Over 5 000 people recently participated in the Western Cape government’s department of cultural affairs and sport’s (DCAS) annual Metro Sport and Recreation Day, held at the Coetzenburg sports grounds in Stellenbosch.
This is according to Kevin Malan, assistant director for major events for the Western Cape DCAS.
Hundreds of government employees from the Cape Town metro area took part in a walk during the annual Metro Sport and Recreation day, hosted by the Western Cape government’s department of cultural affairs and sport (DCAS), according to Kevin Malan, assistant director for major events for the Western Cape DCAS. PHOTOS: Cody Hansen
The event, which took place on 28 October, offered staff from 19 government departments in the Cape Town metro area the opportunity to compete in multiple sporting codes to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, stated Malan.
“It’s about getting people out of the office for one day, supporting a healthy lifestyle and having some fun,” he said.
The event also offered staff members an opportunity to network in-between departments and create working relationships, said Malan. ”If we have relationships with personnel in every single department, we in turn can then offer better services to our community members,” he added.
Participants set off for a fun run during the annual Metro Sport and Recreation day, hosted by the Western Cape government’s department of cultural affairs and sport (DCAS), according to Kevin Malan, assistant director for major events for the Western Cape DCAS. VIDEO: Cody Hansen
Getting active
The event, previously called the Better Together Games, has been hosted since 2012, stated Tania Colyn, head of communications for the Western Cape DCAS.
A wide range of sporting activities took place on the day, including; a fun run and walk, athletics, football, netball, cricket, touch rugby, dominoes and darts, according to Colyn.
Stellenbosch was chosen as the host venue because the facilities at Coetzenburg were identified as being “most suitable for the event”, she said.
“Stellenbosch is one of the facilities in the Cape Town metropol that’s large enough and has the required facilities for us to host an event in excess of 5 000 people,” said Malan. The DCAS and Stellenbosch University have a good working relationship and partnership, which was used to host the event, he stated.
A wide variety of sporting activities were on offer during the Western Cape government’s annual Metro Sport and Recreation Day, including; a fun run and walk, athletics, football, netball, cricket, touch rugby, dominoes and darts, according to Tania Colyn, head of communications for the Western Cape department of cultural affairs and sport. VIDEO: Cody Hansen
A break from work
For Sguda Sibande, a production electrical engineer for the Western Cape government who completed his MSc in electrical engineering at SU in 2005, being back in Stellenbosch felt like “deja vu”.
“When I was studying, I think the only time I came to Coetzenburg was for graduations. Now I’ve discovered that I like this sporting thing,” said Sibande, who competed in the fun run. When it was announced the event would be held at Coetzenburg, Sibande said there was no way he was going to miss it.
Vehicles streamed into the Coetzenburg sports grounds and surrounds ahead of the Western Cape government’s annual Metro Sport and Recreation Day on 28 October. A traffic plan was communicated by Stellenbosch Municipality beforehand to alert Stellenbosch residents of routes with potential traffic. PHOTOS: Cody Hansen
“I really enjoyed going up and climbing the mountain on the trail. I’ve never done it before. When I was here everybody was doing it, so it was a perfect opportunity for me to be here,” said Sibande.
Laverne Biggs, a supervisor at the Eerste River department of social development, described the event as a “must”.
“We’re under huge stress at work and I think this is the only day every year we get to destress, meet each other and just enjoy,” said Biggs.