. November / December 2014 Newsletter Chairman’s Corner I recently spent a week in Bali, an island north of Australia. There were many similarities to the islands surrounding South Africa. Beautiful beaches, a warm climate, magnificent villas and thousands of friendly islanders. The population is, like most other islands, generally very poor. The Balinese have their own brand of Hinduism and are deeply religious. The new moon plays a big part in many of their ceremonies. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy. Luxurious and expensive villas abound. Many of the tourists are from Japan and China and seem to have the ability to spend big money on their holidays. I was struck by the humble and non-aggressive nature of the people. Even security guards greet you with a nod, their hands joined together in front of them as if in prayer. Swarms of mopeds buzz around in all directions and in stark contrast to many South African drivers they are courteous and freely give way to each other. It made me contemplate the aggressive way of life in South Africa where we seem to be competing to get ahead of the next person at all costs. I believe we South Africans could learn a little from this, especially at this time of year where we are all in a hurry to get somewhere to spend time with loved ones. So travel safe, live well and best wishes for a prosperous 2015. Bruce Burt Chairman Membership Corner On Friday 7 November two wreath laying ceremonies took place at the Wanderers Main Clubhouse Memorial Wall. The first wreath was laid by Mr Stan Smollan who has been a member of The Wanderers Club for almost 80 years and served in the First World War and the second wreath was laid by the RAF in memory of those who lost their lives in the two World Wars. Both gentlemen read speeches that were written for the occasion, mutually ending with the words - ‘We Will Remember Them’ The Wanderers Club introduces a new concept in exercise and in the art of getting fit ………………. Grit City Grit City is a South African and African first in terms of an urban gym focused entirely on calisthenics, parkour and functional movement. For Grit City it is a privilege to have partnered with the Wanderers Club in building a facility that will be the benchmark in Africa and blaze the trail for calisthenics. The world sporting phenomenon called “Street Workout”, also referred to as calisthenics is a physical activity performed predominantly in outdoor parks or public facilities and is a combination of athletics, calisthenics, gymnastics, sports and functional movement. Grit City will be a world class outdoor gym facility designed specifically to cater for individuals of all ages from 5 years and up and varying skill levels. The facility is located adjacent to the Discovery Soccer Park and will boast a structure that is approximately 400 square meters in size. With state of the art equipment geared towards functional movement the facility and its instructors are perfectly matched to help any individual achieve their specific goals. The Grit City initiative has been endorsed by both the South African Street Workout & Calisthenics Association (SASWCA) as well as the World Federation Street Workout & Calisthenics (www.wswcf.org). Recently on the 4th October 2014 Grit City and the Wanderers Club was host to the Street Workout World Cup Stage in Johannesburg. This was the first time the event was held on African soil and was a resounding success, so much so that the president of the federation has requested Grit City and the Wanderers Club to host the 2015 stage as well. The Grit City development is focused on empowering people with the abilities to explore and utilise their bodies within a creative and conducive environment. The development is currently underway with the land having been cleared and once the rain abates compacting and fabrication on site will begin. Keep a look out for the structure that will soon be springing into existence by January 2015. For more information visit www.gritcity.co.za Kree Govender [email protected] Hockey The Wanderers Hockey Section wishes you all The Blessings of Peace, The Beauty of Hope, The Spirit of Love, The Comfort of Faith - May these be your gifts this Christmas Season Jenna Bowes and Hayley Coombes collected Tsoanelo Pholo’s coaching award at the Awards Dinner. Ricky West collected the men’s and Stuart Spooner collected his brother Nicholas’ award At the SGHA Awards Dinner which was held on Thursday 13th November at the Randburg AstroTurf Lapa, the following Wanderers players received awards: Leading goal scorer – Men Brad Venter (19 goals) Player of the Year – Junior Girls Hannah Pearce Player of the Year – Junior Boys -16 Thomas Heald - 18 Walter Pfaff Umpire of the Year – Women - Petra Anderson Coach of the Year – Paul Spencer Personality of the Year – Tsoanelo Pholo Senior Player of the year – Nic Spooner 2014 Premier league Winners – Wanderers men’s 