Women’s sport has suffered a huge loss as the death of Mariska Loots has been confirmed. Loots was the poster girl for Tag Rugby, and a magnanimous advocate for females in sport.
The loss of Loots is going to be one felt by many, in a recent interview with gsport, the former South African Tag rugby captain was looking for sponsorship for the ladies of her sport in a bid to develop the game looking ahead to the Tag Rugby World Cup.
She was someone who worked hard to improve the lives of the women in sport and was no stranger to the gsport family. Loots’ contribution in her arena didn’t go unnoticed as she was nominated for Volunteer of the Year at the 2023 gsport Awards.
Loots was appointed to the SA Tag Rugby board to oversee development, where she was hoping to make even more of an impact when it came to making the game more accessible to women and improving it for them.
gsport Founder Kass Naidoo shared how the loss of Loots will be felt in the sporting community.
“We have lost a true champion of women’s sport. Mariska was passionate about Tag Rugby and used her #PowerOfRecognition journey as a finalist for the sport’s Volunteer of the Year in 2023 to bring more attention to her sport and encourage more girls to play Tag. My heart goes out to her family, her sporting community, and her friends. A sad loss for women’s sport.”
Loots mother, Janet shared a rather solemn Facebook post with a picture montage of her daughter saying: “So sorry I wasn’t home! Love you always! You have your wings fly high my angel.”
While her dad, Willie posted: “Will love you forever. I know you will be watching over us from where you are now. You were always the epitome of caring… My heart is broken, my dearest Rissie.”
She leaves behind, her parents, brother, sister-in-law, and a niece. gsport sends its heartfelt condolences to the Loots family as well as those who were close to Mariska.