Breytenbach completes impressive double as Van Rensburg claims 5km honours.

Prior to the weekend, Ruan Breytenbach considered himself a pool swimmer, but after completing the 5km and 10km double at the SA Open Water Championships at Marina Martinique, the 20-year-old will be switching focus.

Just like in the 10km race a day earlier, the men’s 5km race came down to a last-lap battle between Breytenbach and Durban’s Connor Buck, with a frantic sprint to the finish. And once again it was Breytenbach who claimed the win. The Pretoria swimmer only just beat his rival on the touch, finishing in 59 minutes 1.64 seconds, with Buck second in 59:01.73.

And also like the 10km, Joshua Ashley finished in third (59:41.42).

“It was way different to yesterday’s 10km. It was a bit stacked the whole way and I tried to break away at the beginning of the second lap but I didn’t want to waste any energy so I fell back a bit until the last lap,” Breytenbach said afterwards.

“Connor had a stronger finish than yesterday… That put a lot of stress on me today so but luckily I got it.”

As for the prospect of representing the country in both the 5km and 10km races at the World Championships, Breytenbach added: “I’m definitely excited. I’m going to have to change my training programme now to prepare for that which I wasn’t planning on doing. If I do get selected and do well there, then I will probably do more open water.”

Buck was happy with his weekend performance. “It was tough. I wanted to push for the gold. I gave it everything I had today and Ruan just had a little bit more at the end and managed to out-touch me,” he said. “But overall I think I had a good race. I’m glad to have finished in the top two because that qualifies me for the world champs in Budapest in July.”

Earlier in the day, the women’s 5km race a much more clear-cut affair with Catherine van Rensburg dominating the race. She powered ahead of the pack for a solo victory in 1:01:12.01 – over a minute ahead of her rivals.
The teammate who beat her to 10km gold two days earlier, Amica de Jager, finished in second in 1:02:12.81, with 3km champion Samantha Randle third in 1:02:18.25.

“I felt great from the start. I decided to push it and then I saw nobody wanted to come with me so I just pushed and saw how big I could make the gap,” said Van Rensburg after the race. “I was just making sure I made the gap bigger and bigger… I was hoping Amica was going to come with me so I could slip[stream] her but it didn’t happen, so I just went for it,” added the 18-year-old.

De Jager was thrilled for her training partner.

“Catherine took it out super hard today and she had such an incredible swim so I’m happy for her,” said the TUKS swimmer. “The rest of us were just trying to chase her down but it was not to be today.

“We got caught up a bit in the pack dynamics at the start – it was quite hectic, but Catherine got an awesome break and she just went for it which is amazing.

“We’re teammates, we train together so it was great to have that little switch-around [for first and second positions in the 10km and the 5km] so it’s going to be so exciting to be able to go to world championships with her,” added de Jager.

Pictured here: Above Men's 5km finish and below Catherine van Rensburg.

Photo credit: Nonda Sakelliou

'It is BACK - We started Sunday Roast Lunches during the heavy lockdowns in 2020, and we have been getting so many people asking - it just felt like the right time again. So yay to delicious gravy (my favourite part) & yummy wholesome food!

Join us this Sunday for a Pork Roast (we will be changing it up) & a slice of cake for R155 per person.'

More about Piggly Wiggly Midlands just past Howick along the R103 in the beautiful Midlands of KZN.

The women’s 10km race kicked things off at the SA Open Water Championships at Marina Martinique in the Eastern Cape on Friday with TUKS swimmer Amica de Jager emerging as the new national champion.

The 22-year-old took the race out hard and then settled into her rhythm. Eventually it came down to a pack of three Pretoria swimmers on the eighth and final lap, with De Jager powering ahead in the final 100m to edge out her teammates Catherine van Rensburg and Stephanie Houtman.

De Jager finished in a time of 2 hours 9 minutes 20 with Van Rensburg second in 2:09.24 and Houtman taking the bronze in 2:09.35.

“I took it out and I felt like it was quite hard in the beginning but then it definitely slowed down and we were all in a pack,” said an elated De Jager afterwards.

“It was hectic. There were six or maybe seven or eight and everyone was just swimming next to each other so it was quite rough for a couple of laps. But we just hung in there and at the end we managed to break away. It’s great sharing the podium with my teammates,” she added.

