The Scimitar
The Scimitar 28 Nov 2024
Dear BNSC Family,
As I continue to find my feet in my role as Club Manager, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming support and encouragement I have received from our members, staff, sub-section committees, and all the patrons of our club since I took over on July 1, 2024. Thank you, everyone!
The festive season is fast approaching us, so before we close for the holidays, let’s take a moment to reflect on the highlights of 2024.
ATHLETICS
A record crowd of 2351 people participated in the 2024 BNAC Night Race on 23 October! The 5km, which was electronically timed for the first time this year, had by far the biggest field of 1707 entrants. We are excited by the masses of young children who represented their schools. The BNAC Night Race is truly becoming a community-driven and proudly local event, with members of the Athletics subsection working together to make it happen, local businesses volunteering to host water stations, and local people showing their support.
It takes a special club to orchestrate a road race for thousands of people – AT NIGHT. As a club, we can be immensely proud of the race we hosted. Water tables were hosted by Jan L. Jordaan Inc. Attorneys, Stockton Properties, RE/MAX Randgro, and RE/MAX Dazzle.
Our night race is the only surviving night race in Gauteng at the moment.
- Junior athlete Siyanda Madlabane received the BNSC Junior Sportsman of the Year Award at the Main Club’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year Awards. Siyanda, fondly known as Zuluboy, is a South African National Champion after he won gold at the ASA Cross Country Championships in September. Congratulations Zuluboy, we are very proud of you!
- Senior athlete Kaitlyn Bubb was nominated for the BNSC Senior Sportsperson of the Year Award, facing very tough competition from nominees from the other subsections. We are immensely proud of Kaitlyn’s achievements this year. Congratulations Kaitlyn.
- We had several BNAC members in the Top Ten in the half and full marathon events at the 2024 Jacaranda City Challenge.
- Robyn Pheiffer won the ladies 21KM event in a stunning time of 1:28:40. Well done on your perfectly executed race Robyn and massive congratulations on your podium finish.
- Evangelia Thompson came 5th in the ladies 21KM event in a dashing time of 1:36:41. Well done Vange!
- Kaitlyn Bubb came 7th in the ladies 42.2KM event in an incredible time of 03:19:22, alongside Mark Dingle, Matt Willis and Frans-Louis Van Greunen. Well played Kaitlyn. You’re an inspiration to all the girls.
- Alison de Bruin came 9th in the ladies 42.2KM event in a super-fast 03:20:54. Congratulations on your Top Ten finish
- Sue Holden came 5th in her category in the 10KM event. Congrats on your awesome result Sue!
- In addition, we had several runners achieving respectable Comrades qualifiers and others running their very first marathons. Well done everyone and thank you to Naledi, our catering team and Frans-Louis for transporting the gazebos, BOB and chairs.
- Sunday – PPS Alberton
- Jane Neilson came 2nd in her age category in the 10KM event. Great work Jane! You inspire us!
- Our walkers were out in force with 12 of them participating in the 10KM event and Christo Hechter in the 21.1KM. Well done to all our walkers!
BASEBALL
Senior League Highlights
The 2024 season saw four fiercely competitive teams in the Senior League:
- Major A: Redskins clinched both the league and the cup titles, showcasing dominance throughout the season.
- Major B: Wichita emerged as league champions, while Sioux claimed the second spot.
- Reserves: Mohicans are still fighting for a trophy, keeping fans hopeful for their breakthrough.
Senior MVP: Brandon Bouillon’s outstanding performance earned him the Senior MVP title.
Club Member of the Year: Gareth Long, whose dedication set a new standard.
Serfontein Award: Awarded to Gareth Long for exceptional contribution.
The Senior League season will kick off again in April 2025, with teams already preparing for another action-packed year.
Junior League Update
Junior League has expanded to 12 teams, with growing talent promising a strong future. An elite training squad is set to be announced soon, aiming to nurture young talent. Additionally, selections for the National Baseball Squad (NBS) are underway, as Cape Town gears up to host the national tournament.
All Junior League coaches have successfully completed police clearances and safeguarding training, reinforcing the club’s commitment to player safety.
International Representation
Our young stars continue to make us proud on the world stage:
- U23 World Cup (China, Aug/Sept 2024): South Africa was represented by Corbin Greenslade, Cullen Pieterse, Kyle Schwartz, and Robert White.
- U15 World Cup (Columbia, August 2024): Joshua Cook represented South Africa as a player, while Gareth Long served as a coach. Logan Gardner was selected as a non-traveling reserve.
- World Children’s Baseball Fair (Japan, August 2024): Carly Steyn and Jarred Long proudly represented Benoni Northerns Indians, joining three other South African children at the event.
Clubhouse Upgrades
Phase 1 of our clubhouse upgrade has been completed, transforming the space into a modern, upmarket facility. Phase 2 is planned for the near future, and the clubhouse is now available for event rentals.
BRIDGE
Bridge Club had a wonderful year. Club subscriptions remained high and received on average 10 tables. They had a very successful championship and subscriptions were not increased, neither were table fees. The Benoni Northerns Bridge club grows from strength to strength.
CRICKET
Senior Cricket
Well done to Kyle Smit for his excellent performance over the past 18 months. Kyle contributed to South Africa’s first-ever Veterans Cricket World Cup title win. He represented Benoni Northerns Veterans, Easterns Veterans, and South African Over-40s Veterans teams.
- Benoni Northerns Veterans: Scored 385+ runs in the inaugural Veterans season at an average of 128.
- Easterns Over-40s Squad: Key player in reaching the Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT) final. Second-highest run-scorer with 238 runs in 4 matches (average 59, strike rate 172).
