Fish Hoek take overall honours at surf lifesaving champs
SOUTH African Surf Lifesaving hosted its annual championship last weekend in the Strand in the Western Cape.
Held over three days, the event attracts almost 1 000 competitors who turn up to win titles and party after a year of voluntary duties serving the public along our 3 000km of coastline.
As in Australia, the champs are a built-in-reward for the lifesavers to showcase their talents and gain some recognition for their prowess in the surf.
In Australia, the bronzed bodies and heroes of their movement are treated like mainline sports stars, not unlike Victor Matfield or Siphiwe Tshabalala. They also feature on national television shows, cereal boxes and some even become celebrity hosts on talent shows.
Wade Krieger of the Marine Surf Life- saving Club in Durban, who spent a decade of his life in Australia made a welcome return to the SA titles and his experience showed with some fine victories. Krieger raced professionally on the Gold Coast in Queensland, and utilised his Australian passport gained from his father to follow his passion by qualifying for the Kellogs Nutri Grain Ironman series multiple times.
“Competing in surf is just fantastic and the grounding I received from Nippers and, later Ironman racing, has served me in good stead through my life. “Surf-lifesaving is a sport within a move- ment that can offer our great country a lot more if just given the chance like other sporting codes receive. It’s great to be back home,” a delighted Krieger said.
New era powerhouse, Fish Hoek Surf Lifesaving club, took the overall points score to maintain dominance over the fancied Marine and Durban Surf Clubs from Durban, who were the traditional favourites after winning the titles for a record 40 consecutive years.
Port Elizabeth’s Kings Beach finished fourth in the junior standings with Summerstrand Surf in fifth, with both clubs featuring in many finals. Bluewater Bay produced some fantastic performances in the great conditions.
Meanwhile, severe flooding of the Orange River has forced the organisers of the Green Kalahari Canoe Marathon scheduled for this weekend to postpone the event. Heavy rainfall last week saw the flow of the Orange River surge by 530% to over 800m³/sec.
Organisers have been locked in ongoing meetings with the local disaster management committee, and have finally agreed that the race cannot be safely staged under the prevailing flood conditions. RORY Kleinveldt scored a handy half-century and took four important wickets as the Cape Cobras moved into a commanding position on day two of their Sunfoil Series cricket match against the Chevrolet Warriors in Cape Town yesterday.
On what could prove to be a critical day in the title race, Kleinveldt’s 66 helped to extend the Cobras total to 378, before the fast bowler claimed 4/40 to dismiss the Warriors for just 158.
The Cobras then moved to 31 without loss in their second innings, taking an overall lead of 251 to the midway point in the match.
In Centurion, Juan de Villiers made an impact with both bat and ball as the Titans took control of their clash against the Knights.
De Villiers hit 59 over the first part of the day to extend the Titans’ first innings total to 366, and then weighed in with the last two wickets in the final half-hour of the day as the Knights were reduced to 212 for eight in reply.
Yesterday’s events were a knock to the Knights’ title challenge after they had begun the day in a good position with the Titans on 268/7, and they will need a strong rearguard to pull off the victory that would keep the pressure on the Cape Cobras.
In Durban, contrasting half-centuries from the two Van Wyks allowed the Dolphins to make an aggressive declaration against the Highveld Lions, but the Lions openers ensured there was no immediate reward for the home side’s positive play.
While Divan van Wyk scored 93 at a standard strike rate of around 50 to give the Dolphins a stable base, Morne van Wyk hit 57 from 61 balls to set up the declaration at 329 for seven.
That left the Lions with a tricky half-hour, but Stephen Cook (13 not out) and Rassie van der Dussen (26 not out) stood firm to see the visitors to stumps on 40 without loss.
ý At Axxess St George’s, Western Province were firmly in control on the second day of their CSA Provincial three-day fixture against Eastern Province. After totalling 436/9 declared in their first innings, WP rolled EP over for 95, before the home side showed stiffer resistance in their second innings, reaching 65/2 at the close.
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