Today, however, the club boasts 55 members and will soon send eight athletes to the coolest place in Cape Town, The Ice Station Grand West Casino for the interprovincial tournament, which will be held from June 16 to 23, hosting age groups u/12 to u/18 men and u/18 women.

This follows after 10 members recently took part in the Gauteng trials after SA Ice Hockey decided to include them even though they are not registered as a province yet, and do not have the numbers to participate in the the various age groups.

The Gauteng Interprovincial trials at Forest Hill Ice Rink yielded the following local players:

• Skyler Steyn (u/12B)
• Ruwan Slabbert (u/14B)
• Simon Steyn (u/14B)
• Waldo Steynvaart (u/16B)
• Winand Cronje (u/16B)
• Jean Steyn (u/16B)
• Ulrich van der Westhuizen (u/16A and u/18B)
• Zoe-may Steyn women (u/18A).

During the trials, Skyler, who is only six years old and the youngest member of Nelspruit Razorbacks, took part in the public skating session and was approached to be part of the trials because of his skating style.

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“We didn’t make provision for this but Gauteng, who welcomed us with open arms, quickly arranged protective gear for him so he could play,” said co-founder Barbara Steyn.

The team will have to travel to Pretoria each weekend to get enough practice before the tournament. “It is a privilege to be part of team, and to be trained by some of SA’s top coaches.

For some of the members, who had only been on ice for a year, it’s been an incredible experience to be part of the trials and bring what they’ve learned, back to the Mbombela,” said Steyn.

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She added that ice hockey is one of the fastest and most exhilarating sports in the world. Both males and females take part and it is enjoyed by young and old.

Her husband and head coach, Alvin, joined Western Province Ice Hockey at the age of 11 in 1985 where he started with developmental ringettes.

He then moved on to ice hockey at the age of 12 and played for Western Province Gremlins Jr and moved on to CT Rams in 1989 which he captained. He obtained provincial colours while playing for the u/16 team.

He went on to play for the u/18 SA hockey team which took him to Zurich, Switzerland where he attended a two-month training camp at Switz Ice Hockey.

Club management member, Fanie Greyvenstein also played for South Africa’s u/17 team.