Madombidzha majorettes crowned provincial winners

The drum majorette group from Madombidzha Junior Primary School scooped the first prize in the provincial drum majorette competition held in Polokwane on 9 June.

The pupils first competed at circuit level during an event that was held at Makhuvha Stadium. This qualified them to compete at provincial level. The school's principal, Ms Florence Tshivhenga, said that the drum majorettes helped in developing pupils' skills, such as self-confidence, neatness, and mental alertness, because the activity demanded that the pupils pay absolute attention and act swiftly all the time.

The trainers at the school, Ms Suzan Mudau and Ms Joyce Maladzha, said they were very happy when they were announced overall winners of the competition and were crowned provincial champions.

“We have a long history of drum majorette excellence here in the village, and our school also does drum majorettes as part of our extramural activities,” she said. “We are also happy that we have got understanding parents who also entrust the children to our care, where we do more than just educate them academically. When pupils need money for transport and other related stuff, parents are always keen to assist and we are thankful for the little financial support they lend us.”

The Madombidzha Junior Primary School's majorettes were able to mesmerise the judges, even though they had no uniforms, but they were clad in their school uniform. “In almost all competitions, other pupils would be dressed in proper, dazzling majorette uniforms,” Ms Suzan Mudau said. “We could see it in our pupils' eyes that they envied those wearing proper majorette uniforms, but they had to compensate for not having a uniform by working harder to ensure that they win.”

She added that the majorette uniform was quite expensive, so it would not be easy for either the school or the parents to afford it. “We therefore ask for assistance in getting the uniform for the children as they are still going to compete at the national level soon,” she said.

Date:25 June 2018

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Read: 732