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The story behind Michaelhouse’s spectacular Dusi success
Michaelhouse paddlers produced a stunning set of results in the recent Dusi Canoe Marathon. In a K2 (doubles) year, they had five of the six podium finishers in the under-18 race and were also the victors in the under-16 event. It was fair reward for a close-knot group of boys whose love for the sport and competition between one another has brought out the best in them, as KZN10.com’s Brad Morgan found out when he visited Balgowan last week.
Victory in the Dusi went the way of Ross Leslie and Chase Leisegang, followed by Sam Butcher and Matthew Millward, with Jack Edmonds in third. He had teamed up with Kwandokuhle Mzolo for the iconic three day race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. Jack Shooter and Reuben Baldry claimed the under-16 honours.
Beyond those results, the excellence of the performances of the Michaelhouse boys was underlined by their overall positions in the field: Leslie/Leisegang 19th, Butcher/Millward 21st, Edmonds/Mzolo 23rd and Shooter/Baldry 82nd. Special mention, too, must go to Michaelhouse Head of the Life Sciences Department and master-in-charge of canoeing, Paul Snyman, who teamed up with Huntley Earle and came home in 102nd place.
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The overall sixth place finishers, it is worth noting, were the Houston brothers, Alan and Andrew, both Michaelhouse old boys. The boat in 24th place was of interest, too. That crew was made up of Brandon van der Walt, a former junior world marathon champion, and Shane Millward. Shane is Matthew’s father, so son beat father.
Mary Millward, Matthew’s mother, is the long-time secretary of the Natal Canoe Club, the hosts of the Dusi Canoe Marathon. She said some playful ribbing has gone on between the pair since, but Shane was more than happy that Matthew beat him.
Michaelhouse’s paddling success, as with most successes in life, did not happen overnight. A fantastic tradition of excellence has been building up in recent years, with the school producing outstanding talents, like the Houstons, Craig Heenan and Emanuel Zaloumis, all top performers in the Dusi (and other river races and marathons), and Jean van der Westhuyzen, who at just 16 years of age captured the K2 junior title at the 2014 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Oklahoma City with Maritzburg College old boy, Louis Hattingh.
At the 2018 National Sprint Championships, Jean van der Westhuyzen was crowned the Men’s Victor Ludorum. He has since emigrated Down Under and is on the Australian national team. (Photo: Anthony Grote, Gameplanmedia)
More recently, a victory in the under-16 age group of the K2 race at the 2018 Dusi Canoe Marathon by Ross Leslie and Sam Butcher served notice that they would be hot contenders in 2020. Ross comes from a good pedigree. His dad, James, was for many years one of the top Dusi paddlers.
In a chat with Paul Snyman, Ross, Sam and Chase, Sam said he was inspired by the example set by Craig Heenan and Jean van der Westhuyzen: “I remember watching them train and seeing them get results. It prompted me to want to start paddling and to try to achieve like them.”
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It was Sam that really challenged him to become a better paddler, said Ross: “We always used to race each other and eventually we started training so hard we dropped all of our other sports and focussed completely on canoeing.
“The thing that has got Michaelhouse Canoe Club so big is that there is a big bunch of us that are really close friends. We try and train together, so that results in us pushing one another a lot harder. That’s the reason why we are dominating so much,” he added.
The Michaelhouse boys are fortunate to have a dam on the school grounds to train on, but they also make regular trips down to Pietermaritzburg to participate in the Dusi Dice on Thursday evenings at Natal Canoe Club.The weekly event brings together paddlers of all abilities and ages for what is, in essence, a competitive training session on Camps Drift. It’s also a time to learn from others and be a part of a community that is, arguably, more inclusive than any other sport’s community in South Africa.
A recent photo, taken from the Michaelhouse Facebook page, showing the Canoe Club boys training on the school’s dam. (https://www.facebook.com/michaelhouse.org/)
That inclusivity is also evident in the Michaelhouse Canoe Club and, in this instance, it’s about bringing together boys of different ages from different year groups. Master-in-charge of canoeing Paul Snyman explained: “Chase, for example, was in grade 10 last year, but he was way better than many of the senior paddlers, and that kind of levels the playing fields, so you don’t have the hierarchy that you tend to have in all-boys’ schools. It flattens out a bit, so you can have a grade 10 boy having a friend in A Block (grade 12) or grade 11.”
“When you’re a grade 8 or 9, you tend to be a bit lost, but when you get to the dam and a matric boy or a grade 11 is your buddy, it’s a lot easier to fit in at the school, which is nice,” Sam commented.
