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nelson mandela bay's family lifestyle
author:
xandre van der berg
seeing double
photography:
zuko, lifegate photography
issue:
9, easter 2009
Elani and Lumé Landman are not only identical in their appearance, these twin sisters share a love for sport that makes them fiercely competitive. They are only sixteen years old, but have conquered local, national and international squash courts becoming number one and number four, in their age group, in South African Junior Squash. They are a formidable team set to conquer this sport one tournament at a time. We had our pre-school and first few years of schooling in King Williams Town,” explains Elani. “When we were ten years old, we moved to Port Elizabeth and started attending Sunridge Park Primary. It was here where we discovered squash for the first time.” “Our older brother started playing squash, after we settled in the city,” adds Lumé. “Then we were told that Sunridge Primary offered Squash as an official sport and since then we've not been off the court.” The game of Squash is no newcomer to modern sport, although not incorporated in an Olympic programme yet. It developed from at least five other sports involving racquets or gloves and a ball. Some believe the sport dates back to France of the 1500's where a similar game was played by monks in monasteries. In their version gloves that were webbed were used to hit a ball against a fishing net strung across the middle of a courtyard of a monastery. There is nothing monastic about these two girls or the game they play, though, except perhaps for their dedication. “We practise every day,” said Lumé. “We play for at least two hours, every day and do fitness exercises under the direction of our coach.” At first Elani and Lumé were coached by Terry Dowling, a former Zimbabwean national Squash player. Recently Greg Lamude, who was once amongst SA's top eight players and did extensive coaching in the United States, took over that role. They both profess that “practising hard” is the secret to their success, but sport must be pumping through their veins, since they are not only achievers when it comes to Squash. Both girls became members of their High School's First Hockey Team, when they started grade eight and have retained their position on that team ever since. In 2007 they received South African Colours for the first time. “You have to play in four tournaments, usually during the first six months of the year. Then they choose the top six players who will be privileged enough to compete internationally,” explains Elani. During 2007 the twins competed in the under fourteen age group and eventually went to Malaysia, playing in the Milo All Star Junior Squash Tournament in Kuala Lumpur and the Penang International Junior Championship in Penang. In both tournaments both of them were ranked amongst the top 15 players in the world. “We are fortunate to have an equipment sponsorship from the French Company Tecni Fibre, who sponsor all our equipment, except for shoes,” said Lumé. “Their racquets are the best.” Elani and Lumé must be doing something right on the Squash Court as they are the only South African Junior players to receive a sponsorship such as this. “In South Africa Junior Squash do not receive that many sponsorships,” explains Elani. “It is expensive to compete nationally and internationally. Tournaments are all over the country, with a tournament almost every second weekend – and if you are chosen to play internationally, the cost of travel and accommodation just skyrockets.” Both twins were chosen for the 2008 national team, ranked first and fourth in South Africa for the year, but due to lack of sponsorships they could not compete in the international tournaments, which were hosted in the United Kingdom. For 2009 the twins are setting their sights high, once again. “It's not been decided yet, but the international tournaments should be hosted either in Europe or Malaysia, towards the end of the year. Before we can dream about that, though, we need to win some games. The SA Nationals in Johannesburg in May and the IPT (Inter Provincial Tournament) in June are two big ones ahead of us. We've already done the Bloemfontein Open, during February, and came third and fifth, respectively. During March we competed in the SA Closed Tournament in Johannesburg and the Kwa-Zulu Natal Open. These girls don't have a favourite TV-show. “Between the hockey, squash and our homework, we don't really have a lot of time to watch TV, but we do catch the odd movie or DVD. Drew Barrymore's movie, '50 First Dates', is our favourite at the moment. We share good times with friends and many good times on the court. We play for our school's squash team as well. Last year our team of 5 ended fourth at the national inter-schools championship. And we play club squash at Londt Park Squash Club. You can't do too much, then you're not going to do anything well.” In Nelson Mandela Bay popularity for this sport is growing, with more schools offering it as official sport and more teenagers starting to compete. It is not often, though, that you find twin sisters amicably competing against each for the top national and international spots. Elani and Lumé Landman are well-rounded and talented young people our city can be proud of and should support with everything we have, so that they will be able to conquer the international squash scene, on our behalf, in years to come.
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