From the Vice-Chancellor
UCT rowers selected for national camp
22 June 2026
Dear colleagues and students
The University of Cape Town (UCT) student-athletes continue to make waves on a bigger stage beyond campus. It is with great pride that I share that four of our students have been selected to attend the first phase of the South African Coastal and Beach Sprint Rowing testing and selection camp, which is scheduled for KuGompo from 22 to 26 June 2026.
Representing UCT at the camp are senior women's team captain Mackenzie Lamond, Ziyanda Gwamanda and Frances Hill, as well as senior men’s rower Matthys du Plooy. The camp forms part of the national selection process for athletes aspiring to represent South Africa in international competition during 2026. Following the camp, the athletes will compete in the Eastern Cape Beach Sprint event at Kings Beach in Gqeberha on 27 and 28 June 2026.
Their selection is another milestone for the UCT Rowing Club that has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, producing athletes and coaches who continue to excel on national and international stages.
Mackenzie is a second-year Bachelor of Social Science student. She began coastal rowing in 2025 during her first year of study. She quickly progressed through the ranks, earning selection to the South African national squad in 2025. In her international debut season, she competed at the African Championships, where she won a silver medal in the U23 Women’s Scull. In 2025, she also represented South Africa at the Commonwealth Beach Sprint Championships, placing fifth in the U21 Women’s Scull and gaining valuable international experience on the world stage.
Ziyanda, a second-year BSc Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering student, has represented South Africa internationally as a junior rower in both beach sprints and fine-boat rowing. For beach sprints, in 2022 she competed at the Commonwealth Beach Games in Namibia; and in 2023 at the African Beach Games in Tunisia, where she won a silver medal in the women's double event. In 2024, she was highlighted as a promising junior rower ahead of the U19 World Rowing Championships in Canada, where she competed in the coxed four event.
Frances is a BSc in Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering student. In 2024, she won silver in the mixed quad at the African Championships. A year later, she helped South Africa secure its first-ever African Championship gold medal in the women’s double at the African Rowing Beach Sprint Championships. She also competed in the mixed quad at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals and represented South Africa in both the single scull and double scull events at the Commonwealth Beach Sprint Championships. At the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, she narrowly missed a top 10 finish in the mixed quad.
Matthys is a second-year BSc Physiotherapy student. He made his international debut for South Africa at the 2024 African Coastal Rowing Championships, competing in the Men’s U23 Single Sculls, where he narrowly missed qualification for the semifinals. Later in 2024, he represented South Africa at the Commonwealth Beach Sprint Championships in Barbados, competing in the Men’s U21 Single Sculls, reaching the quarterfinals and again narrowly missing out on the semifinals.The success of UCT’s coastal rowing programme extends beyond the current student cohort. Three UCT alumni have also been called up to the camp. The trio includes George du Plooy, who remains actively involved in the team. He has been selected together with Harriet Hoets-Turner and Taine Buys.
The UCT club continues to grow, and for this we have to acknowledge in part the ongoing support of our alumni community. Alumni remain invested in the club’s success, contributing not only through mentorship and engagement but also through financial support. A notable example is the generous £50,000 donation from alumnus Ian Wyrley-Birch, which has enabled the acquisition of two new boats.
The selection of our students and alumni to the national camp is a result of months of dedication, discipline and perseverance. It reflects countless early mornings on the water, demanding an unwavering commitment to excellence. Equally important has been the culture of support within the UCT rowing community, where teammates continuously encourage and challenge one another to achieve their best.
That this achievement takes place during Youth Month gives it added significance. Fifty years after the events of 16 June 1976, South Africa's young people continue to shape the future of our country, albeit in different ways and in different arenas.
On behalf of the UCT community, I congratulate our four students and three alumni on this achievement. We wish them every success at the national camp and in the next stages of their journey towards potential national selection.
Sincerely
Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor
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