North Coast sport highlights in 2022

As the world slowly returned to near-normalcy in 2022, local sportsmen and -women were able to get back into gear.

No worse for wear, our runners, surfers, soccer, hockey, cricket and rugby players all found time to deliver in their individual and team codes.

As end-of-year awards ceremonies wrap up, we join our local clubs in celebrating their achievements.

Running

The Dolphin Coast Striders made the news a few times this year, most notably with member Barry Holland becoming the solo record holder of most Comrades Marathon finishes in history.

That same race saw 70 Striders cross the finish line, with ZakhaZakha Mphambali and Sarah Swainson earning green numbers (10 finishes) and Siboniso Mpanza and Denton Muil taking double green numbers (20 finishes).

The Striders’ best Comrades female finisher was Christine Schmidtgen.

Nic Acampora, the Striders’ best male Comrades finisher, also won the male runner of the year award, while Toni Seery was crowned female runner of the year.

Chris Kyritsis and Mariaan van der Venter took the most improved male and female honours respectively, with the chairman’s award going to Doris Kleyenstüber.

Surfing

Surfers representing the iLembe Surf Riders Association brought home a barrelful of medals, with three winning gold at national level.

In August, Barry Campbell won his second consecutive title at the SA Masters Surfing Championships in the 60+ category.

He added a silver medal in the veterans section of the SA Longboard Championships too. Two more gold medals came from iLembe’s Cooper Smith and Mayah Potgieter.

Smith won the U14 boys category of the South African Surfing Tour, with Potgieter crowned the U16 girls winner at the SA Junior Championships in October.

iLembe added four more gold medalists in the KZN Surfing Championships, with Tyler Balfour (U10 boys), Levi Vosloo (U12 boys), Cassidy Duncan (U16 girls) and Ian Duff (35+ men) making the most of home break advantage at Willard Beach.

Soccer

Ballito FC’s soccer stars continue to deliver fantastic results year-on-year, with most teams dominating their respective leagues.

Seven of the eight age-group teams (U10-U17) won their leagues, with the U15 team finishing a close second.

The U13As were the standout team of the year, winning their league, cup, Easter tournament, two five-a-side competitions and going undefeated in 2022.

The U13Bs won their cup too, while the U11s, U15s and U17s all grabbed gold in 5-a-side competitions throughout the year.

The senior team also showed a winning spirit, taking first place in the iLembe Regional SAB League, while qualifying for the provincial playoffs.

Hockey

The Umhlali Impis continued to compete at the highest level in 2022, delivering particularly impressive results in the indoor hockey leagues.

Umhlali’s women won the indoor league with both their first and second teams, while the men’s second team also claimed first place. The men’s first team finished third.

In the outdoor leagues, both the men’s and women’s first teams finished fifth, securing their place in the same division next year.

The women’s indoor player of the year prize went to Hannah Moxham, with the male version going to Keegan Gibbon.

Simone Barrett claimed the women’s outdoor player of the year title and was also selected to the KZN Mynahs team, while Shaun Mostert took the male award.

Congratulations also go to Shelley Jones, who was selected to the KZN Raiders team and Bailey Duncan who was selected for the SA U17 High Performance squad.

Cricket

iLembe’s cricketing stars took on tough competition in KZN’s premier club league, winning two, losing two and seeing two no-result finishes.

There were standout performances in both winning efforts, with Gareth Bishop playing a captain’s knock to score 55 in order to beat his former team, King Cetshwayo District CC.

In a 9-wicket win over Berea Rovers, it was the turn of the bowling line-up, with Ahsan Khan the chief destroyer on his way to figures of 3 for 3.

Going forward, the team continue to campaign for extra facilities. Currently, one field serves all four iLembe municipalities.

Rugby

The Ballito Dolphins Rugby Club continues to expand, recently receiving a huge boost after securing training facilities at Umhlali Prep for the 2023 season.

It was a tricky start to the season in 2022 however, as Covid-19 and injuries thinned the squad, but the core team members never faltered.

The year’s highlight was the turnaround delivered between two fixtures against Harlequins.

An early season loss of 7-67 was hard to take, but as numbers returned later in the year, the club rallied to win the second clash 19-12 in a jubilant home fixture atmosphere at Maidstone.

The team is already back in pre-season training at Ringside Boxing Gym and will begin on-field training early next year.

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