YEAR IN REVIEW 2023: SPORT
the women’s section by winning both the A (18.53.3) and B finals over three days of rowing.
UCT came in second in the women’s A final (19:58.3) followed by Maties (23:31.6) who beat UJ (24.10.6) into third spot.
First league winners Cuylerville were the toast of the evening at the Grahamstown Cricket Board’s prize-giving ceremony. They beat Southwell to the first league title after a nine-year wait. Bryan Upman was named best all-rounder. Cuylerville’s Frank Norval claimed the most runs scored in the season.
Alexandria’s Bhongweni Primary School won the U13 Build It football tournament final against Port Alfred’s Kuyasa Combined School on Saturday September 16. Bhongweni won 2-1 on penalties.
Ekuphumleni Primary School, of Kenton-on-Sea claimed the girls’ netball trophy after beating CM Vellem Junior Secondary from Makhanda 5-2 in their final. Nkompo Shailiele was voted player of the tournament, converting the allimportant spot-kick to win the final for Bhongweni.
Cameron Doyle of Graeme College and Denilo Jordaan of Port Alfred High School were selected to the EP U17 team to play in a sevens tournament on October 2-3 in Bloemfontein.
The Eastern Areas ladies’ bowls team were still on a high after winning the tournament the previous month.
The team of Jackie Kriel, Judy Alexander, Evie Swanepoel and Megan Kriel (all from Kowie), together with Annemarie Calitz, Gwen Bartlett, Marlene Mitchener (all from Albany) and Cecelia Immelman (Kenton), were the winners of the Mini Districts Shield.
The Kenton Rhino Run got an extra lift from Good Things Guy, Brent Lindeque, who was a special guest for the weekend along with partner Andrew Ross.
The weekend of fundraising for the Chipembere Foundation started on Saturday evening with a face-to-face Q&A with Lindeque at the Round Table clubhouse on Middle Beach.
There were 601 preregistrations and more than 350 arrived and competed in the event.
RASSPL Kowie Crackers staged their first competition of the season at Birha on Saturday September 30.
OCTOBER
The Royal St Andrews Hotel Amanzi Challenge Tennis Cup at the Port Alfred Club Tennis
Club among eight teams at the weekend was won by the Beacon Bay A team from East London. The composite Spring’s Bokke and Tye Breakers team (Blaaukrantz, Kenton and Makhanda) secured second and third spot, respectively.
Rain did not deter 200 determined runners who lined up after 7am at the starting line at the 2023 BUCO Pineapple Run at the Big Pineapple in Bathurst on Saturday October 7. The 45th running of the popular event organised by Kowie Striders covered 5km, 10km and 27km distances —a mostly gravel route finishing at the Port Alfred Country Club.
The mountain bike riding community came from far and wide to participate in the BUCO G2C from Makhanda to the finish line at Port Alfred Country Club on Sunday October 8.
The race set off under partly cloudy but pleasant conditions in front of BUCO warehouse in Makhanda as riders tackled the 58km and 70km distances to Port Alfred.
The Ama-Riders Cycling Club were keeping the wheels moving for a brighter future thanks to their enthusiasm and one man’s drive and initiative to use the sport as a vehicle for change. The colourful AmaRiders kitted out in canary yellow cycling strip and showing great team spirit and camaraderie, turned heads at the G2C MTB race from Makhanda to Port Alfred.
Makhanda’s Swallows gave it all they had but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 25-13 defeat to the Karoo Springbokke in their Inter Sub Union semifinal at Albany Sports Ground in Makhanda on Saturday October 14. The Karoo Springbokke Rugby Club from Cradock were the Midlands Sub Union league champions while Swallows were the South Eastern Districts (Sedru) champions, after going through the league season unbeaten.
Pigeon fanciers came in large numbers to attend an auction of more than a 100 thoroughbred birds hosted by the Kowie Pigeon Racing Club at the Port Alfred Country Club on Saturday October 21.
Royal St Andrews Hotel helped put an extra punch into local boxing development by donating boxing boots to Nemato’s Masibambisane Boxing Academy.
The Sarah Baartman District Municipality handed over rugby jerseys and equipment valued at more than R60,000 to Ndlambe Tigers’ first team.
Present at the handover ceremony at Mamityi Gidana Stadium on Friday October 20 were Sarah Baartman district
mayor Deon de Vos, accompanied by Ndlambe Municipality mayor Khululwa Ncamiso, speaker Andile Marasi, Ndlambe Tigers squad members and the club’s president Chris Gidana.
Karatekas from across the Eastern Cape enjoyed a seminar by internationally respected karate instructor, sensei Pascal Lecourt, from France, at the Monument. It was facilitated by United Shotokan-Ryu chair and local karate instructor, Gary Grapentin.