1st team Manager of Southern Gauteng men’s Provincial team – Patrick Owgan Assistant Southern Gauteng Women’s coach – Tsoanelo Pholo SGHA held their AGM on Wednesday 26th November at 19h00 at Randburg where Jamie Peers was elected as the vice-President of SGHA. Tsoanelo Pholo was elected as the Indoor member on the executive committee of the SGHA Congratulations are extended to both these Wanderers members; it has been a long time since Wanderers Hockey Club has had representation on the SGHA executive committee. __________________________________________________ Hockey Diary of events 2015 : * Wanderers Summer league – 12th January/February 26th * SGHA league dates weekend 14th March- to be confirmed *Ladies Think Tank for ladies committee/captains Sunday 15th February at 09h00 in the Members lounge * Men’s Think Tank for men’s committee and captains/coaches 18th February at 18h30 at Wanderers. * Mini-hockey registration – Saturday 7th March from 08h00 - 10h30am * Colts Boys registration – Tuesday 3rd March at 17h30 * Colts Girls registration – Wednesday 4th March at 17h30 * New members trials Ladies on Monday 2nd March from 18h00 * New members trials Men on Wednesday 4th March from 18h30 * Ladies Premier league trials Thursday 5th March from 18h30 * Committee and Captains meeting and Dinner Thursday 26th March * Aitken/Boden Boys Tournaments on the weekend 15th/17th May *ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER – Saturday 26th September in the Ballroom Tennis ______________________________________________________________________ 2014 CHAMPIONS & PRIZE-GIVING BRAAI 15 November 2014, our annual prize-giving afternoon and evening was a wonderful occasion. The day started off cloudy and raining. It cleared beautifully between 1 and 4pm allowing enough time for many of us to have 2 or 3 sets and then the skies darkened and poured down again, as we all were having tea. This was followed by the prize-giving to our champions for the year as listed below. Those who were not present – your trophy and prize is awaiting you at the club pavilion – ask Howard Espley-Jones or John Galatis for them. If not claimed by 31 Jan 2015, they will be forfeited. At 5pm, while the downpour continued, our champion braai-chef, Joe De Freitas, started his magic and braaied rump- steak, like no-one else can braai it. It was served in delicious slices – rare, medium, well-done – as requested by each of us. Combined with the salads and rolls provided by Silva Sale we all enjoyed a hearty meal, fun and friendship during and after the rain which stopped again at around 6pm. Our 2014 champions of the Wanderers Closed, held from April to June were: Mens singles open - Ben Janse van Rensburg Womens singles open - Asnath Sebati Mens singles vets - Miles Foxcroft Womens singles vets - Tania Victor Mens Plate singles - Rowan Batsofin Womens Plate singles - No event Junior singles U14 - Kevin Dlamini Junior singles U12 - Adam Gorton Mens doubles open - Valentino Gerber & Dave Moore Womens doubles open - Tania Victor & Regina Gerber Mens doubles vets - Miles Foxcroft & Eddie Coombes Womens doubles vets - No event Mixed doubles open - Howard Espley-Jones & Katherine Day Mixed doubles vets - Oscar Marino & Glynnis Bosso Congratulation to you all. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 2015 – LEAGUES IN THE YEAR AHEAD We will be entering 4 mens teams, 1 womens team (possibly 2), 2 mixed teams and 4 junior (U14) in the 2015 leagues. We have found that trying to field 5 mens teams is not viable. Many players who indicate interest to play do not show the required commitment for the scheduled 5 week-ends. The results of this are, that we are often left scrambling at the last minute for players, on occasion we are forced to pull out of a match, which is totally unacceptable, and there is a lack of consistency in the teams which affects not only results but also team spirit and enjoyment of the contest. Each of the 4 leagues we enter during the year comprise of 5 weeks of competition. Mens leagues are 5 Sunday mornings, Womens leagues are 5 Saturday afternoons, 1 Mixed league, in Autumn, is 5 Saturday afternoons and 1 in Summer, is 5 Sunday mornings. Players who volunteer and would like to play league for the club must accept and understand that they should be prepared to commit to playing all 5 weeks at best and 4 weeks at worst. Players who cannot make such a commitment should not volunteer their names for league. Please see the estimated dates of all leagues in the 1st draft 2015 calendar below. The exact dates will be confirmed nearer the time but should not be significantly different to those listed below. ______________________________________________________________________________________ SOCIAL TENNIS – DUTY ROSTER To all those whose names are on the Saturday afternoon duty roster list and have been doing their duty conscientiously and responsibly in the past year/s, THANK YOU.