Union Schools vs Graaff-Reinet Primary School (Home) – 11 March 2020
| Time | Team | Opponent | Venue | Format |
| 14:00 | UHS U11B | Graaff-Reinet U11A | Puggy Munnik Field | T20 |
| 14:00 | UHS U13B | Graaff-Reinet U13A | Puttick Field | T20 |
Union youngsters win annual interschools athletics
The annual primary interschools athletics event between the Union Schools and Laer Volkskool was held on Tuesday afternoon, 3 March. The meet took place at Laer Volkskool.
The competition was stiff as the learners faced off in various items such as long jump, high jump, shot put, sprints, long distance running and relays.
Union’s athletes, however, were determined to make their mark in their respective track and field events and their ‘never-say-die’ attitude and their resolve on the track and field shone through.
Their determination saw Union collecting 653 points to win the encounter against Volkskool (605).
“The conditions were perfect for the participating athletes and they delivered some of the best performances seen in years,” said Mr Floris Steenkamp, Union’s Junior Sports Administrator.
“It was clear that our athletes prepared well for their events and that their spirit was unwavering. A big congratulations must go to all our learners who competed with amazing sportsmanship and pride – we are extremely proud of you.”
The event was excellently hosted by Laer Volkskool and Union thanks them for their efforts!
• Noteworthy performances on the day, include:
𝐮/𝟕:
– Grade 1 learner Taylor Jacobs won the Girls u/7 60m and 80m events. Emma Burger joined her on the podium both times in 3rd and 2nd place respectively.
– Uthmaan Steel won the Boys u/7 60m and 80m events, with Raydon Herndricks coming in third in both races.
𝐮/𝟖:
– The Girls u/8 60m event saw Hayle Krige coming in second and Lisa Kungawo coming in third. Lisa, however claimed the win in the 80m race, with Hayle coming in a close second.
𝐮/𝟗:
– Abonani Matushe came in second in the Girls u/9 60m event, followed by Miley Burger in third place. When it came to the 80m event, Abonani was first to cross the finish line.
– Jordan Maritz came second in both the Boys u/9 60m and 80m events.
𝐮/𝟏𝟎:
– Mia Botha came second in the Girls u/10 80m and 100m events and first in the 1200m race.
– Ethan Raath came in third in the Boys u/10 100m race and third in the 1200m.
– Emma Watson, who celebrated her birthday, came in second in the Girls u/10 Long Jump, followed by Alyssa Trollip in third place. Emma also won the High Jump event, with Alyssa coming in third.
– Owen Paxton came in second in the Boys u/10 Long Jump and High Jump events with Quinn Naude coming in third in both events. Owen also came in second in the Boys u/10 1200m.
– Kyla Putter won the Girls u/10 Shot Put, followed by Nadine Murray in second place. Nadine also came in second in the Girls u/10 1200m.
– Tristan Naude claimed second place in the Boys u/10 Shot Put.
𝐮/𝟏𝟏:
– Lulinke Vumazonke came third in the Boys u/11 80m event as well as in the 100m race.
– The Girls u/11 High Jump was dominated by Union, with Jasmine Abercrombie coming in first, Zoe Hobson second and Grace Kemp third.
– It was 3 for 3 for Union in the Boys u/11 High Jump as well, with Liso Sobantu coming in first, Dwayne Koeberg second and Warren Barlow third.
– Grace Kemp claimed third place in the Girls u/11 Shot Put as well as in the 1200m.
– Junior de Bruyn won the Boys u/11 Shot Put with Richard Murray coming in second.
– Warren Barlow came in third in the Boys u/11 1200m.
𝐮/𝟏𝟐:
– Jamae-Mari Davids came in second in the Girls u/12 100m, first in the Girls u/12 Long Jump, third in the High Jump and third in the 1200m.
– Josh Arends came third in the Boys u/12 100m.
– Anna Bouwer came second in the Girls u/12 150m, followed by Katelyn Trollip in third place. Anna also came first in the Girls u/12 High Jump and third in the Long Jump, while Katelyn claimed second place in the Shot Put.
– Peter-Daniel Clegg came second in the Boys u/12 150m, followed by Liso Booi in third place. Peter-Daniel also came third in the Long Jump, while Liso claimed another third place in the High Jump.
– Tara Ferreira came in second in the Girls u/12 High Jump and third in the Shot Put.
– Xarah Hoffman won the Girls u/12 Shot Put.
– The Boys u/12 Shot Put was won by Siba Mbuyte.
– Daisy Sears won the Girls u/12 1200m, followed by Leigh-Ann Murray in second place.