Last year, winter training was introduced. In Balgowan, that would be a daunting and, one imagines, rather unpleasant thing, given the cold winters. Thankfully, almost all of the paddling takes place elsewhere, Paul Snyman explained: “It involves quite a lot of travelling, but I think that has been important in their development to be put in a group of like-minded paddlers from Pietermaritzburg and its surrounds, including adults, who push these guys. I think it has had a positive effect.”
Proud paddlers: Sam Butcher, vice-captain, Michaelhouse Canoe Club; Chase Leisegang; and Ross Leslie, captain, Michaelhouse Canoe Club. (Photo: Brad Morgan, KZN10.com)
So, to the 2020 Dusi Canoe Marathon…
Based on their results in events leading up to the race, the Michaelhouse boys figured they would be dicing it out for the honours. “In all the pre-races, we were always on the podium, but the order changed,” said Ross. “We knew it was going to be between our three boats, we just didn’t know what the finishing positions would be.”
Camp’s Drift, as the paddlers head for the Ernie Pearce Weir, shortly after the start on day one of the Dusi Canoe Marathon. This group included Sam Butcher and Matthew Millward. (Photo: supplied)
The Dusi, more than any other race, places a premium on both running (portaging in paddling parlance) and paddling, and that was something that favoured Ross Leslie and Chase Leisegang. Ross credited their coach, Andrew Booyens, for ensuring their running was a strength. It also helped that Booyens coached now 10-time Dusi winner, Andy Birkett, from whom he was able to glean valuable information.
Despite their solid preparation and strength in running, Chase admitted that the opening day, especially the Campbell’s Farm portages, made it the hardest of the three days for him because he and his partner pushed so hard. Nonetheless, he and Ross were rewarded for their labours and were the first under-18 finishers on the day in 3:01:53.65.
The Campbell’s Farm portage, early on day one, played a decisive role in winning the overall under-18 title for Chase Leisegang (front) and Ross Leslie (back). (Photo: supplied)
Jack Edmonds and Kwandokuhle Mzolo followed in 3:08:50.27, with Sam Butcher and Matthew Millward in third. It was a tough day for the Butcher/Millward combination, especially for Sam. He was dealing with the effects of a severely broken ankle that he had suffered some months previously. On a day with plenty of portaging, he struggled. “My running was poor, more walking than running,” he admitted.
On day two, Ross and Chase were able to stretch their lead after a strong finish on Inanda Dam saw them cross the line in 3:11:23.90. It was far from smooth sailing, however, as Ross related: “On day two it rained and it had a big effect. On one of the portages, Ngomeni’s, the initial 10 metres was a mudslide. It was very hard getting up there.”
“The portage was quite wet and we couldn’t run too fast,” Sam weighed in, but his partner, Matthew, had an even tougher time. ““He vomited from five kilometres above the dam to about three-quarters of the way to the end of the day. For about 12 kilometres out, he was vomiting. He tried to sip his juice, he brought it up. Eventually that just went away and we were strong for the last bit.”
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It was only later that they realised the likely cause of Matthew’s illness was bilharzia, which he had previously contracted. “He went through stages when he was fine and then it was bad. He was a bit loopy, which bilharzia does to you,” reckoned Sam.
Despite their challenges, the Butcher/Millward boat crossed the line in 3:13:42.28, which was enough to put them ahead of Edmonds/Mzolo, who finished in 3:19:41.08.
With the fearsome Burma Road portage ruled out as an option on day three, everybody would have to stay on the water and paddle around that section of the river. Thankfully for the boys, steady rain helped elevate the water level, making for a very enjoyable time.
“It was great to paddle around this year. I actually paddled it last year (when he finished 42nd overall and fourth in the under-18 K1 race), so I knew where to go. The water levels were very good,” Ross smiled.
When the finish at Blue Lagoon loomed, it came with some butterflies in the stomach, Chase acknowledged: “I was nervous. I felt like they were catching us quite quickly and I tried to paddle my hardest to the end.”
He and Ross had enough in the bag, however, to claim a sweet victory, even though Sam and Matthew did record the third day’s best under-18 performance. Chase and Ross posted a time of 2:28:06.82, which saw them complete the race in 8:41:24.37. A 2:24:27.48 saw Sam and Matthew end it in 8:48:44.15.
Behind them, Jack Edmonds and Kwandokuhle Mzolo finished in 2:32:23.90, narrowly eclipsing the nine-hour mark for the race.
