169 168 The Chronicle 2021 Centenary Edition Squash Swimming Back row (L-R): Top (L-R): Ross Coetzee; Otsile Ntsele; Bryce Blomquist; Matthew Langeland-Hansen Seated: Michael Kiggen; Mr Etienne Grundling; Kamo Bikwane (Captain); Mr Andrew Morgan; Luke van Eeden SQUASH TEAM Back row: Ruben Fourie; Seth Vallance; Xavier Andrews; Menzi Mhlungu; Lance de Kock Middle row: Rocco Klomfass; Adam Gibson; James Kewley; Luc Painting; Cameron Fenton; Christopher Henwood Seated: Oscar Burgess Barker; Matt Haslam; Mrs Charmaine Vermeulen; Luke Ambler-Smith; Marnus du Toit SWIMMING - SENIOR SQUAD Inter-house Swimming Gala This year’s Inter-house Gala posed a few challenges. Not only did COVID-19 disrupt the swimming season, it also forced changes to arrangements for training and hosting of this year’s Inter-house Gala, where only the swimmers were allowed to attend and the gala was held at night. One positive to come out the restrictions was that we held separate training sessions for seniors and juniors and the sessions were longer than in the past due to the pool not being shared with water polo training sessions. This allowed for more focus on stroke correction. Fortunately, the pre-gala events were able to be held on the days preceding the gala, as it has always been. Luca Sandri, Grade 8, dominated the pregala events, winning them all. This is proof of how dedication and talent can give you the edge, no matter your age. Going into the main events of the gala, Sandri’s exploits helped Sheffield to a narrow 2-point lead over Gillingham. This lead did not last long as Gillingham’s depth in the other age groups came to the fore and they were crowned champions, winning the LF Forsyth Rose Bowl. The final standings were: 1st Gillingham, 2nd Sheffield, 3rd Finningley and 4th Pembroke. Luca Sandri went on to win every trophy he competed for including the highly sought after, Best Performance of the Day, the Ian Tirrel Shield, for winning the 50m freestyle sprint Challenge (the Keyter Cup), an event never won by a junior before. James Kewley was the next most successful swimmer, winning the trophy for the Best Performance of the Day Runnerup (the Spargo Cup), the Spradbrow Cup for the best U17, swimmer as well as the Senior Victor Ludorum trophy, the Jollands Cup. Sadly, this swimming season will be remembered for having only one gala and for being the shortest swimming season in the history of the College. Mr Marco Botha MIC Swimming (to end of Term 1) This year was a very different for the Kearsney Squash fraternity. The COVID-19 protocols did not allow for our boys to get on court and play competitive games of squash in an indoor, poorly ventilated space. As the protocols eased, we still battled to get any competitive matches played as schools had different interpretations of the protocols, with varying degrees of strictness. Our two customary tours, to St Andrew's (Bloemfontein) and to Wynberg Boys High in Cape Town, were also cancelled due to complications with inter-provincial travel. On the other hand, when some protocols eased, squash was one of the few sports where players could practise on their own. Solo practice sessions were set up where boys could go onto court one at a time and do a series of solo hitting routines. These sessions proved quite popular, as many other sport’ codes were completely suspended. When the restrictions were further eased, two players were allowed on court, each doing their own solo routine with their own ball. Eventually, conventional play was allowed, and our boys started working hard on their squash once again. When protocols allowed there were Inter-provincial Tournaments played in the Michaelmas break. Congratulations to Keegan and Ross Coetzee who represented the KZN U16 team. The end of 2021 marked the departure of Mr Etienne Grundling, a passionate and inspiring coach who started coaching squash in 2014. Mr Grundling was responsible for unearthing and developing many young Kearsney players, many of whom earned their provincial colours for KZN in their senior years. He will be missed, but he leaves behind a fine crop of young players who look set to do very well. Mr Andrew Morgan MIC Squash
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