SPORT CUP: WHERE MEN’S RES PRIDE SHOWS

Cristine Struweg  

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Men’s residences truly take pride in their participation for the Sport Cup, especially in the rugby league. The men are also more competitive and not afraid to tell the other residences how they view them in a rugby match. 

Like with the ladies, the men also participate in first-year sports, which consist of rugby, soccer and hockey. With rugby they allow two second-year residents to play in the tight five for safety measures and to fill the team. The first-year sport does not count towards the Sport Cup, but it gets the men back in the swing of things after a long December holiday. 

Rugby is the sport for men’s residences, and it also takes up most of the calendar. Rugby starts in the first semester and finishes well into the second semester. Unlike most big sports, rugby allows more than two teams. Some residences, like Patria and Over-de-voor have up to four teams entered in the rugby league. On the other end of the scale smaller residences like Ratau Lebone sometimes struggle to fill even one team, leading to withdrawal from games. 

Most of the sports align across the ladies’ and men’s residences except for cricket and netball is considered a small sport for the men’s residences.

Big sports: 

• Rugby
• Soccer
• Hockey 
• Athletics 
• Cricket 

Small sports: 

• Netball
• Tennis
• Cricket 
• Padel
• Table tennis
• Chess
• Squash
• Badminton 
• Volleyball 
• E-sports (FIFA and Beat Saber) 

The small sports have a smaller impact on the Sport Cup as it counts less points than the bigger sports. 

Fun fact: It is not free for residences to participate in the Sport Cup; they must pay an entrance fee for each team they enter. 

A picture of the Excelsior Rugby Team (Source: NWU-Pukke Excelsior Men’s Residence – Instagram: @excelsior_manskoshuis)

Edited by Kyle Bauermeister