The under-16 winners, Jack Shooter and Reuben Baldry, completed the Dusi with a total time of 10:41:39.80 to secure both of the boys’ age group titles for Michaelhouse.
The under-16 age group winners of the 2020 Dusi Canoe Marathon: Jack Shooter and Reuben Baldry. (Photo: supplied)
The year is young and there is plenty more to come from the Michaelhouse paddlers. Sam is focussing on the sprints and will contest national trials in Shongweni from 1-5 April. If he earns selection, he will race for South Africa at Brandenburg in Germany in July.
Last year, he was part of a 15-person South African squad that travelled to Slovakia to contest an Olympic Hopes event, with the format mirroring that used in the Olympics. “It was great to learn how it works and how big it is over there,” he said.
For many of the other boys, their focus will turn to marathon racing, mixed in, from time to time, with some surf-skiing. Then, look out for Michaelhouse to excel again in another of the country’s most popular river races, the Fish River Canoe Marathon, which takes place from 26-30 September.
Last year, the Michaelhouse team of Sam Butcher, Ross Leslie, Matthew Millward, and Jack Edmonds, all of whom remain at the school, captured the Schools’ Team Trophy, which is exactly what they did in this year’s Dusi. But that should have been obvious, shouldn’t it?
The best boys’ school swimming team in South Africa
When the two very impressive pools in your Aquatic Centre are named after your school’s illustrious old boys, Chad le Clos and Chad Ho, one knows that good things have happened in your swimming programme, writes KZN10.com’s Brad Morgan.
When one asks the question when Westville Boys High was last beaten in a gala and no one can instantly recall the answer, there’s your second clue; the swimming programme at Westville Boys High isn’t just good, it’s exceptional.
In case you’ve been hibernating to avoid news for more than the past decade, Chad le Clos, who specialises in the butterfly, is an Olympic champion and a multiple world champion in both long course and short course swimming. He was the man who brought an end to the reign of the greatest swimmer the world has seen, Michael Phelps, in the American’s speciality, the 200m butterfly, at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Open water swimmer Chad Ho is a two-time World Championships medallist, finishing third in the 5km event in Rome in 2009, and winning gold in the 2015 World Champs over the same distance in Kazan. He’s also the record seven-time champion of the world’s largest open water swimming event, the aQuellé Midmar Mile.
Westville dominated Durban and District Gala
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The Chad le Clos Pool in the Westville Boys High School Aquatic Centre is very impressive and able to host galas and water polo matches.
So, there’s the past success. Then there’s the Aquatic Centre itself that the boys utilise at the school. It’s hugely impressive and, yes, huge too. It’s also a facility that would be the envy of most swimming clubs.
But, no matter how great a facility is, no matter how great a school’s history is, it takes good teachers to teach and motivate learners to challenge themselves to become better, and that is where Westville has led and continues to lead the way.
The foundations for Westville’s extraordinary swimming success were laid by former Deputy Headmaster Nestor Pierides, who passed away in January 2019. He had a passion for finding, developing and nurturing sportsmen and he especially promoted swimming.
It was because of Pierides that the school’s current swimming captain, Ian Brijlal, chose to attend Westville Boys’ High. Ian was a learner at Hopeville Primary School, mostly for the academics, he said, but the school also had a strong swimming tradition. When Pierides saw Ian in action at the National Championships, he approached his parents about the possibility of sending their son to Westville for his secondary schooling.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do for high school, but my parents were very moved by Mr Pierides coming to me. That made a big difference to me. I felt needed and wanted,” Ian said, sitting on one of the stands in the Aquatic Centre on Wednesday. “A lot of other swimmers that are in matric with me feel that sense of belonging, as if they need us, and that had a big impact.”
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Westville, though, is also a school with a strong academic tradition, and that was also part of the criteria Ian needed to meet. “The criteria are not only about swimming,” he said, “they’re also about academics. You need to have a good academic level. You can’t be failing and expect to get a scholarship, because you would then bring down the pass rate for matrics, and you would bring down the whole grade.”
To put the importance of academics at Westville into context, we’re not talking average, we’re talking well above average. The school has an incredible record in that sphere. In 2019, for example, 232 boys wrote the final exams, with 93 percent achieving Bachelor and Diploma passes. An astonishing 22 boys achieved seven distinctions or more.
Underlining just how well the school performed was the fact that 85 percent of the boys took core mathematics and 78 percent physical science, two subjects in which most South African schools perform abysmally. A further 33 boys wrote advanced programme mathematics.
