It was a day of fun and excitement as the Old Benonians Sports Club celebrated its 75 years of existence on October 9 at the club’s premises in Rynfield.
Dressed in the club’s black, white and gold colours, legends, current and future members came in their numbers to celebrate this milestone.
The club was founded in 1947 as the Benoni High School Past Students Association. It was renamed Old Benonians in 1955.
Through the guidance of its founding members and various leaders over the years, the club has grown to its present stature. It boasts three subsections – football, hockey and cricket.
According to its founding manifesto, the club’s backbone was its faith in the growth and prosperity of the Benoni community. It aimed to grow with the community and provide Benoni High’s alumni with facilities for sports and social activities.
“We sincerely believe that Old Benonians will become one of the largest and most successful clubs catering for all fields of sport,” the manifesto read.
Although a multi-sport club for many years, football has been the cornerstone of Old Bens. Despite going through turbulent moments throughout the years, it was soccer that ensured the foundations laid by the club’s founding fathers remained intact.
Raymond Cloete, a 30-year club legend, recounted some of the club’s achievements over the years.
“It’s a family-orientated club and has always been respected in Benoni. It was the biggest club in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1980s and 1990s. We had 39 juniors plus seniors and women’s teams.
“We had a baseball club and the Benoni Harriers were part of the club for close to 50 years. We hosted the Johnson Crane Marathon for over a decade.
“We’ve attended a tournament organised by Sir Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen FC in Scotland in the mid-80s. We won it twice,” Cloete said.
Cloete added he would like to see the club grow in the next 25 years.
“I would like to see the standard of football raised and for the senior team to gain promotion to the Castle or ABC Motsepe leagues. I would also like to see more of our junior teams moved to the premier league in their divisions.”
The ceremony was held in conjunction with the football section’s junior awards to celebrate the club’s performance last season.
Ethan Liversage, Skyla Coutinho and Gabriel Baillie were the biggest winners as they walked away with the club’s prestigious awards.
Ethan, who plays for the club’s U15 team, was awarded the Jamie Ludick sportsmanship award for his leadership qualities and discipline.
“Since joining our U11 team, Ethan has set the bar high not only for himself but also for his teammates. His influence made the entire team strong,” his coach, Gabriel Baillie, said.
Skyla beat six of her teammates to scoop the goalkeeper of the year award for her fine performances between the sticks last season.
According to her coach, Daniel Dyson, the 12-year-old’s influence went beyond the 18-yard area.
“She scored a goal from her box and ended up with four assists for the season. She created many goal-scoring opportunities from her position. She won us many games with fantastic saves as well as her contributions from up top,” Dyson commented.
Gabriel scooped the coach of the year award for guiding the club’s U15 team to a fourth-place finish in the premier league and third round of the cup competition.
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