Sport Highlights
We bring you the sporting highlights of 2014 - enjoy the read
ALBERTON – Looking back at the past sporting year, brings back memories of some glorious moments experienced by Alberton sport men and women locally on Alberton sport fields and also in national and international events all over the country.
Big highlights for which the 2014 sporting year will be remembered are:
* The Golden Lions sevens tournament at Alberton in February, brought the cream of the province’s sevens rugby stars to town.
* In March, the German International ring tennis team visited Alberton and outplayed Gauteng, on route to the world ring tennis championships in Vereeniging.
* Springboks Kaya Motlathana and Lawrence Sephaka, South Africa’s players’ player of the year in SA Rugby Annual 2003, joined Alberton Rugby Club as coaches.
* Alberton Wrestling club’s celebrated its 56 years of existence and champions Boxing Club in New Redruth its second year. Chris Sutton once again won a world masters wrestling medal.
* Gymnast Lukisha Schalk struck gymnastics gold in the USA and is still jumping her way to the Olympics in the future.
* On the golfing scene, Reading CC won almost all the leagues, Keith Horne was once again a stroke of genius at the sunshine circuit and the Tin Cup Driving Range at Rietvlei opened in November.
* Cricket saw Alberton winning five awards at GCB’S award dinner, and schoolboy Delano Potgieter hit the headlines with the record-breaking bid at the LPL league action.
* The Commonwealth Games in Scotland was a triumph for Ekurhuleni’s sportswoman of the year Bernie Coston as a member of the women’s hockey team medal winners, and born and bred Alberton bowls player Bobby Donnelly gold medallist. Alberton FC’S Janine van Wyk captained Banyana Banyana at women’s soccer at the African Cup tournament. .
* Gymnasts from Cecile Prinsloo’s Alberton club dominated the SA games level 1-4 with most medals achieved, and Alberton Twisters brought back home four medals from the Indo-Pacific championships in Sun City.
* East Rand veterans Boxing Association celebrated its 25th Anniversary.
* The Comrades marathon highlight of the year was Andries Venter’s winning of his 30th consecutive Comrades marathon medal.
* The big rugby highlight of the year was the Vodacom Cup game at Alberton Stadium and Alberton High’s winning of the Beeld trophy for middle schools.
* Two new rugby Springboks out of Alberton emerged, namely Lood de Jager against Scotland was born in Alberton, Jaco Kriel who played for Alberton in 2011, and Ruan Nel became Alberton Rugby Club’s first sevens Springbok, though sevens boks Joe Gillingham and Andre Pretorius also originated from Alberton. Then Namibian World Cup forward Renaldo Bothma was also born in Alberton.
* When there was a time to come there was also a time to go, when Dinamika first ever rugby Springbok André Pretorius said goodbye after 17 seasons of first-class rugby, including 31 tests from 2002 to 2007 and several first class records until 2014.