As an athlete, Ian said he is determined to defy the stereotype that sportsman are not smart. Thus, he finds himself in one of the leading academic classes in matric. And he is not alone among the swimmers. It’s about all-round excellence and it’s about setting an example for others to follow.
Back to the pool…the big push to make Westville a powerhouse of the sport came in 2008, explained the Head of Aquatics, Jarred Appelgryn. That year, for the first time, the school won the Durban and Districts Gala, a competition comprising 4 x 50 metres relays in all strokes, in all age groups, and a ladder relay.
It’s a competition that truly focuses on the depth of swimming talent in a school. It’s also a competition that Westville has won every year since then, including 2020’s gala, which was held at the end of February, when they raced to victory in 22 out of the 26 races on the programme.
Westville swimming captain Ian Brijlal accepts the Durban and District’s winner’s trophy from DHS Headmaster Tony Pinheiro. (Photo: Brad Morgan, KZN10.com)
More than in galas of other formats, the focus of the Durban and Districts meet is on the team and while swimming might seem to be a sport that is centred on the individual the idea of team applies very strongly at Westville.
Nowadays, most school’s top swimmers train only with clubs. In most cases, that is 100 percent the case, but at Westville it’s not.
Graham Hill, a former South African national swimming team Olympic coach, is nearby, and a bus takes boys to training with him daily at 14:00, while Petro Nortjé, like Hill a multiple South African champion in various strokes, coaches boys in the Chad Ho swimming pool at the school. The vast majority of boys train with the two former swimming stars, the outstanding South African swimmers of their day, and the quality of the coaching they provide is superb.
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“It does make a big difference that they are all club swimmers. We’re not doing the training for about 75 percent of the boys,” Appelgryn said.
“Some afternoons, the captain will call a practice for a bit of team vibe. The other 25 percent of the boys that make up the team are waterpolo players. We’re doing our ‘polo fitness while they’re swimming, and then they also have ‘polo practice.
“The big difference is that the club players bring the speed element, but then your polo players, where they tie in, is they bring the team vibe.”
The decision to also develop waterpolo at the school was an important and valuable move, Appelgryn reckoned: “We decided that we can’t just hinge on swimming success. We had to bring in the waterpolo as well.
“Westville’s waterpolo was never the greatest, but every year now we’re lifting it a notch or two to be in the top three consistently in the province. We go to tournaments knowing we’re not going to be playing for the wooden spoon,” he said in a case of classic understatement.
Westville, seen here in a 12-7 win over DHS, is one of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading waterpolo-playing schools. (Photo: Brad Morgan, KZN10.com)
With competition so strong among the swimmers, Appelgryn said his main focus is on getting the team selection right, and at times, he explained, that means making selections based on intuition and not on times alone.
“Sometimes it is hard for boys to accept that the fourth swimmer is not the fourth best. Sometimes the boy who is fifth is five or six splits off [the fourth swimmer’s time], but he has more of a drive to win a race. There is a lot of gut feel when we sit down and pick our sides.
“It’s not simply [that we choose] our top four and the second fastest swims first, quickest swims last. Most of our fastest swimmers actually swim in third place in the relay against most of the other schools’ slowest swimmers, just to solidify a winning result, hopefully.
“At the end of the day, we try to encourage boys to remember that it is not just an individualistic sport at school. At club level, it is. You need to remember that you are swimming for your school and for the guys next to you.
“We try to base it off of the American style where the institutions there back their swimmers, so that they’re representing their teams, not themselves.”
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There is also little room for complacency in such a competitive environment, swimming captain Ian related: “Swimming times are always changing, guys are always improving. It’s talent, but mainly hard work.
“In grade eight, maybe you are the best, but you stop training as hard and swim every now and again, and think you can keep it up. You can’t.
“If someone is training hard, they can be ranked last, but two years down the line they will overtake you. That happened to me, and to many others, and it is a wake-up call. I think every athlete needs that.
“You have to always be on your game. You can’t expect to win every single thing. You have to put in hard work to win. All the athletes at this school put in the hard work.”
A dramatic start to a backstroke relay at the Durban and Districts Gala where Westville finished a convincing 45 points ahead of the second placed team. (Photo: Brad Morgan, KZN10.com)
“It’s not as if Westville is just going to win every gala. You can’t win unless you work hard. Everyone has to step up their game, and they do.”