“I knew it was going to come down to a sprint, so I was just making sure I had enough left in the tank for that sprint.

“The whole race, I wanted it so bad… I couldn’t believe it on the last lap. I was like hey, I’ve actually got a chance here, so it was awesome.”

In finishing in the top two, De Jager has ensured she’s in the running for selection to compete at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest at the end of June.

“It’s absolutely incredible. It’s one of my ultimate goals to go to world champs so that would be incredible,” she said of the prospect.

“I love what I’m doing and I love open water swimming so my goal is to do my best, have an amazing swim and enjoy it and that’s exactly what I did, so I love it.”

Meanwhile, part of the same event were the swimmers aged 16-17 who were contesting the 7.5km race with qualification for the World Junior Championships in the Seychelles this September on the line.

It was Hannah Neilson who took the win in 1:36.54, with Mykae Forrest second – only by a few split seconds – and Callan Lotter third.

“The first two laps were quite hard but knowing that I had my teammates backing me was quite a motivation, also my coach… As soon as I heard his voice I knew I had to finish for him because that’s all I want to do is make him proud,” she said.

As for the chance to represent the country at the World Junior Championships, Neilson added: “I’m ecstatic. Just to think that my coach has faith in me to do that, I was insanely excited. It hasn’t even sunk in yet but I’m very excited.”

Later in the day Matthew Caldwell took top honours in the men’s 13 and over 3km race, winning in a time of 35:14.84, with Damien Angel second (36:11.84) and Connor Barnardo third (36:40.38).

Open water action continues on Saturday with the men’s 10km and 7.5km and women’s 3km events as well as the 4 x 1.25km mixed relay.

All the racing can be followed live via the following streaming link: http://swimsa.org/news/sa-open-water-swimming-championships-2022

Pictured here: Women's 10km podium

Photo credit: Nonda Sakelliou

UCSI continues to share information with Law enforcement and affiliated security companies with the assistance from all our members of the community. We have some ideas to move forward with technology and to assist our Municipality with safety and security for all.

We do need funding to implement though.

A very big thank you to the Members of HDLA (Howick Districts Landowners Association). Upgrades to Gantries and some new "toys" to add to our information gathering.

UCSI are in need of 20 SD cards: Class 10 128gig. If any one is able to assist either financially or with a card, or two, please contact Deon on 063 068 9652 (Whatsapp if no answer) or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you.

UCSI Operational Stories
February was a quiet month on the cameras.

4 Feb: A vehicle was stolen out of Lenmed Howick Hospital. Unfortunately by time vehicle was reported to UCSI our last camera hit was shown to have already left the area towards Sweetwaters. Only positive outcome was that we were able to give law enforcement information about possible suspect vehicle.

5 Feb Evening: I received a request from Sompisi Protection services. A quantum vehicle was hijacked in Mpophomeni. Again we had a negative result. Night time photos are difficult to identify vehicles in the dark.

7 Feb: I received a report that a vehicle was behaving strangely in the Hilton area. It matched a possible suspect description in the Mpophomeni case. I loaded to Snipr system so we could keep an eye on it for 3 weeks. After observing movement for the 3 weeks it was deemed not a problem and removed from the watch group.

9 Feb: Another stolen vehicle in Howick. Unfortunately we received report about vehicle at13h50. Vehicle was seen already going into Sweetwaters area at 13h18. Again only positive, we were able to find a possible suspect vehicle that SAPS were already investigating.

11 Feb: A missing person from PMB was reported with a vehicle reg number. A search on cameras provided a clue to where person could be in the area. All information given to SAPS and security companies who conducted a search for the missing vehicle. UCSI involvement ended.

18 Feb: A stolen vehicle reported in Verulam (Durban) activated a camera in Howick. The information was loaded to the response group. Vehicle found in Howick CBD area by member of Knight Security. Suspect vehicle taken to Howick SAPS and impounded.

22 Feb: An attempted theft of motor vehicle from Cowan House in Hilton, Suspects not caught but possible suspect vehicle investigated.

22 Feb: A suspected poaching vehicle from Karkloof was flagged by Magma members. We have kept a watch on it and Magma members have intercepted in Howick before entering Karkloof.

23 Feb: Vehicle stolen from Howick and again we were not able to get information fast enough. Suspect vehicle under investigation.

