What a year of Brakpan sport: October 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.
October
• Brakpan Wrestling Club’s Fernando Booysen (15), who is in possession of 19 national titles and attends Hoërskool Hugenote in Springs, was nominated in the School Sport Athlete of the Year category at the Gauteng Sports Awards on October 6. Charles Villet (Brakpan Wrestling Club, Eastern Gauteng Wrestling and South African Wrestling Federation Olympic referee) was a finalist in the Technical Official of the Year category, while former club secretary and current East Gauteng Wrestling marketing and media liaison officer, Gussie Bartlett, was nominated as a finalist in the Administrator of the Year category.
• Southern Africa’s top drifters descended on Carnival City on October 7 for a high horse-power, tyre-smoking weekend like no other. The final round of SupaDrift (Motorsport South Africa’s national drift series) was one for the books. Over 2 000 petrolheads were treated to two days of world-class competitive drifting as 25 professional drivers competed for the top spot and the championship title.
• Dan Triangle Karate Club and Dalpark resident Christopher Anthony (27) went all the way to the final of the Karatenomichi World Federation (KWF) World Cup in Malta, where he won gold in the open senior men’s kumite (fighting) category. Anthony flew the South African flag with pride after advancing through six bouts to claim the title of world champion in the KWF style.
• Chantel Erasmus (16) from Brakpan Boxing Club has been throwing all the right punches. After achieving a silver medal for Ekurhuleni at the Gauteng Championships in Alberton, where she won a silver medal in the women’s 57kg division, the Hoërskool Die Anker learner continued her climb up the boxing ladder by winning gold and becoming a national champion at the South African Junior Boxing championships just outside Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal. Donning the colours of Team Gauteng, Erasmus defeated Sibongile Matiwane from Western Province in a semi-final bout (on points) to advance to the final against Nomhle Mthembu from KwaZulu-Natal. The Brakpan Central resident won the final in the second round via TKO to become a South African champion for the first time.
• Brakpan Junior Rugby Club’s u-15 side became league winners for 2017. They are also the Carnival Sevens second leg winners and runners-up. The team performed exceptionally well throughout the 2017 season, winning five out of seven games.
• The Valke were unable to overcome the Leopards in their Currie Cup First Division semi-final in Brakpan as they were downed 26-23 at the Bosman Stadium.
• Sherwood Gardens resident Gussie Bartlett, former secretary of Brakpan Wrestling Club and current marketing and media officer for the South African Wrestling Federation and Eastern Gauteng Wrestling, was the winner of the Administrator of the Year Award at the recent Gauteng Sports Awards ceremony.
• Four veteran Brakpan Wrestling Club/Eastern Gauteng wrestlers proved that they are like a fine whiskey – they just get better with age. The quartet of Jacques Meyer, Ben van Rooyen, Chris Sutton and Donovan Davel flew the Brakpan and South African flags high in freestyle wrestling at the Veteran World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
• With a number of opening day matches in the Eastern Premier League either delayed or abandoned due to abundant wet weather, Brakpan’s United Cricket Club was one of the few clubs to get a match and result completed on October 22. United kick-started their 50-over format Eastern Cricket Union elite campaign with a 26-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis method over Bedfordview Cricket Club at Hosking Park. Following on from their opening day win at Hosking Park, skipper Justin Gamble and his men travelled to Prince George Park in Boksburg to play Boksburg Cricket Club on October 29. They defeated Boksburg by 88 runs.
• The Carnival City Macsteel National Classic Cycle Race took place on October 29 in a new calendar slot to help prepare riders for the Telkom 947 Cycle Challenge. A mountain bike event took place the day before. In the elite race it was Clint Hendricks from the RoadCover Cycle Team who beat Raynard Butler to the line in a photo finish to win the 125km elite race. Lynette Burger won the women’s race while Rickardo Broxham won the junior race.
Also read: Punching her way to a national championship
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