendships.

Holistic development

School sport is included in the curriculum for a reason. The advantages of school sport for the holistic development of a child are widely documented.

Thus, when I became principal of a high school in Stellenbosch, I adapted the school programme so that each learner and teacher had to participate in sport or culture on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No exception was made. The school offered 18 codes, something for everyone. The result of this was soon visible in learners’ academic achievements and general discipline.

According to William Pinar, another American pedagogue, this part of the curriculum – often neglected at many schools – is a mechanism for the self-development of children. It teaches them self-discipline because you must stick to an exercise programme without anyone checking over your shoulder. You learn that winning is not all that matters. To lose is part of life, and where do you learn this better than on the sports field?

Above all, you learn to be a team player.

Allow me to elaborate on this one aspect of school sport.

Le Tour de France

My love of cycling originated in the days when I bought my first bicycle at the age of 16 (with money I had earned by working in other people’s gardens). The Tour de France contains all the ingredients of an action novel. There is intrigue when one team tries to outwit the other with tactical moves ensuring your team stays in the hunt for the yellow jersey.

One must also keep in mind the different competitions within the bigger race, each requiring a different skillset. To be the King of the Mountain (polka dot jersey) requires you to be a good climber (like Louis Meintjies), the sprinters prefer to compete for the points section (green jersey) while the best young riders compete for the white jersey.

So, whether it is on the sports field or at work, every team member has unique skills. It requires a good leader to bring the best to the fore in each team member by using their specific skills to the advantage of the team, organisation, or school.

Teamwork

Teamwork is indispensable in cycling. Without it, success is impossible. Everyone cooperates to protect the lead rider (wearer of the yellow jersey). The value of teamwork was nowhere more visible when the Dane and race leader, Jonas Vingegaard, had a flat tyre at a critical stage of the race. The danger was that his biggest rival and last year’s winner, Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia, would leave him behind. It would have meant the end of Vingegaard’s dreams.

However, an exhibition of true teamwork followed for the whole world to see and admire.

Wout van Aerdt of Belgium, one of Vingegaard’s teammates, stopped and gave his bicycle to his team leader. This allowed the Dane to retain the yellow jersey. Although van Aerdt managed to complete the race much later with another cycle, he could still call himself a member of the winning team. When Vingegaard, after 21 exhausting days and more than 2,000km in the Alps and the Pyrenees, was crowned as overall winner, the first thing he did was to thank his team:

“Without the help of my team, I would not have been able to do it.”

Sportsmanship

The Tour teaches you what it is to respect your opponent, to win with modesty and to lose with grace. 

This was made especially clear when Vingegaard and Pogačar were chasing one another down a steep downhill in the Alps and Pogačar lost control of his bike. The bike skidded and he had a bad fall. It was the ideal opportunity for Vingegaard to take off and secure victory.

But then I experienced the greatest example of sportsmanship I have ever seen. Vingegaard decided to wait for his biggest opponent to get back on his bike and join him. After they had shaken hands, their fierce competition continued.

Many experts were of the opinion that Vingegaard was crazy to risk his chance of victory in the Tour. But for the Dane, sportsmanship was more important than winning at any price.

Pogačar summarised it best after the end of the race when he said:

“The best man won.”

Derby tradition revived

July and August are traditionally the months in which many interschools sports events are held. The excitement of children to wear their school’s jerseys again, or simply to cheer on their friends and heroes, creates a positive spirit. Like the Covid virus, it is contagious. Thus, parents and teachers join in the fun. This all helps to unite the school and the broader community around a communal purpose.

The annual derby matches are something which I grew up with. I remember the days when the two non-racial clubs of my hometown Wellington, Roslins (the blue team in which I played) and the Pirates (in black and white) took on one another in the annual derby. Our rugby field was (and still is) located on a hill on the outskirts of the town. For some reason we called it “Vegkoppie” (battle hill). Today the field still carries this nickname.

When I later was appointed to the staff of Berg River High School, we decided to carry over this tradition to the high schools. This was 40 years ago, just after Weltevrede Secondary School was founded when Berg River High started to outgrow its building. Today the derby between BR and WT is an important date on the Wellington sports calendar and learners compete in rugby, netball, soccer, hockey, volleyball, table tennis, baseball and chess.

And so it was with the annual derby matches over the past weekend. The focus has since moved to the Boland Stadium because the facilities at “Vegkoppie” could no longer cope with the increasing crowds. The matches were exciting, and the day was a great success.

For this and all the other reasons mentioned, I want to encourage all schools to afford the opportunity for learners to compete with their peers from other schools on a healthy basis and in true sportsmanship. After they were denied this part of the curriculum for so long, it is time to get them back on the sports field.

We owe it to our learners. DM