Sport relieves stress, say police officers

When the police are not fighting crime, they can often be found competing against each other in volleyball, cricket, pool, athletics, tennis, soccer and rugby, among other sports.

Gauteng police men’s and women’s volleyball teams put on a good show at the South African Police Services National Volleyball Championships at the University of Pretoria, where they competed against all the other provinces from 1 until 8 October. The teams consist of 26 police officers from stations throughout Gauteng, including Honeydew, Douglasdale, Randburg, Roodepoort, Fairland and Parkview police stations in Johannesburg.

The men’s team proceeded to the final against KwaZulu-Natal which they lost 3–0. The women’s team, which is very new, having only been together for three weeks before the tournament, reached the plate final which they lost 3–0 to Mpumalanga.

“The women courageously battled against much more experienced teams and did exceptionally well. I am very proud of them,” said women’s team coach, Captain Balan Muthan of the Honeydew Police Station.

Sergeant Vinay Sewnarain of the Douglasdale Police Station, coach of the men’s team, said his team had made it to the finals of the national competition for two years in a row.

“Our team is experienced and well-practised, although venues are hard to find when you want to practise,” he said. The two teams practise every week during the volleyball season.

“It is important for officers to do sports as it is good team-building and you get to chat to other officers and find out that the same problems are everywhere,” said Sewnarain, who added that sport relieves stress, it is refreshing and helps the officers relax and take their minds off work.

“A fit body means a fit mind,” commented Muthan.

The coaches thanked Lamberti Attorneys for donating the team kits.