The Inside Story
By Liam van Wyk, Grade 11
On Monday 15 March 2027 our track becomes the busiest place in Pretoria. Demo School hosts the Athletics Challenge, an invitational meet with Eldoraigne, Monument, Randburg and Rustenburg, and the programme is the biggest we have ever run: 138 items for U14 to U19 girls and boys.
The first gun goes at 13:30 with the hurdles, while discus, long jump and shot put start in the field at the same time. Sprints follow from 14:30, the middle distance races from 15:45, and the afternoon ends with the 4 x 100 m relays before prize-giving at 17:15.
Every school may enter two athletes per item, and each athlete may do three items plus the relays. Points go 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 down the places, and relays count double, so a strong relay team can swing the overall trophy in the last half hour.
Coach Pieter de Klerk put it simply at assembly: "Train like every point counts, because on the day it will." Follow the build-up here on the Click Pack, and on the day every result goes live on Programme and Results the moment it is final.