Being appointed the captain of the Westville Boys’ High swimming team was a huge honour, Ian continued: “It meant a lot to me because this school is undefeated. There’s a lot of pressure, but it feels important as well, and it gives a lot of meaning to my life.
“Giving speeches on behalf of Westville has meant a lot because you have a lot of responsibility. If you mess up or lose, I feel personally responsible for that too. If you win, our entire team wins.
Action from one of the 50 metres breaststroke relay events at the Durban and Districts Gala. (Photo: Brad Morgan, KZN10.com)
“I think it is my job as captain to try and motivate everyone to try and do better, and to bring them up when they are down.”
Citing the Durban and District Gala, where DHS managed three relay wins to Westville’s two in the under-15 age group, he said: “Take the under-15s, they’re not a bad age group. They’re still under-15 and there is still a way to go to the open age group. If they have the right grounding now, and if they learn from their losses, they can work harder and maybe by the time they’re competing at under-17 or open level they will win.”
Head of Aquatics, Jarred Appelgryn, weighed in, saying that while winning is good it is not the be all and end all of matters: “Most of the time, we are one step ahead of the opposition. But it’s also nice to not always be a step ahead. It’s nice that the boys lose a race. We lost four at Durban and Districts. It’s nice because the boys, then, don’t get complacent.
“Two or three years ago, I don’t think the boys lost a race, period. But you could see that the boys became complacent, not that one can necessarily blame them. Therefore, it is good to be beaten every now and again.”
He feels some pressure to maintain the winning tradition, he admitted: “but I think when you’ve got a team like I do, including [members of staff] Brad Rowe, Andrew Stewart and Tanya Bower, there is a lot of experience.
“As much as it is my first year stepping in as Head of Aquatics, the marketing guys are with us and there are people looking out for the boys. The teachers help our swimmers academically, too. It’s a massive team effort that leads to the final performance.”
Star swimmer Luca Holtzhausen, who broke five records in the Nestor Pierides Inter-provincial gala, including a Chad le Clos butterfly mark, Head of Aquatics Jarred Appelgryn, and swimming captain Ian Brijlal show off the silverware awarded to the winning school in the Alan Burt Gala, the Nestor Pierides Inter-provincial gala, the Kwa-Zulu Natal High Schools Top 10 Gala and the Durban and Districts Gala. (Photo: Brad Morgan, KZN10.com)
A look at four of the trophies currently in Westville’s possession tell an incredible story of excellence: champions of the Durban and Districts Gala, the Kwa-Zulu Natal High Schools’ Top 10 Gala, the Alan Burt Gala, and, most importantly to the school itself, the winners of the Nestor Pierides Inter-Provincial Gala every year since 2008.
At times, people lose the love of the sport they participate in, because of the pressure that comes with winning and the expectation that that success should continue. But, if Westville swimming captain Ian Brijlal is any example of the general feeling among the Griffins’ swimmers, the enjoyment of competition has not been lost.
“I love racing. I love the closeness of the gala. For example, the Nestor Pareidis Gala was amazing. Grey College, Saint David’s, Affies and Saint Benedict’s were really close. It was crazy.
“I enjoy close races. Winning all the time is not as much fun. There is no point in winning all the time, otherwise you lose purpose. We lost a few races and it kept people on their toes.”
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Appelgryn echoed Ian’s sentiments: “There is performance pressure when it comes to galas, especially like the Affies Gala, which we were losing by about 17 points halfway through the gala, and then I was wondering was I going to be that guy [who oversaw the end of the winning streak].
But, at no point is someone watching my back, saying don’t mess this up, which is nice. It actually makes my job quite easy in terms of dealing with the kids and the way I can deal with them. I am not putting that onto them to secure my job. That’s make a big difference for them as well.”
It is said that success breeds success and that is true, but to continue to succeed one needs to strive to achieve ever higher goals, lest the challengers catch up.
At Westville, each and every swimmer strives to better himself, for his benefit and for the benefit of the team, and, inevitably it seems, Westville wins again.
Westville dominate Durban and District Gala
DHS played host to the annual Durban and District Gala on Tuesday afternoon. The event – featuring DHS, Westville, Northwood, Glenwood, Clifton and Kearsney – consisted of the 4 x 50m relay in all strokes in the under-14, under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 age groups and culminated in the 5 x 50m freestyle ladder relay, writes KZN10.com’s Brad Morgan.
Contested late in the afternoon, a decently sized crowd took in some good competition in pleasant conditions, with the powerhouse Westville team, predictably, dominating proceedings. A total of 26 events were contested with the Griffins excelling and capturing the honours in 22 of the 26 relays.