– Josh Arends came third in the Boys u/12 1200m.
𝐮/𝟏𝟑:
– Lisa Menos won the Girls u/13 100m, while the Boys u/13 100m was won by Lukhana Kettledas in first, Matthew Paxton in second and Shaakir Kazi in third place.
– The Girls u/13 200m event was also won by Lisa Menos, with Zelresch Frazenburg in second place and Aaminah Steele in third place.
– Lukhana Kettledas won the Boys u/13 200m and Long Jump events, with Matthew Paxton coming in second in both events and Xavier Barlow coming in third in the Long Jump.
– Farronique Booysen came in second in the Girls u/13 Long jump.
– Lisa Menos won the Girls u/13 High Jump, followed by Farronique Booysen in second place and Aaminah Steel in third place.
– Nate Jaftha ended third in the Boys u/13 High Jump.
– Anna-May Hayes came in second in the Girls u/13 Shot Put, followed by Uyathanda Sididi in third place.
– Matthew Paxton claimed third place in the Boys u/13 Shot Put.
– Lisa Menos came first in the Girls u/13 800m. She also claimed first place in the 1500m, with Keza Neill coming in third.
– Matthew Paxton came in first in the Boys u/13 800m and 1500m. Lukhanya Kettledas claimed third place in the 800m.
On Wednesday afternoon, 4 March, Union’s u/11B and u/13B cricket teams played exciting mid-week fixtures against Kroonvale Primary’s A teams.
Although both Union teams recorded a loss, the games were played in fantastic spirit and it offered our young cricketers some much-needed time in the middle.
Union tennis aces compete in Bloem
On Thursday, 27 February, Union High School’s Top 8 tennis boys and girls hit the road to Bloemfontein, to participate in the Fichardtpark McDonalds Sports Day, hosted by Hoërskool Fichardtpark.
This annual tournament is a highlight on Union’s tennis calendar, and, as always, an incredibly high standard of tennis was evident throughout the competition.
• Boys
Despite a very early start on Friday, the boys were extremely enthusiastic and took to the courts ready to show off their strategies and ball skills in one of the most popular games in the world.
Brent Hesselink got the competition off to a great start for the boys’ second team, winning Union’s very first match of the day.
This seemed to boost his team members’ confidence and the boys continued to produce great tennis throughout the day.
The boys’ first team fared just as well and delivered some really exciting tennis. Congratulations are extended to Matthew Hesselink who won all his singles matches, as well as to doubles duo, Brett Amsterdam and Bowen Langmead, who dominated the court, going unbeaten on the day.
Both the boys’ first and second teams produced really competitive tennis throughout the day and must be commended on their great sportsmanship and never-say-die attitude.
Overall, the boys’ first team ended second in their section, with the second team ending third in theirs.
• Girls
Union’s spirited girls’ first team was divided into a pool that featured some very strong competition.
But, even though they had to face some intimidating tennis heavyweights, the girls never got discouraged, giving it their all on the courts in every single encounter.
The girls tied for third place in their pool, and upon conclusion of the day’s play, placed 8th overall in the ‘A’ section.
The girls’ second team also enjoyed a very competitive day on the courts and ended the tournament having placed 15th out of the 19 schools entered in the ‘B’ section.
The girls displayed a lot of grit on the courts and Union High School thanks them for their efforts.
On Friday evening, 28 February, seven Union High School swimmers participated in the Top 8 Invitational Gala at the Newton Park Swimming Pool in Port Elizabeth.
The Top 8 Gala is the culmination of the season’s ‘B’ Age Group Galas where the region’s top 8 swimmers in each age group and each stroke are selected to participate.
The atmosphere at the pool was, as always, very festive, with great camaraderie, friendly rivalry and good sportsmanship prevailing among the different schools.
As is tradition, the evening started with a poolside parade of all the teams, during which the Union swimmers proudly displayed their school flag as they made their way around the pool.
Throughout the evening that followed, Union’s swimmers gave it their all and managed to obtain six medals overall.
Congratulations to:
• Hannah Bodenstein who claimed gold in the 50m Backstroke and Hugo Botha who came first in the 50m Breaststroke,
• Elia Railton and Amber Binney who won silver in the 50m Backstroke and 100m Freestyle respectively, and;
• James Potgieter who took home bronze in both the 50m Backstroke and 50m Breaststroke.
Union High School is exceptionally proud of all of you!
The gala was hugely successful for Union, not only in terms of medals, but in times as well as six new personal bests (this included new PBs for first-timers, Mia and Hugo Botha) were also recorded!
This meet is always a wonderful competition with which to end off a very busy swimming season and we thank everyone involved for making it such a memorable event.
