“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
Erin, Holy Rosary’s rising tennis star
GAUTENG’S 11-year-old athlete, Joshua Eccles, a Grade 6 student at St Stithians College Boys’ Prep, did the province proud recently when he brought home both titles of South African Champion for Tetrathlon, as well as for Laser Run at the 2019 South African Modern Pentathlon and Laser Run Championships held at Curro Hazeldean and Zwavelpoort Equestrian Centre in Pretoria.
Hosted by the Gauteng Modern Pentathlon Association, the level of competition proved high this year as previous and reigning world champions, as well as Olympians in various disciplines took part this year.
Modern Pentathlon is the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Mordene’s (UIPM) flagship Olympic sport comprising of Swimming, Fencing, Show Jumping, Running and Shooting and offers the ultimate test of an athlete’s fitness, courage and skill.
Eccles demonstrated such skill and fitness, and especially courage when he served a 10-second penalty at the shooting station during his Laser Run race and still thundered through the finish line securing a win.
A newcomer to the Pentathlon overall discipline, Eccles’s talent was demonstrated as he skilfully beat the competition in the multi-event, tallying top of the points table with the fencing, but ultimately, outran the competitors to victory.
Eccles is not new to the podium. This year only, he has raked in Gauteng Provincial Champion titles for Laser Run, biathle, triathle, tetrathlon and placed 3rd in Gauteng long jump.
In 2018, Eccles broke the South African record in Biathlon for u11, which he still holds, and won the South African Biathlon Championship title.
Previous championship records from 2017 include Gauteng Champion for Laser Run, biathle and triathle, South African Champion for biathle, triathle and Laser Run, and World Champ for both biathle and triathle, as well as World Champion for mixed relay in both biathle and triathle.
He commenced his sporting victories in 2016 where he already placed third at World Champs for triathle, and World Champion for the mixed relay in triathle, as well as SA triathle Champion.
Needless to say, Eccles’s name has been put forward by the Gauteng Modern Pentathlon Association to be considered for inclusion in the SAMPA Olympic Development Team for the next Youth Olympic Games preparation which will take place on our continent in Dakar, Senegal, in 2022.
Top performers from the South African Laser Run Champs are now eligible to represent the SAMPA national team at the World Laser-run championships in Hungary in September. ERIN Mckenzie of Holy Rosary School recently participated in the Inter-provincial Under-15 Tennis Tournament in Tshwane, where she was chosen to represent the U15 South African team. The team played matches in Bloemfontein, Free State, against Zimbabwe.
Erin then participated in two tournaments in Bloemfontein. In the first tournament, she came third. The second is the biggest annual South African tennis tournament. Top players from around the country participate. After losing in the first round last year, Erin made it to the final this year.
She was runner-up at Nationals, a huge feat. Erin is currently ranked 8th in the country. MSSA’S 2019 Mpumalanga Provincial Championship is part of the process of selecting the Protea teams that will attend the various World Championships and participate in various test matches.
All gamers are reminded that Mind Sports South Africa’s 2019 Gauteng Provincial Championships are an open championship. In other words, any registered player is entitled to enter the championship – no matter where they live, or their category of membership.
You may contact MSSA at mindsportscorrespondence@ gmail.com