Stanford Lake College competes for outside gym

Stanford Lake College, Haenertsburg, Limpopo, was one of the schools that competed in the Coca-Cola® 30 Minute Heroes Challenge, a competition introduced to schools participating in the Coca-Cola® T20 schools Cricket challenge and aimed at getting learners to participate in physical activity. 

The concept encourages as many learners as possible to complete a five drill circuit within a 30 minute period. The scores will only be made public once all schools have completed their challenge.  The school that completes the most circuits in the allotted time frame stands a chance to win a prize of an outdoor gym to the value of two hundred thousand rand, which will be installed at the winning school.

Pupils from Grade 8 to 11 participated in the event. “We encouraged the Grade 8 and 9 students to join in as a bonding exercise as they are new at the school and are shy,” said Shane Friedrichs, Director of Sport and 1^st team cricket Coach.  “The Coca-Cola® 30 minute Heroes challenge was the perfect opportunity to get the junior kids involved and active in a fun activity that generated great school spirit.”

Stanford Lake College has been knocked out of the Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge.  Friedrichs explains, “We are a small school of only 120 boys and out of those boys there are only a handful that play cricket. I am therefore very proud of our boys as they thoroughly enjoyed playing against top cricketing schools like Merensky. They have gained invaluable experience and have really grown as a team thanks to the Coca-Cola®.”

The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge is about making heroes, explains Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola South Africa Marketing Assets Manager. “This grass roots tournament is where heroes are unearthed and then progress through to the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket Week, an annual tournament, sponsored by Coca-Cola South Africa for over 30 years. It has to date produced over 200 Proteas players.”

The five drills in the Coca-Cola® 30 Minute Heroes Challenge include:

1.    Shuttle runs between 6 beacons, moving a cricket ball from one   beacon to the next.

2.    Target Throwing at a set of wickets.

3.    Skipping with a skipping rope.

4.    Catching balls off a rebound board.

5.    Weaving in and out of 10 slalom poles.