Hockey family reunites

Many of the former hockey players, who played a crucial role in the development of the sports club, from all over South Africa and some from as far afield as Dubai, Australia and the USA, made a grand return to their old stomping grounds on Saturday, September 19, for the Benoni Northerns Hockey Club reunion.

For some that old stomping ground looked a whole lot more modern, with some of those stick-swinging stalwarts stepping onto AstroTurf for the first time ever.

Ted Jarvis, long-serving president of Northerns, said that the reunion was “the most successful reunion event in the history of Northerns”, with the club receiving great feedback from the many guests who made their way to the club on Saturday.

“Some people hadn’t been to the club in over 20 years, so it was brilliant to see them back home, enjoying themselves and reminiscing about the good old days,” he told the City Times.

“The response was unbelievable. “We had John Hawkins, a life member and one of our founder members, come from the USA, while Richard Conway (son of the late Pat Conway, a former chairman and life member) came from Australia to represent his dad.

“Shaun Mills also came out from Dubai to join us as did former chairman John Snell, who initiated the Northerns ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ in 1982, who came up from Cape Town,” he added.

“Life member Chris van Staden from Knysna and life member Penny Davidson from Betty’s Bay in the Cape also visited.

“Former chairman and life member Derek Johnson was also in attendance as was another life member Dave Wilson.”

Another familiar face in Ivan Dekker, the third chairman of the club from the early seventies also joined the proceedings.

“I was astounded by the number of people who actually played hockey on the day,” Jarvis said.

“There were mothers playing with their daughters and granddaughters, and fathers playing with their sons – it was a phenomenal family affair.”

That family, community-orientated approach is precisely what the club strives to achieve and take forward into the future.

The president, an accomplished Northerns hockey player and a former captain in his time, also found himself on the Astro for a few minutes, but having gone through two spinal operations in the past he decided that his brief spell was more than sufficient.

“The guys were far too quick and too serious,” he laughingly added.

The reunion also remembered and paid homage to some of the fallen soldiers who so fervently represented the club.

A special memorial ceremony was held to celebrate the lives of these hockey lovers, followed by an intriguing game between the Benoni Northerns men’s first team and the Matthew Castleman/Russell Lamb Memorial Team, a team which included current men’s national player Jethro Eustice.

Overall, the homecoming highlighted the sensational unity and camaraderie that only sport can generate.

For a gallery of images captured on the day CLICK HERE!