No shortcuts. No silence. No excuses. That was the uncompromising message as Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) staged its first-ever multi-disciplinary sports workshop at the SMU Sports Complex — a bold reset for student sport.
Under the theme “Play Smart, Play Safe, Play Clean”, the University convened leading voices in athlete development, safeguarding and anti-doping to confront the realities facing modern student-athletes. The objective was clear: raise standards, protect students and safeguard integrity.
The programme featured former Banyana Banyana captain and national coach Simphiwe Dludlu, South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) Chief Operating Officer Patience Shikwambana, and anti-doping specialist Loyiso Maqina.
Dludlu opened with a firm reminder that elite performance is engineered, not improvised. Drawing on the Long-Term Athlete Development model, she stressed that respecting each stage of physical and cognitive growth is non-negotiable. “If you are tired, your body cannot focus,” Dludlu told students, including chess players in attendance. “Chess needs a sound mind. If you are exhausted, you cannot perform.”
She challenged every attendee to commit to exercising at least twice a week, regardless of their sporting code. Physical conditioning, she argued, underpins both physical and mental performance. Third-year footballer Thembisile Nxumalo described the session as a wake-up call. “We always think talent will carry us,” she said. “Coach Dludlu made it clear that discipline carries you further.”
Shikwambana addressed safeguarding with urgency, defining it as the right of every athlete to participate free from harm, harassment or abuse. “Safety starts with you deciding that you will not tolerate being harmed,” she said. “If someone crosses a boundary once, you have a choice to walk away.” She urged students to recognise early warning signs and report concerns without fear. Safeguarding, she added, is both a personal responsibility and an institutional duty.
Third-year karateka Tshiamo Sefolo said the discussion resonated deeply. “We don’t often talk openly about abuse in sport,” she reflected. “Hearing that 93% of reported cases are genuine shocked me. It made me realise speaking up is not overreacting — it is protecting your future.”
Maqina concluded with a stark lesson on strict liability in anti-doping regulations: athletes are fully responsible for any prohibited substance found in their bodies, regardless of intent. “Is a four-year suspension harsh? Yes,” he said. “But the rules are clear.”
He warned against unverified supplements and reminded athletes that certain medications require a Therapeutic Use Exemption. Completion of the Anti-Doping Education and Learning (ADEL) e-learning certificate, he noted, is now mandatory for those aspiring to represent South Africa internationally. Final year rugby player Sanele Mhlongo admitted the session changed his perspective. “I didn’t realise how easy it is to fail a test accidentally. From now on, I will check everything.”
The workshop was organised by the SMU Sports Officer Busisiwe Sijora, who described it as a deliberate intervention rather than a ceremonial event. “We are building more than teams — we are building responsible athletes,” Sijora said. “If our students are to compete nationally and internationally, they must understand development, safeguarding and compliance. Excellence demands knowledge.”
SMU has drawn a line in the sand for student sport: train intelligently, protect yourself fiercely and compete with integrity. For those who attended, the message was unmistakable — performance without principle is failure. At SMU, both now move together.
By Rose Moreki