While Westville ruled the roost in the Durban and Districts Gala, DHS shone in the under-15 age group, picking up wins in three of the five relays (All photos: Brad Morgan, KZN10.com)
They impressed with their depth, not only in the various strokes, but also throughout the various age groups. Westville also swept all relays in the under-14, under-16 and under-17 age groups.
The best boys’ school swimming team in South Africa
https://kzn10.com/the-best-boys-school-swimming-team-in-south-africa/
Westville swimming phenom Luca Holtzhausen dreams big
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Clifton picked up a very impressive win in the under-19 freestyle relay, which, obviously, meant their time of 1:40.84 was the fastest recorded in any relay on the day. That was the only race Westville didn’t win in the senior age group.
The competition took place in ideal late afternoon conditions, with a nice crowd in attendance.
DHS were especially strong at under-15 level. In fact, they claimed three wins to Westville’s two, with the hosts giving the crowd plenty to cheer with victories in the backstroke, butterfly and medley relays, while Westville reigned supreme in the freestyle and breaststroke races.
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A hallmark of the gala, which was very pleasing to witness, was the friendly nature of the competition. It echoed days gone by when winning was not all that mattered and the appreciation of challenging oneself and others was as important as the result itself.
So, well done to all the swimmers and the coaches (and moms and dads); besides the excellence of the performances, the good-natured racing stood out.
From the first event to the last, there was no doubt that Westville would claim the silverware as champions of the Durban and Districts Gala. DHS headmaster Tony Pinheiro presented the winner’s trophy to Westville captain Ian Brijlal.
RESULTS
1st: Westville 152 points
2nd: Clifton 107 points
3rd: DHS 90 points
4th T: Glenwood 69 points
4th T: Kearsney 69 points
6th: Northwood 57 points
The Red Black and White’s Brad Robinson flying the flag high at SA Masters Open Bowls Championships
KZN10.com website and social media wishes Maritzburg College Old Boy (Class of 2000) Brad Robinson everything of the best for the SA Masters Open Bowls Championships at Wingate Park Country Club in Pretoria today through Sunday.
KZN10.com caught up with Brad in Pretoria and asked this former Maritzburg College 2nd XI and UKZN Pietermaritzburg 1st XI cricketer (9 handicap golfer) to tell us more.
“Thanks Jono, yes I have fond memories of my 5 years at Maritzburg College.
“Jono, the SA Masters Open competition consists of the top 16 bowlers in the country, of whom 12 or so have represented the Proteas while the others are, like me, members of the SA Gold Squad.”
Brad and his 18-month-old eldest son, Mason Neil Robinson.
Brad (36) knows who will be super-keen to see him when he returns to his hometown – 18-month-old Mason Neil (Neil is the name of Brad’s well-known late dad) and baby brother the 8-week-old Cole.
Methinks Brad’s wife Rezelle will be as much relieved as she will be pleased to see her hubby after 4 days flying solo with these two pocket rockets.
*****
I don’t follow bowls very closely, though I certainly recognise some of these stellar names in SA bowls:
#Gerry Baker, 5 times SA Masters winner
#Jason Evans, last year’s winner
#Billy Radloff (2018 winner)
#Pierre Breitenbach
#KZN’s Wayne Ritmuller (2017 and 2018 SA National Singles title winner)
#The other KZN bowler in the Masters is Wayne Roberts
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Wayne Ritmuller beat Brad in the 2017 SA National Singles final.
The SA Singles and SA Masters Open are different competitions.
So, how does Brad see the Masters?
“Jono, the SA Masters Open is an intense, gruelling and hugely competitive event, but the camaraderie is always there.”
Divided into 2 sections of 8 players each, the bowlers each play 3 matches today, 3 more tomorrow, and then 1 on Sunday morning, before the winners of each section meet in the final at around lunchtime Sunday for the opportunity to be crowned the 2020 SA Masters Open champion.
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“There is no bronze medal match for the section runners-up; they each get a bronze medal,” says Brad.
“The reasoning behind that is to ensure that all the focus is on the final.”
Too right! That is the way it should be in all sports. Surely there isn’t a sports lover on the planet who wants bronze medal matches anymore?
“This will be my 5th SA Masters Open and my 3rd in a row,” says Brad. “I played in 2 SA Masters 7 and 8 years ago, then wasn’t selected for 4 years.”
Trophy time for Brad Robinson.
