Coastal test for KZN’s best
MEANWHILE the 49th annual national Polocrosse Club Championships will get under way next Friday at the Bethal Polocrosse Club in Mpumalanga on the fields belonging to polocrosse veteran Gert van der Merwe. The tournament will see all the country’s top players in action.
The president of the Polocrosse Association of SA, Hannes van Aswagen, said that the club championships were the highlight of the season, with everyone competing hard for the coveted inter-club titles.
Defending champions Nyati from northern KwaZulu-Natal will have their work cut out to retain the senior title. A galaxy of high-calibre players will be in action, many of whom were recently in action against Australia and Zambia, bearing in mind that South Africa are the reigning world champions.
Clubs may field as many teams of six players as they wish, including junior and transformation teams, with there being a handicap limit in the A division.
Entry for spectators is free and there will be food on sale and a cash bar for the duration of the event, as well as entertainment in the evenings.
For more information, visit www.polocrosse.co.za. FOLLOWING the unfortunate injury sustained by Maryka Holtzhausen at the national netball championships in Durban last week, Netball SA has asked KZN midcourt player Bongiwe Msomi to take over the captaincy of the Proteas in the quadrangular series against Australia, New Zealand and England starting next Saturday, when the Proteas play Australia in Auckland.
Free State’s Karla Mostert, who plays goal defence, has been named vice-captain. The two have played together for some time and work well together.
It is reported that Holtzhausen underwent surgery on Wednesday and could be out of action for up to eight months.
The Proteas leave for New Zealand today and will rendezvous with their Australian coach, Norma Plummer, before moving on to Melbourne for games against New Zealand and England.
Kyle Gilham
THE KwaZulu-Natal North Coast is set for another gripping edition of the Gara Dolphin Coast Challenge as surfski paddlers from around the province lick their lips at the prospect of two days of entertaining downwind paddling today and tomorrow.
The race will see paddlers tackle the waters off Suncoast Pirates Lifesaving Club and Salt Rock today before continuing their journey to Zinkwazi Beach tomorrow, with moderate winds – primarily from the south – predicted for the two days of racing.
The event will be contested in double skis, with a large number of the province’s top ocean paddlers fighting it out for the KZN S2 Surfski Championships title.
Pre-race entries suggest it is going to be a hotly contested race.
Hank McGregor, the country’s most decorated paddler, will take on the challenge with training partner and good friend Lee Furby.
The pair have struck up a potent “social” partnership that has produced a number of high-profile wins both on the ocean and in the river.
Despite McGregor’s competitive pedigree, he and Furby are not seeking the top step of the podium as much as they are hoping to enjoy themselves over the two days.
Two of Durban’s premier surfski paddlers and surf lifesavers, Matt Bouman and Wade Krieger, have confirmed their pairing for the clash and should provide ample competition for the McGregor/Furby combination during the two days of exhilarating downwind paddling.
Bouman, who has struck up a fierce but respectful rivalry with McGregor over the years, has played second fiddle in a number of the local series that the two have contested, but with a strong paddler like Krieger to lean on, the pair will be a tough nut to crack over the weekend.
This year’s Scottburgh-toBrighton surfski race was neck and neck right to the finish, with Bouman and Krieger sharing the title with fellow Durban stars Luke Nisbet and Gene Prato.
Based on their previous form, Nisbet and Prato pose another real threat to their fellow pretenders to the title and will be confident they can again be at the sharp end of the race come the finish of the Dolphin Coast Challenge tomorrow.
The ladies’ race appears to be a one-horse contest, with the impressive duo of Nikki Russell and Jenna Ward taking on the challenge together.
The two have been in marathon racing mode ahead of the Canoe Marathon World Championships next month, but the transition from flat-water racing to ocean racing should be a seamless one for them.
The mixed-doubles category also appears to have been sewn up before the craft arrive on the start line, with the duo of Bailey de Fondaumiere and Hayley Nixon joining forces for the clash.