What a year of Brakpan sport: April highlights
The year 2017 was a busy one for Brakpan’s sportspeople.
There were ups and there were downs.
This is the 2017 Brakpan year in review.
April
• The Valke Rugby Union celebrated their 70th year of existence on March 24. It was the official date when the then South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) passed the Eastern Transvaal as one of its official unions in 1947. The event was held at Springs Rugby Club to commemorate the fact that the Eastern Transvaal Rugby Union’s (today’s Valke) first home-ground was in Springs.
• That old favourite on the junior kickboxing calendar, Clash of the Tiny Titans, returned to the Brakpan Indoor Sports Centre on April 8. The event, organised by Brakpan’s renowned kickboxing instructor and former world champion Raymond “The Whip” Phillips is regarded as one of the largest junior kickboxing tournaments on the continent. Close on 100 eager young kickboxing students (15 years old and younger) from around South Africa gathered at the centre to take each other on in various styles and semi and light contact fights.
• The Eastern Cricket Union’s third edition of the ‘franchise’ T20 Battle of the Roses cricket tournament was played at Sahara Park Willowmoore from April 21 to April 23. The underdog team, the Rising Stars ripped the script up to win the tournament on the main oval on April 23.
• Linda van Vreden, a member of Brakpan Athletic Club, competed at the Athletics South Africa National Senior Championships in Potchefstroom over the weekend of April 21 and 22. She obtained fifth position. The weekend prior, she competed at the National Masters Championships in Greenpoint, Cape Town, where she bettered the national javelin record (women 30/34 age group) with a distance of 45.94m.
• The second battle event in the newly launched pan-African boxing series, Friday Fight Nights, dubbed the Big Top Beat Down, took place in the Big Top Arena at Carnival City on the night of April 28. Tragedy struck when, sadly, Botswana’s Herbert Nkabiti was rushed to hospital after being knocked out by Willers Baloyi. Late in the sixth and final round, Baloyi landed a flurry of punches. Nkabiti went down and was counted out. The 36-year-old passed away on the night of April 29 at the Sunward Park Hospital in Boksburg.
Also read : Tragedy strikes Fight Night
Tiny Titans put it all on the line
Linda sets new record in Cape Town
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