Pietermaritzburg-based Brad, who started playing competitive bowls at the age of 11, is a chartered accountant and senior manager at Price Waterhouse Coopers.
So what’s it like at Wingate Country Club in Pretoria, Brad?
“Jono, it’s a great setting here at Wingate; 6 greens catering for the 16 SA Masters Open bowlers, the same number in the equivalent ladies’ competition; then the SA Masters Under-30’s – that’s 12 bowlers in each of the male and female competitions – and finally the Over-60’s SA Masters Veterans, which is 12 men and 12 women, so it’s going to be pretty busy.”
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#Apart from the KZN names squaring up in the SA Masters Open, there are also a number of KZN bowlers in the other competitions; such as Durban’s Bronwyn Webber in the SA Masters Open Ladies, Pietermaritzburg’s Sean Lightfoot and Kholwani “Kwa” Khanyile in the Under-30’s, and, of course, the KZN capital’s well-known Laylon Howard in the Over-60’s.
Scott Fraser – formerly of PMB, now Cape Town – is also in the U30’s showdown.
Best wishes to all.
(Especially Brad).
Please search on Facebook for the @KZN10com page and click on the “like” icon or click on the KZN10.com Facebook icon right here on the KZN10.com website homepage for further updates as well as upcoming features on the 10 Schools (from north to south in the KwaZulu-Natal province’s geographical region, they are Michaelhouse, Hilton, Maritzburg College, St Charles, Kearsney, Westville, Glenwood, DHS, Clifton and Northwood) in the 6 major team sports (rugby, cricket, hockey, water polo, basketball and soccer) as well as more sports.
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Follow Brad Robinson’s daily results here
(sections, names, times, opponents)
http://www.tournaments.bowlsgn.co.za/View/Links.aspx?WebID=144&MenuID=88
and here
(links take you to each section and category)
http://www.bowlsdraw.co.za/Reports/Results/RR_Results.aspx?CompID=806&VenueMenu=All
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Kearsney’s Josh Steytler has an Olympic dream
Josh Steytler, who won gold at the recent 2019 South African and African Duathlon Championships held in Cape Town, has just signed a 12-month contract to run for Hillcrest Villagers’ Athletic Club’s Elite running team.
The Grade 11 learner from Kearsney College will represent HVAC in the Junior Men’s category at running events until mid-2020.
Josh has been actively involved in competitive sports from a young age, playing club rugby (Hillcrest Villagers’ Rugby Club) and club soccer (Westville Soccer Club) from the age of seven, and made a KZN soccer age-group team at 12, when they won the SAFU League Championship.
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His passion for road running saw him win the U19 junior Men’s category at the Forest Hills Spar 10km road race last month in a time of 35:03. He finished 11th overall.
But triathlons are his first love, so Josh stopped playing club rugby and soccer this year, in order to compete seriously in triathlons and duathlons.
Josh’s dream is to compete in triathlon at the Olympic Games. Last year he was awarded full provincial colours in both duathlon and triathlon and was the HVAC Junior Runner of the Year.
Earlier this year he won silver at the SA and Africa Triathlon Champs in Durban, before winning gold at the SA and Africa Duathlon Champs in Cape Town.
At these Duathlon Champs in Cape Town, Josh competed in the sprint class – a 5km run, a 20km cycle and a final 2,5km run – which he did in 16:47, 31:06 and 09:26 respectively, recording the fastest 5km run time in the U17 and U19 male categories.
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Glenwood boys excel in SAPS Pistol Shooting Champs
Glenwood’s Matt Blignaut, Clayton Charles and Jordan Houston of the school’s pistol shooting extra-mural activity were on target during Sunday’s SA Champs.
Five Glenwood boys who are among the school’s pistol shooting enthusiasts and are affiliated to the KZN Pistol Association, competed in the SAPS Pistol Federation Championships.
All five Glenwood boys shot impressive scores and in the 10-metre Air pistol category the top three were Glenwood boys were Matthew Blignaut 512/600, Clayton Charles 494/600 and Jordan Houston 437/600.
Source: Glenwood FB
Text & image Kirsten Blignaut
The Sasolburg Swim Experience – Level 2 Regional Age Group Champs 2019
‘What you put in… is what you’re going to get out” – Penguins coach Sheralee Jolliffe
Penguins Swimming Club coaches Mandy Wheeler (left) and Sheralee Jolliffe in Sasolburg.
*****
Elizabeth Moore paints the picture:
Level 2 was held in Sasolburg in April 2019.
