Browsing by Author "Willis, Roderick Arthur"

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    Historical narrative of high school athletics among oppressed communities in the Western Cape, 1956-1994
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Willis, Roderick Arthur; Cleophas, Francois; Kraak, Wilbur; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. Dept. of Exercise, Sport and Lifestyle Medication.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation creates a historical narrative of a multi-coded school sports organisation in the Western Cape, South Africa between 1956 and 1994, the Western Province Senior School Sports Union (WPSSSU). This organisation, established in 1956, was analysed historically and operationally up to its demise in 1994. The main narrative is preceded by a brief overview of a history of modern athletics in Great Britain. Modern athletics was formalised during the late 19th century at Oxford and Cambridge universities. After completing their studies, the graduates took their knowledge of athletics to schools in the Cape, a British colony at the time. A historical overview of athletics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Cape Town society therefore serves as historical contextualisation for the later establishment of WPSSSU in 1956. The study emanated in two published articles, the first concentrating on the period 1956 to 1972 and titled ‘A Historical Narrative of High School Athletics amongst “Coloured” Communities in Cape Town, South Africa, with Special Reference to the Western Province Senior Schools Sports Union, 1956–1972’. This article was published online on 10 March 2022 in the International Journal of the History of Sport. The second article focused on the period 1973 to 1994 and is titled ‘Reconstructing a Socio-Political Narrative of High School Athletics in the Oppressed Communities of the Greater Cape Peninsula, South Africa, 1973–1994’. This was published on 21 February 2022 in the South African Historical Journal. These articles are followed by a chapter that interrogates the main reasons that led to the demise of WPSSSU, namely the Double Standards Resolution, the policy of non-alignment, the formation of rival non-racial school sports organisations and the school sports unity debate. The study aimed to add to the corpus of literature on black sports history in South Africa, with a secondary aim to prove that school sports was a well-functioning discipline in oppressed communities during apartheid. The theoretical lens, reconstructionism, was employed to underpin the research methodology that relied on primary and secondary material, documents of mass communication, minutes, reports, oral and telephonic interviews as well as email communication. The study concluded by synthesising issues that were investigated in the main body of the dissertation and proposes that the current state of school sports in South Africa can be improved if the authorities consider the functioning and organisation of WPSSSU.