A strong third-place finish in the boys’ under-15 100m and 200m sprints at the national high schools athletic championships in Paarl at the weekend, helped South Peninsula High School’s Ubay Arend, 15, from Grassy Park, cement his spot among the top speedsters in his division in the country.
It was an all-Cape finish in the boys’ under-15 sprints as Ubay’s Western Cape teammates, Mica Africa and Marlon Kayster finished in first and second place in the 100m event.
Team Western Cape repeated their feat in the boys’ 200m race, with Kayster finishing first, followed by Ashton Vermeulen and Ubay in second and third place, respectively. Ubay also helped his team win gold in the 4x100m relay.
Introduced to the sport at a young age by his father, Munier, himself a former WP sprinter, Ubay, a Grade 9 pupil, made his first appearance at a national championship when he took to the starting line at Dal Josafat Stadium in Paarl.
“I never really trained that much but now that I see how hard the competition is, it makes me want to train 10 times harder than everyone else,” he said.
A talented soccer player who top-scored with 50 goals for his club, Milano United, last season, Ubay was on fire at various athletic competitions this season, crossing the finish line first at last month’s combined Southern and Table Bay zonal and WP championships, held at Vygieskraal.
He was nearly pipped to the post by his Northern Zone rivals, at the WP championships, while looking over his shoulder to check who was breathing down his neck.
“I was ahead of everyone else which made me less calm and which made me look over my shoulder to check how far away I was from my rivals,” he said.
Fortunately, he was able to hold them back and claim the top spot on the podium to earn his place at the national championships.
South Peninsula High School head of sport for physical education and life orientation, Nasser Orgill, describes the youngster as a quiet and respectful student who goes about his work diligently.
“He has represented SP for the past two years in athletics and soccer. Ubay is a hard worker not only in sport but in the classroom as well. This stems from his primary school years at Sid G. Rule Primary. He achieves a position in the top 5 academic rankings in his class. His teachers have spoken well of his behaviour and attitude towards his studies and his parents are very strict when it comes to his school work,” Orgill said.
“Athletics is our focus sport. A huge effort goes into our athletics season where the whole school staff plays a vital role in ensuring the code functions,” he said.
“We had 114 athletes compete at A-Section Interschool where 75 athletes qualified to compete at the Southern Zone championship. A total of 39 athletes made the Southern Zone team which competed at the WP High School Athletics Championships. This was the highest we’ve had in years” he said.
SP had five athletes qualify to represent the WP team at the Western Cape High School Championship at Dal Josaphat on March 15 and 16.
“At the provincial championships we had two athletes (triple jump, long jump) that placed in the top 10 of their respective events and another two (sprints, javelin) that placed in the top four of their events. Ubay placed third overall in the sprint events (100m, 200m) to qualify for the national championships. He finished third overall in his sprint events (100m, 200m) crowning him third fastest under-15 high school boy in SA,” Orgill said.
Assistant coach Nathier Gamieldien, who teaches business studies at SP, was present at all school athletics meetings to lend moral support throughout the season.
“Ubay has grown to be a very strong person from where he once was. Through his training and guidance he has improved tremendously and will continue to do so,” Gamieldien said.
Pensioner Henry Rhode, 61, from Plumstead, a volunteer coach at SP, has also been keeping an eye on Ubay and other athletes at the school. “Our team did really well and achieved way above our expectations. I must make mention to all the teachers that made themselves available, gave up their time, for their unselfish commitment and dedication,” he said.
“This dedication and rolling up of their sleeves started right on top with the principal and we all followed his lead.
“My personal opinion and observations of Ubay is that of an amazing and outstanding athlete, with God-gifted genes and talent and, if nurtured in the proper way with patience and dedication, we may have a next Wayde van Niekerk,” he said.
