GONGS Hockey Club is preparing for a busy season and is welcoming new players to bolster its men’s and women’s teams across various divisions.

The club was formed in the early 1950s by returning servicemen. The primary founder members of the club were from the Signals Corps, whose emblem was Mercury, the messenger of the Gods. The club’s colours are also those of the signals corps, namely, blue, light blue and green and have remained unchanged since inception.

The club chairman and ladies’ coach, Shane Demé, retraced the club’s history. “Over the formative years, the club operated out of a cooler box with a merry bunch of sports-mad individuals who thrived on playing in the true spirit of the game and playing amongst friends. Needless to say, this proved to be a recipe for success and even today Gongs have a reputation of being successful whilst retaining a spirit of goodwill.

“Gongs prides itself on the many players that have represented South Africa who have been developed through the club, Gordon and Vaughn Bradfield, Mike Cullen, Wayne Phillips, Shane Morrow, Wayne Tammadge, Greg Nicol, Shanyl Balwanth, Kate Wood (Hector), and Lenise Marais to name a few. In recent years there have been developments in Masters Hockey (Over-35) and Grand Masters Hockey (Over-60) which has enabled a number of club members to participate on the world stage. Players such as Chris Clarke, Ross Palmer, Craig Mulqueeny, Grant Williams, Craig Oellermann, Shane Demé, Andre Louw, Andrew Baker and Natalie Bleckert have been privileged to participate in World Cup tournaments in recent years.”

In 2024, Gongs ran two men’s teams and three ladies’ teams in the KZN Hockey Association leagues, and two masters teams that participated in the KZN Masters Hockey League. For the past few seasons, Gongs Men’s and Ladies’ first teams have participated in the Super League.

“Our objectives are to be competitive in every league and to introduce new members to a sport that keeps on giving back. We are investigating commencing mini hockey which caters for the youth, eight to 13 years of age,” concluded Demé.

The club caters for male and female players from 14 years of age upwards and currently draws players from various eThekwini suburbs and as far South as Umzumbe, Richards Bay in the North and Hillcrest in the West.

For enquiries contact Demé at 082 807 0792 or demesa@mweb.co.za.

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