Western Gauteng pool women crowned national team champions

With preparation boxes ticked, the time to chalk up finally came.

Western Gauteng 8-Ball Pool and Snooker Federation sent two teams to the Pool South Africa Ladies National Championships held in Saldanha Bay from April 29 to May 5. Both seven-member teams would compete in the B Division against 15 other provincial district representatives, including six others from Gauteng.

The Western Gauteng’s B2 team gave a competitive show of themselves, winning 10 of their 16 matches. One of those six defeats would come against their West Rand sisters but were strong enough to secure a respectable top-half eighth-placed finish.

The glory would fall to the women of the B1 team who overcame every challenger that stepped up, racking up an outstanding 100 percent record. Winning all 16 of their fixtures, they lifted the trophy as the B Division champions, with Adri Venter adding a cherry on top after being crowned the top individual player within the division.

What an experience this was in the 2023 Ladies SA National Championship. It was an honor to represent my region as a Western Gauteng player. It still feels unreal to have achieved top player in my division and part of the team that won the SA Nationals,” said Adri.

Heleni and Lieschen Bell have been a driving force for the team, leading on and off the tables.

“Nationals 2023 will be forever remembered as the White Wash year. Playing 16 rounds in concession and not losing a single match is unbelievable! Look, we had a plan and we set out to win, but none of us expected this big of a win. The pride we feel is immense and we couldn’t have done it without these five women. Thank you to all our sponsors and supporters, this one was because of you,” they said.

Fellow championship teammate, Sonia Smit summed up her gold medal week, saying, “What a great experience and one for the memory bank. It is not just because of the win but also due to each player in our team making it such a great experience. If one of the players had a bad game, the rest of the team was there to bring it home and lift the spirit. A great team doesn’t mean that they had the top players, it simply means that we trusted one another and that we all had the same goal in mind!”

Savouring the victories philosophically, Sonia added, “In life, there is no such thing as impossible. The Western Gauteng women’s team just proved that anything is possible. Always remember, talent wins games, but teamwork won the nationals.”