Yesterday afternoon our u18 Girls Chess team was interviewed live on Bush Radio, Africa’s oldest community radio station project. Our chess champs are the best under 18 girls schools chess team in the entire Western Cape and they will be competing in Nationals during December in Pretoria.
The girls were interviewed by Bassie Montewa on his Backchat programme. Below are some pictures from the interview.
Our girls team played superbly this weekend. They beat Swartberg u18 6 – 0, Maskam u18 5½ – ½ and Hexvallei u18 3½ – 2½ to claim gold at the Western Cape Playoffs. This makes them the best under 18 girls schools chess team in the entire Western Cape. In December they will be representing the province at Nationals (in Pretoria this year) for the third year in the row! (In 2012 and 2013 they represented the province as an under 15 girls team.)
'In the last 20 minutes of the last round the entire hall was virtually empty except for three of our players still fighting it out amongst the corpses of fallen chess pieces. I was so proud in that moment. To have half the team still playing in the dying minutes of a match is quite something. It takes stamina. It takes patience. It takes sheer determination to still be fighting long after all the other matches are finished. That moment characterises our team so well and for that I am proud. The fact that these last three matches produced two wins and a draw is wonderful, but as their coach I would have been proud regardless of the results.' Mr Adam Reynolds (coach)
Our u18 Girls Chess Team did spectacularly at the WP Playoffs this weekend! They took gold and will be representing Western Province at the Western Cape Playoffs in three weeks’ time.
A very special CONGRATULATIONS to our Mrs Ballantyne who completed and earned herself a medal at the Comrades Ultra Marathon this year. We are very proud of her for running and finishing her 87km in Durban. It was her first Comrades and she says she is already looking forward to her next one!
You can download the details of times and venues here: Westerford-Derby-final.pdf
Video courtesy of PHS' Johann Harzon (Grade 12).