NOVEMBER
A moving paddle out memorial for local body surfing legend Graeme “Sunny” Hill on Friday October 27 was held at Port Alfred’s Kelly’s Beach.
Hill, who was a popular and much-loved figure in the community, passed away at the age of 50 after a long illness.
There were celebrations at Ndlambe Municipality’s fan park at the Port Alfred Hospital field and, in Makhanda, the Recreation Hall in Albany Road and the town’s entertainment strip, New Street, as SA won the Rugby World Cup on Saturday night October 28.
The Springboks beat the All Blacks 12-11 in Paris to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the fourth time.
A stiff westerly wind did not prevent good catches in the third round of the Pick n Pay Claude Pittaway Round Robin fishing competition hosted by Port Alfred Rock & Surf at Riet River on Saturday November 4. Nine different species of fish
were caught and released in all with a combined weight of only 75kg.
The Port Alfred Country Club held their open day on Saturday November 18. The secure, family friendly French Street multisport facility offers plenty of action, including running, walking, cricket, pigeon racing, sport shooting, Bridge and golf driving and chipping. Coming soon, with two courts built to spec, is Badminton. And in the works are a mountain bike trail, a running trail, volleyball, basketball, handball and indoor hockey.
Royal St Andrews Hotel Amanzi Challenge organisers were planning a bigger and better event next year with international competition poised to come on board after a successful seventh staging of the event at West Beach, East Beach and on the Kowie.
Next year’s Amanzi Challenge has been pencilled in for September 23-30, which ties in with the school holiday.
Spectators attended the events in bigger numbers on Sunday’s final day, after a slow start on Saturday. The big drawcard was the inflatable boat racers who blazed a trail from way up the Kowie to the stretch alongside the Marina up
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to the West Beach pier. A stone’s throw from the pier, surfers and bodyboarders hit the waves for two days of competitive action sanctioned by Surfing SA.
KZN surfer Ntando Msibi sprang a surprise on Sunday at East Beach by ousting Christian Venter, (second) Thomas Lindhorst (third) and Joshe Faulkner (fourth) in the finals to win the men’s open title.
Alexandria Angling Club reeled in another title when they beat their rivals from Port Alfred Rock & Surf Club in their annual competition between the Fish River and Kleinemonde on Saturday November 11. Port Alfred has won the competition since it was first fished 32 years ago, 20 times with Alex coming out tops on 12 occasions with only one stalemate achieved between the teams.
Sixteen-year-old Nemato athlete Thandolwethu Matsalo, who is a member of Port Alfred’s Kowie Striders Running Club, recently returned from the World Championship CrossCountry trials in Johannesburg finishing a credible 20th in a time of 27:42 over a distance of 8km in a field of more than 30 of elite junior runners in the country.
Rain and a change of venue could not keep enthusiastic supporters away from watching their home sides vie for a share of the R10,000 prize money up for grabs in the 10th annual Gold Rush Fabian Juries Community fun day in Makhanda.
In the netball, Fingo Villagers beat Joza Queens by default to win the title.
In the rugby, Currie Park Rebels defeated Cellotape Wildcats 10-7.
DECEMBER
The Kenton Golfing Brotherhood also known as KGB saw 3,310 rounds of golf played in 2023. The golfing community still play the course twice a week after starting out in the early 1970s with a carload of enthusiastic players who would regularly make the trip through to Port Alfred.
The fourth round of the Pick n Pay Claude Pittaway Round Robin took place on November 25 at Kasouga.
There were very good catches with 11 different species of fish caught and released, totalling 95 fish with a weight of 110.95kg.
Port Alfred’s Lily Heny participated in the ISA World Junior Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was confident the steep learning curve would do her well as she transitioned through her surfing career. The 16-year old surfed in the U18 division for the SA team, who finished in a credible 17th position at the championships. Team Brazil had earlier been declared winners of the 2023 ISA World Junior Championships, with USA taking second place and Japan in third spot.
St Mary’s girls and St Benedict’s College boys laid down a marker that their dominance would not be easily wrested from their grasp when they won gold medals in their respective categories at the Standard Bank SA Schools Boat Race among 36 competing teams on the Kowie River.
St Benedict’s won the title for the fifth consecutive year by edging out a plucky St Stithian’s outfit who are coached by former Nemato rower, Athenkosi Hlekani. St Andrew’s College beat Cape Town rivals Rondebosch Boys High into third spot in the B eights final over 6km. Diocesan School for Girls (DSG), in their debut season finished 10th in the junior women’s standings.