All our learners can be very proud of what they achieved and we look forward to seeing what next season holds in store for our Union swimmers!
• Union High School would like to extend a special word of thanks to Stefan and Andrea Ittershagen-Strauss who, very generously, hosted the swimmers for the night in Port Elizabeth.
They treated the learners to a great dinner and breakfast, and made sure that their evening was fun and relaxed.
Congratulations to the following Union High School swimmers who have been selected for the Karoo team that will be participating at the Inter-Districts Gala in Grahamstown on Thursday, 5 March:
Grace Kemp, Brogan Koeberg, Callum Jacobs, Daisy Sears, Matthew Paxton, Hayden Pienaar and Daniel Marais.
Monday afternoon, 24 February, saw Union’s Top 6 junior tennis players competing against their Gill Primary School counterparts on Union’s courts.
The girls won their encounter 6 – 2, while the boys were also victorious, with an end result of 6 – 3.
Well done to all concerned!
A number of Union swimmers competed at the annual Karoo Gala held at Hoër Volkskool on Tuesday, 25 February.
Schools who attended included Gill, Cradock, Volkskool, Marlow as well a large group of Homeschoolers.
The high standard of swimming at this event continues to amaze and the positive competition between the schools and individual swimmers is a pleasure to witness.
As always, competition was fierce in all events – 104 in total – but Union’s swimmers never gave in, giving their best in all their races.
The day’s climax saw all age groups racing in relays. It was an incredibly close competition and thoroughly enjoyable to watch as a spectator.
The school proudly placed a close second in both the primary and high school sections.
Special congratulations go to Matthew Paxton who shared the ‘Victor Ludorum’ award with Laer Volkskool’s Aidan Thiart in the primary school section.
We are so very proud of all our swimmers who committed and gave of their time to swim for their school and thank them for their stellar efforts.
On Thursday, 20 February, Union’s junior cricketers played their first-ever declaration match against the Frans Conradie Primary School.
After winning the toss, the hot and sunny weather motivated the Union boys to bat first. The opening batsmen started the innings cautiously, but managed to get the team off to a solid start.
The middle overs, unfortunately, proved to be their downfall with the loss of several quick wickets.
Captain Shaakir Kazi’s performance with the bat then proved to be pivotal, as his 50* settled the downfall, allowing the Union team to retire on 119/9.
Inspired to deliver a stellar performance, Union’s bowlers managed to take a quick three wickets in the first three overs.
Frans Conradie’s batsmen, however, settled in well after that and managed to score freely after the first bowling change.
Union fought back through brilliant bowling from Yaseen Kazi, ending the day’s play with Frans Conradie on 100/9.
• Due to rain, this match could, unfortunately, not be completed.
Union would like to commend the Frans Conradie team for the lovely way in which they played the match and for traveling to our beautiful school once again.
Several Union youngsters took on the 96th River Mile at the Sundays River Cannonville Slipway this past Sunday morning, 23 February, joining hundreds of other swimmers who competed in this year’s edition of Africa’s oldest open-water swimming event.
• Seven Unionites were among the 200 participants in the Men’s River Mile.
Mack Rubidge, who finished in a time of 21 minutes, was Union’s first swimmer to cross the finish line. He was followed by Luc Railton, who finished the race in 22 minutes.
Hugo Botha – who’s only 13-years-old – then crossed the finish line in a time of 23 minutes, ending 16th overall out of the 53 competitors in his respective age group.
Schea Johnson came in next, followed by James Potgieter, Matthew Davenport and Max Price.
Well done to Luc, Hugo, Matthew and Max for an excellent show during their very first River Mile!
• In the Ladies’ River Mile, Union had nine swimmers entered among the 169 participants – two of whom, Tyra Binney and Melissa Swart, were competing in the event for the very first time.
Hannah Bodenstein, who finished in a time of 24 minutes, was the first Unionite to cross the finish line.
Amber Binney came in hot on her heels, also finishing in the 24th minute.
Both Hannah and Amber finished in the race’s Top 40, coming 14th and 15th respectively out of the 56 competitors in the 15 to 29-year-old category.
Kendall Krige was next to finish, followed by Jade Shires, Tyra Binney, Melissa Swart, Brigette Oelofsen, Elia Railton and Kelly-Paige Scott.
The school was very proud to have a large group of swimmers representing Union at this year’s event, even more so of the many ‘newbies’ who entered the event this year.
Of course, a River Mile outing wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Nanaga Farm Stall, where the learners and accompanying members of staff enjoyed the tasty home-made pies and roosterkoek on offer, before hitting the long road home.
