Graduating with her Master of Laws degree in Labour Studies and serving as the Vice-Captain of the KwaZulu-Natal Female Hockey team are goals topping the list of South African underwater hockey player, Ms Tatton Bouras.

The proud LLM graduate and sports enthusiast has been playing underwater hockey since 2015. Part hockey, part diving – underwater hockey is a challenging and thrilling sport that requires quick reflexes and agility, good breath control, and a strong swimming ability.

‘I have always been sporty and played field hockey for many years. I then saw a poster for underwater hockey that said, “if you can hold your breath, you will be good at it”. This appealed to my sense of humour so I started playing it and fell in love with it instantly.’

Her many sporting achievements include representing South Africa in the U23 Ladies Team in Australia at the World Championship in 2017, where they won a bronze medal, representing South Africa in the Elite Ladies Team in Canada to compete at the World Championship in 2018 and recently representing South Africa in Australia at the World Championship. 

Bouras, who is originally from Chile but grew up in Durban, said joining the South African Ladies Elite Team while studying proved to be a formidable challenge for her, especially when pursuing a master’s degree that demanded extensive research.

‘Changing jobs made it even more difficult to finish this qualification because I was adjusting to a new department (being the Commercial and Compliance Department), learning a new skill set at work and trying to juggle sport and studying,’ she said. ‘My master’s degree was super time consuming and at times, I thought I was never going to finish it.’

Although playing underwater hockey is a significant passion for Bouras, her ultimate priority is to pursue a career in Law and contribute to the cause of justice. She is currently an Associate for Barkers Attorneys law firm.

‘After my articles, I worked for two years in a labour law firm as an associate and I fell in love with labour law and so I wanted to sink my teeth into labour law on a more academic level,’ she said. ‘There is a lot of opportunity for growth at Barkers and future plans include becoming a part of the management, so I will continue to work there and grow within the firm and use my qualification to assist in the Labour Department.’ 

Words: Samukelisiwe Cele

Photograph: Supplied