Maties Sport recently completed a successful five-week internal workshop series with students that form part of sporting code leadership structures.
The workshop ran from 27 July to the 7 September and the primary goal of this workshop series was to equip students managing sports clubs and activities at Maties Sport and within the residence clusters with the essential skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for effective leadership, governance and administration. The workshop series aimed to advance the professionalization and sustainable growth of the sports clubs. By the end of the series, participants will have gained skills in the following areas:
- An enhanced understanding of sport governance and administration.
- Increased knowledge in the domains of sport management and leadership.
- Improved knowledge of resource management.
- A heightened awareness of safeguarding measures within sport contexts.
- An improved understanding of gender and inclusivity issues in sport.
- Improved understanding of media and communication strategies.
- Hands-on experience in project planning and the management of volunteers.
Head of the Centre for Sport Leadership (CSL) Dr Nana Adom-Aboagye who headed up the project said, “This workshop has shown that when you empower student-athletes, you will get pleasantly surprised. The final Capstone presentations show application and transfer of knowledge that can be implemented at our sport clubs. I am excited to see how some of these ideas are implemented in 2025.”
One of the participants Kyle Jackson, a third year Sport Science student from Maties Rugby said that the workshop has benefitted him greatly, “The best thing is having facilitators that are esteemed and high up at Maties, we had the best of the best in their respective fields passing on their knowledge to us. My biggest takeaway was seeing how much creativity and out of the box thinking is needed to run sporting clubs and keeping Maties at the forefront of university sport. It has been very interesting engaging with all the different people from all the different sport codes, big and small – sharing ideas and experiences.”
Equally, first year BAccounting student Aphelele Ngcamu from Maties Cheerleading echoed the same sentiments: “My experience in attending these workshops has helped me understand a lot more about the behind the scenes of leadership. I have learnt that a club needs good sport governance, besides finance to function beyond their predetermined status. Waking up to get here on Saturday mornings was difficult, but the knowledge I left with made it worth it.
What I took out of this workshop series is that “a baby who doesn’t cry passes out on the mother’s back” (Not an accurate translation but it’s the Zulu saying “Ingane engakhali ifela embelekweni”). Question everything, until you run out of questions because if you don’t ask questions or don’t try to find out what is happening with your club you end up being a club that is not noticed as much – the issues you’re really passionate about end up not being heard because you choose to keep quiet about. Attending workshops such as this one is an asset that follows you throughout your life,” she said.
Drikus Hancke, Head of Maties Rugby and one of the facilitators said, “I believe that the internal sports management workshop series empowered our students to actively participate in their respective clubs, bridging the gap between real-world experience and classroom learning. The practical knowledge gained can readily be implemented in their club environments. I trust that the workshops inspired them to become more engaged and enhance their contributions. This successful initiative delivered valuable knowledge to an enthusiastic audience, and I am confident it will yield positive results.
My initial encounter with the students was highly enjoyable. Their eagerness to learn was evident, and their active participation indicated a strong grasp of the series’ content.”
The workshop series ended with Capstone project presentation by the participants, with some great ideas generated by the groups. Congratulations goes out to all the participants for completing the workshop series and all those involved in making the new initiative a resounding success.
By Kimara Singh