Maties Sport recently welcomed new interns to the family for 2022. The internship program was designed to create opportunities and learning experiences as well as to develop new graduates in the sport industry.
Bathabile Ndevu, the Sport Management intern, has always been passionate about sport and says she’s truly grateful for this opportunity that has been granted by Maties Sport. “This opportunity will grant me with experience and exposure, it will help me build character and expand my knowledge about the sport industry.”
Bathabile proceeds to say how excited she is for development in the work environment and to take on the challenge of working with different individuals and different environments that are out of her comfort zone. “I hope to learn management skills when it comes to managing sports clubs and events in this position – I would love to advance my career as a sport manager and as a sport administrator. “
The event that Bathebile is most looking forward to is the welcoming of first years as this will be the first event she will be involved in as a Maties Sports intern.
Maties Media and Communications intern Jamie Wyngaardt saw this opportunity as the perfect way to gain insight and experience in the industry. “My expectations for this internship with Stellenbosch University, is to get as much hands-on experience as I possibly can. I’m eager to learn, to use my skills and proficiency to assist my media and comms team with the various sport codes, tournaments, and events that Maties has to offer.”
“So far, I have already gained many skills, though the job is centered around writing, I’m gaining experience in administration, social media management and graphic design.”
The sporting event Jamie is most looking forward to is the FNB Varsity Cup, as rugby is her favorite sport to watch and, High-Performance Unit Intern, Amy Apollis agrees: “As a proper Matie, I have to say Varsity Cup, this is the first time since Covid that we are allowed to have spectators. Just seeing how it’s going to change the whole atmosphere, I’m so excited for that!”
Amy and her former classmate and now colleague Brady Wiseman were selected from the Department of Sport Science at Stellenbosch University. Both HP-unit interns have their Honors in Sports Science and are looking forward to this year so they can apply the four years of theory in a practical format.
“Amy and Brady both have had exposure to the HP Unit and the services we provide to our student-athletes and teams as undergraduate and postgraduate students,” says Sports Technology and Training Innovations Manager, Grant van Velden.
Amy was actively involved in the football program during her studies and Brady played hockey for Maties for the past four years and was the Captain of the women’s hockey 1st team, which is serviced by the HP unit. “It’s really nice now, because I studied it, to get the other perspective of it, so I’ve been a student-athlete myself and now I’m getting student athletes to perform,” said Brady.
“The interns gain valuable insight and practical skills under the expert guidance of our highly experienced performance scientists that have been working in the high-performance sports industry for many. Every year we receive very strong applications for the internship positions from the Department of Sport Science at Stellenbosch University and we are fortunate to have appointed two excellent HP interns for 2022,” explained van Velden.
“We are excited to have four very capable interns joining the Maties Sport team this year. Maties offers an incredibly unique experience to gain an invaluable skill set particularly in the sport industry, so we welcome their new ideas and vibrant energy with open arms,” concluded Media and Communications Manager Kimara Singh.