Sports year under the magnifying glass (July to December)

The Herald breaks down some of the achievements and events from the local sporting scene this year, as well as a few heartbreaks and disappointments that arose along the way.

July

• Brakpan Rugby Club’s first XV outclassed old rivals Boksburg Rugby Club 71-5 at Bosman Stadium on Saturday, July 4. The team ran in 11 tries.
• Brakpan Ringball Club bid farewell to a stalwart of their club and of the sport in general, Manie Lombard. He was a part of the club for 45 years and was chairman of the club for 41 of those years.
• United Cricket Club’s Hoskins Park was one of three venues used for the 11th annual Eastern Junior Club Cricket Association’s (EJCCA) Carnival City Cricket Festival from July 1 to July 5.

August

• State Mines Country Club’s junior golfer Casey Jarvis defended his title in the 10 to 11-year-old category at the Optimist Junior Golf International Championships, at Palm Beach Gardens, in Florida, in the USA.
• Brakpan Rugby Club’s first XV marked an undefeated season with success in the final of the 2015 Valke Peregrine League against Vereeniging on Saturday, August 22. This ensured automatic qualification to the 2016 Cell C Community Cup.
• Former Brakpan Wrestling Club star and EFC fighter JP Buys was defeated by Baldwin Mdlalose with a rear-naked choke three minutes and 29 seconds into round one of their flyweight division bout at the Durban International Convention Centre at EFC 37.
• The annual Great North 2 kickboxing tournament, hosted by Xtreme Kickboxing Technologies (XKT) was held at the Brakpan Indoor Centre on August 29. Shihan Raymond Phillips, president of XKT, said that the event was the biggest ever held with over 300 fighters competing in various forms.

September

• The Brakpan Spurs Football Club u-17 team won the eight-team Geluksdal Local Football Association u-17 League.
• The Spring Club Oval Championships Extravaganza came to the Rock Raceway circuit. Three local residents Rieckerd Louwrens, Frik Kruger and Shaun Fourie won their race in their respective classes at the motoring showcase.
• Acrobatic gymnasts of the Brakpan-based Masters Gymnasts Club took part in the Springs Stars and Acrobatic Gymnastics Regional Championships. Nikita le Roux, Simone le Roux and Cameron Mare won gold medals at the event.
• A muddy Transvaal Galvanisers Mountain Bike Race was held on the morning of September 6, in Dalpark Extension One, at the Van Dyk Dam. Irvin Human won the 10km race, Ryan Shebab won the 35km route and Bertus Odendaal won the 50km race.
• Brakpan Wrestling Club’s Martin Erasmus represented Brakpan on the mat at the All African Games in Brazzaville in the Congo.

October

• Dalpark resident and Dan Triangle Karate Club member Christopher Anthony and his South African team-mates defeated Japan 2-1 in the senior male kumite final to win gold at the KWF World Cup, in Chitose, Hokkaido, in Japan. He also won a bronze medal in the senior men’s individual kumite category.
• United Cricket Club’s Premier XI got their 2015/2016 Eastern Premier League season off to the best possible start, a 159 run bonus-point win, versus Springs Old Boys on October 4. The club’s newest semi-professional signing, Eden Links, stole the show with a magnificent 110 runs. He scored a second consecutive century against KwaThema a fortnight later.
• Another historic EFC night took place at Carnival City’s Big Top Arena with two foreigners, Danny Henry (Scotland) and Cyril Asker (France), winning titles at EFC 44.
• Ten Brakpan Bulldog wrestlers took part in the South African Youth and Junior Wrestling Championships in Cape Town. They brought home five gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Michail Dvoulety became the South African Champion in the u-13 36kg to 39kg Greco-Roman Division.
• State Mines Country Club’s junior team won a hotly contested 2015 Ekurhuleni Junior Handicap League at ERPM in Boksburg with victory on the very last hole against Glendower Golf Club.
• A 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying first leg match took place at Bosman Stadium on Sunday, October 25. The South African Rhinos were defeated 40-12 by Lebanon. The second leg of the Rugby League World Cup qualifying matches played between the South African Rhinos and Lebanon took place at the stadium on October 31 where the Rhinos lost again, this time with a score of 50-16 in favour of the Lebanese Cedars (90-28 on aggregate).

November

• United Cricket Club’s Premier team again put on their best ever score in a Premier League match on November 8, against Boksburg Cricket Club. The team scored 309/8 against their opponent with Rian van der Merwe scoring the third century of the season for the team.
• Sensei Chris Anthony of the Dan Triangle Karate Club was graded to sixth Dan black belt on November 7.
• Brakpan Wrestling Club’s Matthew Bartlett and Fernando Booysen left South Africa for a two month wrestling exchange programme in Germany.
• United Cricket Club’s Premier side wrapped up the first half of the Eastern Premier League season atop the league standings with nine straight victories. The side defeated last year’s top three teams (Kempton Park, Benoni Northerns and CBC Old Boys) in as many weeks to go into the break with a clean record.
• State Mines Country Club golfer Dylan Mostert celebrated his first provincial victory in the Central Gauteng Open, at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington on November 15.

December

• United Cricket Club’s Premier XI continued their incredible unbeaten run in the Eastern Premier League. The team wrapped up the first half of the season at the top of the league, undefeated in nine matches.
• Stephanie Watts of the Dan Triangle Karate Club was named as the club’s Sportsperson of the Year.
• Three girls made history at the Rock Raceway by taking the top three spots in the Kids in Racing SA Ninja Class (for three to 12-year-olds) at the annual Tar Oval Club Championship prize-giving in December.

Also read:

Sports year under the magnifying glass (January to June)