- Proteas Over-40s: Selected for the 2024 Veterans World Cup in Cape Town. Opened batting in every match and top-scored with 49 runs in the group stages. Scored 33 runs in the final on a challenging wicket to secure a World Cup victory!
Congratulations to Andre Steyn for his Man of the Match performance for SA A Over 50’s against the Proteas Over 50’s in the Africa Cup, taking place in Windhoek. Performing with both bat and ball, Andre contributed to the 28 run victory over the SA Proteas in the group stage.
The Proteas and SA A met again in the final match, with the SA Proteas gaining revenge and eventually taking the Africa Cup title. Hosts Namibia faced Zimbabwe in the 3rd Place match, with Zimbabwe taking third place in the tournament.
Clayton Horlick was nominated for Junior Sportsperson of the year, well done to Clayton for his performances:
- Premier Men’s Side: Top run-scorer with 327 runs at an average of 54.50. Scored 1 century and 2 half-centuries.
- Provincial Representation: Selected as the opening batter for the Easterns Under-16 team at the under-16 national week.
- Khaya Majola Week: Selected as a non-traveling under-19 reserve player.
- School Cricket: Played 18 innings this season, scoring 846 runs at an average of 60.4, with a highest score of 157 not out.
National Weeks
A massive congratulations to all the Northerns players that have been selected to represent Easterns at the national weeks.
- Clayton Horlick
- Refilwe Mogabe
- Tamzyn Hartman
- Tharsnii Sagathevan
- Aiden Shaw
- Sohail Ebrahim
- Rebecca McKelvey
- Nadine Visser
Congratulations to Andrew Smith as well who will be the Under 19 mens team manager.
Regional Cricket Week
Congratulations to all our Northerns senior cricket players who were selected to play in the Regional Cricket Week:
- Hein Swart (u/13)
- Kirsten Allen (u/13)
- Jessica Moughan (u/13)
- Jake Bevolo (u/15)
- Xavier van Biljon (u/15)
- Gert Greyling (u15)
- Anke Oosthuizen (u/15)
- Clayton Horlick (u/17)
- Kenan Shaw (u/17)
Congratulations as well to Nicolaos Moragemos (manager), Kayden Pillay (coach), Joshua McCallum (manager) and Megan Wilke (manager).
Senior stats
Junior Cricket
Cricket season is now in full swing and there is so much to look forward to.
Congratulations to all U8 players for achieving their badges!
Hattrick (White Badge) and 5 Wicket Badge
- Jenson Dias
50 Run Badge
- Declan Cuthbert
35 Run Badges
- Luhan Fourie
- Nixon Grobler
- Hunter Tucker
- Kaiden Dex
- Ruben Geyser
FOOTBALL
Junior Football
Congratulations to Under 9 Premier league team on an incredible achievement. These boys competed in the Easterns Under 9 Premier Football division and went on to be back to back league Champions. To make their season even better they went on to make it a double by winning the Easterns Under 9 Cup.
They were awarded The Team of The Year for the the second year in a row. Congratulations.
Senior Football
Our senior football Super league teams completed their season in September 2024, with our reserve team coming 3rd in cross border league, and our 1st team making the top 8.
In order to take the football section to another level and provide our young players with opportunities going forward, plus help the main club generate more monies by bringing senior football to our club for practically 12 months of the year. We identified the need for us to play football at a higher level and join the SAFA leagues, namely the ex Castle League now Hollywood Bets regional league (Ekurhuleni). This league is in theory the entry level to professional football in SA. It is run by SAFA and has nothing to do with our Easterns Local Football Association. This league runs from September to May in line with the PSL. Our Super League runs from March to Sept, so we now play football at Northerns for 12 months of the year like previously mentioned.
The 14th September 2024 was an historic occasion for our football section and main club. Only one week after finishing our Super League, we played in our 1st Castle League/Hollywood Bets league match at home and won 1 nil. This is the 1st step to taking our senior football to another level & providing opportunities to our youngsters coming through the ranks.
RUGBY
Rugby practice pre-season training 7 January 2025 – looking for more coaches please see below.
GENERAL
Sports Person of the Year Award
Cricketer Kyle Smit was named BNSC Senior Sports Person of the Year.
Junior athlete Siyanda Madlabane was nominated BNSC Junior Sportsman of the Year Award –Siyanda, fondly known as Zuluboy, is a South African National Champion after he won gold at the ASA Cross Country Championships in September.
Lourens Smit was named the Club Person of the Year in recognition of his tireless and selfless contribution to Benoni Northerns.
Legends Night Market
Our monthly Legends Nite Market has resumed operations after a winter break, and we look forward to the upcoming Christmas Market on November 29th, which will be filled with festive surprises. Please come out and support!
Members Draw
Our Member’s Draw has grown to an exciting amount of R26 500! To claim your winnings, you must be present at the draw, so join us for a drink on Friday nights. The draw takes place at 19h30.
Toy Run
2024 Toyrun collection point at Benoni Northern Sports Club is open at the Main Club House until Sunday 24th November. Thanks goes out to all Supporters (Members and Public) who are taking advantage of the new format to both ride and donate.
You are more than welcome to stay, grab a pizza, a cold sharpie and have a good time when you do.
Clean Projects
A big thank you to Clean Projects who supports Benoni Northerns Sports Club.
If there’s anything you’d like included in our upcoming monthly newsletter—whether it’s an announcement, an update, or a special message, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Your contributions and insights are always appreciated, and I’d be happy to help express anything you’d like to share.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
As we wrap up another year, may this festive season bring you joy, warmth, and cherished moments with loved ones.
From all of us at Benoni Northerns Sports Club, we would like to wish you a season filled with laughter and a New Year full of opportunities and success.
Best regards
Lindsay Oosthuizen
Club Manager, BNSC
