The North-West University (NWU) is honoured to have been chosen to receive the Queen’s Baton as part of the special relay that precedes next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Traveling through the 72 Commonwealth nations, the baton was received on 7 December, on its way from Botswana, during a special event at the Soccer Institute.
The fact that NWU was chosen to host such an important occasion highlights the university’s reputation as a powerhouse in the sporting fraternity, said Prof Mpho Chaka, deputy dean for teaching and learning at the Faculty of Humanities.
Various dignitaries attended the event, including Timothy Makhuane of the South African Local Government Association and Virginia Tlhapi, MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture in the North West.
Timothy said the success of athletes such as Caster Semenya, Hezekiel Sepeng, Elroy Gelant, and Liesel Gouws (who also attended the event), could be directly attributed to the creation of a conducive environment for mass participation in sport and the availability of dedicated, top-quality sports facilities in communities.
Virginia added that she is confident that the Queen’s Baton Relay will further boost South African athletes in preparing for and winning medals at next year’s Commonwealth Games.
During the baton’s six-day stay in South Africa, it will stop at Zeerust, Rustenburg, the NWU’s Potchefstroom High Performance Institute, Vryburg, Kimberley and Cape Town, before it will be officially handed over to the Namibian government on 12 December.
This 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay kicked off on 7 October 2021 when Queen Elizabeth II placed her message to the Commonwealth in the baton. This relay epitomises her belief in the power of sport to unify countries, irrespective of colour, creed or religion.
Read more about the Queen’s Baton Relay here:
https://www.birmingham2022.com/queens-baton-relay/
Prof Mpho Chaka (third from left), with NWU student leaders and managers at the Queen’s Baton Relay event on the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus.
Stakeholders from the sporting fraternity and SASCOC were represented at the Queen’s Baton Relay event. Horse riders entertained attendees to an equestrian show.
The NWU’s Mahikeng Campus hosted numerous stakeholders, including various sports legends at the Queen’s Baton Relay event.
