Warm greetings from the North….

What a difference a week makes…..from a calm and relaxed world a mere week ago, to a frenzied nation in panic….never in the world would I have said that we would have experienced crowds worse than Christmas at our local stores in the middle of March… on Monday I stood gobsmacked at our local supermarket, as I saw people literally fighting over food stocks….what we definitely do need is a calm and measured approach from us as individuals, as a community, as city, metro and ultimately  nation….

We will be cognisant of and adhere to any Government ordinances with regard to this dreadful disease…. In the meanwhile, we have installed hand sanitisers at all the major entrances and thoroughfares at the Main Club…. and have implemented some changes and procedures that will ensure that our Club is a clean and safe environment for all to use at their leisure….

On the sporting front, all practices and matches have been cancelled with immediate effect and will only resume once the national and provincial bodies give their blessing….obviously we are not sure how long this “extended holiday” will last, but we will try to keep you up to date and informed via our newsletter, on our notice boards and our social media platforms….

To get back to a little good news….our soccer boys had a super time last weekend….after having their match moved back to the North ‘C’ field due to a clash of fixtures at Benfica….this allowed both of our sides play some superb soccer and each come home with a 2-0 scoreline…. brilliant work chaps…and now possibly all the momentum will be lost before we are able to continue our third fixture….both of our sides have now ended the first two fixtures with wins….and sit atop of the league with maximum point0, separated only by goal difference from the top spot…hug congratulations to the new coaching team and the boys for this super achievement….I can’t wait that we can get the rest of the season underway…

Our cricketers were on the road to Alberton last week….to meet the league topping Alberton….and in our usual unassuming way…..we seem to fail against the minnows and give the top sides a proverbial “klap”….so after winning the toss, Kurt decided to bat…..and after some initial hiccoughs….(we reduced ourselves to 36/3) Leonard and Kurt put on a huge partnership before Kurt was dismissed for 44….and then Lance joined Leonard to get a 50 partnership….Leonard eventually falling for a well played 88 at almost a run  ball…. Allowing us to finish up on 254/8 after our 50 overs…our bowlers never really let their opposition get going and bundled them out for 123 after just over 40 overs….Matthew and Andrew bagged a brace each being out most successful bowlers and giving us victory by 131 runs….well done chaps….a super win and means that we land up second on the log by a couple of points….leaving us ruing the silly losses to the two Boksburg teams and United earlier in the season….now we await to hear from Easterns as to the fate of the Championship mantle for this0 year…. As Cricket SA has banned all matches for the next 2 months, means that there will be no playoffs…..so possibly it will be decided by log position…. We will have to wait and see….

STOP PRESS!! THE CLUB WILL CLOSE AT 18H00 EVERY WEEK DAY AND SATURDAYS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…..ON SUNDAYS, WE NEED TO CLOSE AT 13h00…..PLEASE TAKE CAREFUL NOTE OF THESE CHANGES THAT WE HAVE JUST BEEN ADVISED OF…..

Our joker remained as elusive as ever even though Henry Kershaw was drawn from the beeeeeg black box…..Henry used to be a Main Club Committee member and had his first chance in front of the cabinet….but I did see that Henry ha made his decision well before he reached his place in front of the cabinet….and quickly indicated his choice…..in the centre…right next to the ten of hearts…..and what came up? The nine of hearts…..interesting….but that means another jump in the Joker jackpot….up over R60 000! But that does not help us….as the Joker draw will be postponed until the time restrictions are lifted on bars….we are extremely sorry that we are curtailed in our efforts to serve you our member….but we will maintain the letter of the law to ensure that we are able to continue serving our Members on an ongoing basis….

On that bad news note, I am going to close off for this week….please do not forget that we will remain open for as long as we are allowed to be by law and will continue in our quest to offer you the best service available…..

All the best to you all in our quest to beat COVID-19

Cheers, Rod

Doing it Irish at “The North” with a small but joyful gathering filled with positive attitudes.  the Winners – Marge Mellis and Rika Lourens.

‼️IMPORTANT NOTICE‼️

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, and in light of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address on Sunday night, Benoni Northerns Athletics is cognisant that runners are concerned about the implications for the Profix Scaffolding Marathon, scheduled for 26 April 2020. At this stage, the event falls outside of the 30-day ban on mass events by the President. However, we await an update from the relevant bodies. We are monitoring the situation closely and will endeavour to keep you updated as decisions get made.