Ray of hope for Durban ice hockey

IN the last 50 years, Durban has seen a number of ice hockey teams come and go. Despite the changes, the interest in ice hockey had always been there. Now a local resident, Lee Jones, is looking to breathe new life into the game. He has begun the Durban Rays Ice Hockey Club with the aim of making the local set-up more competitive and introducing the sport to new members.

The 28-year-old is joined by South African ice hockey player, Francois Esterhuizen, who has been named the coach of the squad.

“The vision was always to start a new club, partly with the aim of rekindling the ice hockey set-up in Durban as well getting people to try out a new experience. Durban has always had a proud and strong tradition in ice hockey and we want to continue that trend. We’ve been thinking for a while what to call the team and we thought of The Sharks, the Dolphins and we tried to pick an animal that is graceful under water and that’s how we came up with the Durban Rays,” Jones explained.

Esterhuizen, who has represented South Africa from U12 level right up to the current level, said he too was looking forward to the challenge.

“I think this is also going to help our national side, we are currently ranked 40th in the world and it’s proven that strong provincial teams produce strong national outfits. It’s an exciting time for ice hockey in Durban, especially because we have the newly renovated ice rink. I think we’ve got a winning formula here, Lee has also spoken of hosting alumni games which would be fantastic to feed into the newer teams,” Esterhuizen said.

Jones, who has represented the province at in line hockey said he was planning on hosting the first ‘learn to play’ session on 13 March.

“We hope Durban shows up in their numbers, we want to see as many people as possible. This is for people of all ages, kids, men and woman.”

• The first club practice for the new team is on 8 March from 6to 7pm (club members only). The first “learn to play” (the learn to play program fee includes basic kit hire for kids and adults) and second club practice is on 13 March from 10 to 11am (new players, basic kit hire R60pp)
• For more information visit www.durbanraysicehockey.com or like their Facebook page or contact Lee on 078 842 7919.