News
Maties Hosts 2025 USSA Swimming Championships
Maties proudly hosted the University Sport South Africa (USSA) Swimming Championships in Stellenbosch, bringing together top student swimmers from across the country for two days of intense racing, personal bests, and memorable finishes at the Maties Outdoor Pool. The atmosphere was electric, and our swimmers delivered an outstanding overall silver medal performance for Maties Swimming.…
Read MoreMaties Rowing pulls in medals at annual USSA Boat Race
Maties Rowing men and women pulled together at the annual University Spot South Africa (USSA) RMB Boat Race in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape this month to secure hard-fought and respectable second and third places. Competing against nine other universities, the women took third place in the A final and second place in the…
Read MoreMaties Climber ranks fourth in South Africa.
Maties Climbing’s Jeremy van der Riet has bagged the hardest route in the annual Black Diamond Tradathon – a traditional rock-climbing festival that pits strength and mental fortitude against gravity. Maties was further represented by Megan Pons at the event, which was held in Monteseel in KZN, attracting 25 top climbers. Together, the duo completed…
Read MoreTime to check in with Maties Sport Alumnus: Gemma Haywood
As a student-athlete at Stellenbosch University, you learn how to be independent and take responsibility for your actions. “As a Matie, I learned very quickly how to be independent. I had to learn about tasks like budgeting and time management. I also had to learn how to make friends with strangers,” recalls Gemma Haywood, a…
Read MoreMaties Esports dominates USSA competition
Maties Esports clinched gold, silver and two bronze medals at the USSA Esports Championships in August 2025, excelling in Valorant, EA FC and Rocket League, and cementing our status as true champions in a virtual sporting arena. For those few who are not gamers: Valorant is a shooter game, in which our teams Odin and…
Read MoreMaties Esports Ready for 2025 USSA Esport National Championship
Maties Esports will proudly represent Stellenbosch University at the 2025 USSA National Championship, taking place in Johannesburg from 28 to 30 August. The club will travel with a squad of 24 student-athletes competing in three titles: FC25, Valorant, and Rocket League. After a remarkable performance in 2024, where Maties secured a silver medal thanks to…
Read MoreBeyond the Podium: Women Leading Their Next Chapters
Navigating mentally demanding studies and physical sport as a student-athlete is tough. Even tougher, though, is the transition into a life after graduation with or without sport, especially for women. A few of the complexities of this issue were unpacked at the Beyond the Podium webinar women’s month event, hosted by Maties Sport at Stellenbosch…
Read MoreA tally of world records – but she’s just getting started
Winning is the goal, but it is gratitude that drives Maties star para-athlete, Simoné Kruger. She may be just 20 years old and a first year Sports Science (Biokinetics) student, but she is already a seasoned veteran at breaking world records and collecting medals. In 2019, at just 14, she won silver at the World…
Read MoreWomen Rugby players can be tough – with painted nails
Just as male rugby players can be hooligans on the field and gentlemen afterwards, so can women players be aggressive for 80 minutes and then have their nails done, says Maties Rugby Women’s Head Coach, Aneesah Adams. “People need to get over the stereotyping of women’s rugby – and women in contact sport in general,”…
Read MoreNathaly is nurturing Maties Basketball’s ‘clever ladies’
“No regrets, just learnings” is Nathaly September’s motto for living her best life as the Maties Basketball Women’s Coach, as a wife and as a mother. “It can be tough juggling home and family life with professional sport but with the right support, it is both possible and rewarding,” says Nathaly, whose husband is also…
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