Capazario helps SA to gold at world cup

Jaclyn Capazario was in Canada scoping out a new job opportunity and planning to emigrate to the country with her family when she received a call-up to represent SA at the Masters Hockey World Cup in Cape Town.

With no hesitation, she immediately recognised the significance of the honour of finally wearing the national colours, flag and crest on the highest stage for the first time.

“We decided to stay in SA and move from Benoni to Ballito where I would continue my training with the Umhlali Impis and represent KZN Coastal in the masters’ interprovincial champs,” Jaclyn said.

It was a great decision because today, the Benoni High alumnus is a world champion. She helped the national women’s over 35 side etch their name in the history books when they became the country’s first women’s side to win a world cup gold.

“I knew this was something I was meant to do. I’m so proud to be South African and proud of what we have achieved.”

Jaclyn and her teammates began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat of Ireland. They destroyed the Australia IMC side 8-0 before brushing Argentina aside with a 2-0 victory in their last group game.

They continued their good run with a 3-0 win over Germany in the quarter-finals, with Jaclyn scoring the team’s last goal, before beating Australia A 3-0 in the last four.

The South Africans then concluded the competition with a historic 4-1 drubbing of powerhouses, Netherlands, to end the tournament undefeated, scoring 22 goals and conceding once.

“We were beyond belief we had done it. We became world champions not only for ourselves but for our country, families and the whole hockey fraternity,” Jaclyn said.

The mother of one wouldn’t have been a part of this team had it not been for her perseverance. She was snubbed by the national team as a 17-year, which left her devastated. She subsequently quit the sport after matriculating from BHS in 2006 but came out of retirement 12 years later to play masters’ hockey at Northerns.

Later she would play for Eastern Gauteng before making the cut for the national women’s over-35s team following a successful tryout in Randburg last year.

“I never gave up despite being told I wasn’t good enough,” she said.

The early disappointments are now a distant memory for the world champion.

Jaclyn looks back with pride at her six-year-old self who started with mini-hockey and played on grass at Northerns before graduating to Astro Turf at BHS under the guidance of her first coach, Tersia Bekker.

She thanked all those who helped her cultivate a love for the sport early in her career and her family and friends for their constant support.

“Playing for my country in a sport I love, showing my daughter that she can do anything she puts her mind to and that patience, trust, hard work and perseverance is what dreams are built on.”

Also Read: Hockey teams do well at IPT

Also Read: Bartlett hockey player receives ‘biggest achievement’ of career