15 eager young swimmers from Pietermaritzburg schools raised their Penguins club colours with pride.
The PMB schoolboys and girls represented in the Penguins swim team were from Maritzburg College, Cordwalles, Cowan House, Laddsworth, Clarendon, Epworth, GHS and The Wykeham Collegiate.
Flying the flag: Penguins Swimming Club members in Sasolburg.
Bossing the overcast weather, the swimmers put on their best performances. They battled the storms up ahead both mentally and against their competition in the pool.
And torrential storms did indeed make their presence felt when the heavens opened on the last day.
Ready to out their best for Penguins were Ashley Ferguson, Georgina Francis, Sibonga Khumalo, Katie Moore, Jessica Oxenham, Caitlyn Slabberts, Serante Subramanian, Emma Williams, Patrick Lamb, Kian Lister, Mathew Marillier, Rueben Marx, Ethan Muir, Kingsley Thompson and soon-to-be-part of Team Penguins, newcomer Caitlin Soden, who represented Seals Swimming Club in Sasolburg.
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Swim SA accredited coach Elizabeth Moore chatted to Penguins coach Sheralee Jolliffe about the Sasolburg Experience.
Elizabeth: “Sheralee, it was obviously an extremely exciting week for the Penguins Level 2 swimmers, Penguins coming first out of the 63 teams at the event in Sasolburg with Patrick Lamb from Laddsworth and Emma Williams of Epworth taking home 5 Gold’s.
“Sheralee, congratulations are certainly in order. So how do your top swimmers maintain this high level of achievement…”
Ever watchful: Penguins SC coach Sheralee Jolliffe loves to see her swim boys and girls in competition action.
Sheralee: “Elizabeth, the higher the level the harder it is. The commitment and achievement of the swimmer lies in training 6 to 7 days a week in comparison to 2 to 3 days a week.
“Remaining disciplined is vital; if you don’t come to training, you don’t get the results. The quality of training technique also drives the results.
“For the Level 2’s this provides the grounding to move forward as well as the stepping stone into Level 3”.
Penguins’ Sasolburg Experience In Short
Day 1
Penguins leading the weekend forward with 15 swimmers, 44 swims, 27 personal bests, 35 finals and 16 medals: Boasting 7 individual Penguins gold’s for the day and in the team favourite, the Relays – Boys under 13-16 Individual Medley taking gold in the time of 2:23:77.
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Day 2
Penguins easing into 4 golds, 5 silver and 3 bronze: One of the medal winners, and one amongst many of Penguins’ focused and dedicated swimmers, was the fast-improving Sibonga Khumalo, who won bronze in the 100-metres backstroke.
Day 3
Ending Penguins’ Sasolburg Experience on a high, Patrick Lamb won his 5th gold – in the 200m backstroke final, and Emma Williams took her 5th gold – in the 200m freestyle.
Washing up the three-day Sasolburg Experience were the 5 exciting relay races; in the girls U12 and up: 4 x 50 freestyle, Penguins shone in taking Gold while in the Boys 13 – 16yrs 4 x 50 freestyle Penguins did well in earning the silver medal.
In Penguins harvesting 7 medals out of 12 relays it was a great effort and a tribute to team spirit. Indeed, a phenomenal rush for the team to recall on the way back home and further into the swim year.
Penguins head coach Mandy Wheeler is never far from your nearest swimming pool.
*****
The Sasolburg Experience ended on a high note for Penguins Swimming Club… And a great personal success and sense of accomplishment for the team coaches, Mandy and Sheralee, who give so much of their time, energy and passion into the sport which is reflected in the medal-winning response of their swim boys and girls.
Thank you to coaches and parents
Dedicated Parents = Dedicated Swimmer
Don’t let the conditions drain you. John Smithers johnsmithers@vodamail.com has got you covered.
xxx
Penguins head coach Mandy Wheeler
Accredited and registered with Swim South Africa
wheeler.mandy@gmail.com
# Penguins at: Hilton College, Cordwalles Prep
Penguins coach Sheralee Jolliffe
Accredited and registered with Swim South Africa
jolliffeclan@telkomsa.net
Sheralee Coaching is based PMB Girls’ High School
Sheralee teaches Learn to Swim at Prestbury Primary in Terms 1 and 4
and private Learn to Swim at Y-Fit Gym
This article’s writer, Elizabeth Moore, is a Swim SA accredited and registered coach who also enjoys offering private swim lessons.
liz2swim@gmail.com
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