26 Feb: A suspected stolen vehicle activated cameras in Hilton. A Magma member found vehicle in CBD area and escorted to Hilton SAPS. Vehicle Impounded.

A great response from our Affiliated Security members who assist all Law Enforcement in responding to Your information shared by UCSI

If you are a donor to UCSI in any form and you do not receive an email direct from UCSI please contact me. I would love to hear from you and more importantly, say a personal Thank You. Details below.

How can you get involved?
The UCSI is not be sustainable without monthly community support from business entities, shopping centers, hospitals, schools, estates, security companies and private individuals. Please join the UCSI as a contributing member. There are still some critical gantries that need to be erected – primarily in the Merrivale and Mpophomeni areas. We are funded by the community for the community.

Contact Deon from the UCSI by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or whatsapp 063 068 9652 for more information on how to join and contribute. Private individuals from R50pm and business entities from R300pm. Affiliated members has access to ask for assistance in any reported crime involving a vehicle.

We will even use our contacts to assist with off camera incidents as well.

The UCSI is also able to issue Section 18A certificates for CAPEX and OPEX donations of any amount.

Stay safe – we got this!

Yours sincerely
Deon Tegg Operations Manager

The UCSI Board of Directors
Themba Ndulini (Chairperson), Krish Ramkuber and Terence James

More about UCSI

Eskom hereby advises road users of the N3 road closure for about two hours whilst pulling conductors across the N3 in the Lions River Area.

The closure will affect traffic on both northbound and southbound carriageways of the N3 highway. Traffic officials will be in attendance and will divert traffic off the N3.

The details of the line crossing closures are indicated in the table below:

Eskom apologises for any inconveniences that road users may experience.

Supplied.

The fourth Tuesday in February is International Spay Day and what better way to mark it than do a spay clinic!? Midmar Vet Clinic's Dr Lee Pachonick did a two day clinic for #PACT, on Monday she spayed 10 dogs, and on Tuesday she did 19 cats. Saving many lives from neglect and abandonment.

More about Midmar Vet Clinic

Grief is the price we pay for loving - we cannot grieve for someone we did not love.

Although there are distinct “stages” of bereavement, one should preferably talk about the “symptoms” of bereavement.

These symptoms occur and recur until there is an ultimate acceptance of what has happened and a reorganisation of one's life without the person who has passed on.

There is no time scale for this bereavement process. It may last for only a short time, or for many years. Some will work through it by means of their own strength; some will draw on the strength of their religion; some will require outside counselling and help.

If you are struggling, please don’t suffer alone - reach out to family, friends, your pastor or a professional counsellor to assist you.

More about Oakleigh Funeral Home

Lara van Niekerk (top) completed a clean sweep of the breaststroke events while Pieter Coetzé did the same in the men’s backstroke on the final day of the SA Grand Prix meet in Durban on Sunday.

After achieving a personal best in the 100m breaststroke, Van Niekerk once again showed her early-season form, powering to victory in the 50m breaststroke in 30.59. She then followed that up with a win in the 200m breaststroke in 2:29.10.

“It was fun, I enjoyed it,” said Van Niekerk, who is known more for the sprint events rather than the 200m. “I did die a bit more than last night, but it was fun overall.”

Having claimed the 100m backstroke title on Saturday, Coetzé also took comfortable victories in the 50m backstroke in 25.03 and 200m backstroke in an impressive 1:59.73 on Sunday.

“I’m happy with the time. I just tried to get from the one side of the pool to the other side as fast as I could so it was good,” said Coetzé after his 50m victory.

Both swimmers will be eager to build on this form, heading into the SA National Championships in April and then Commonwealth Games later in the year.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Meder (below) added two more titles to her haul, sharing victory in the 100m freestyle with fellow Olympian Emma Chelius after both swimmers touched the wall in 56.43 and then claiming top honours in the 400m freestyle in 4:19.51.

“I think you always try to end the race pretty strong and that’s a good sign for my 400IM,” said Meder afterwards. “I haven’t raced the 400m freestyle in quite a while so I’m happy with the time. A bit faster would have been better but I’m really happy with the weekend of racing that I’ve had.”

Ross Hartigan also racked up two more victories, claiming 100m butterfly honours in 55.66 and then diving back into the pool a few minutes later to wrap up the 200m individual medley title in 2:05.97.

“I definitely think I’m getting too old to do so many races in one weekend,” said the 23-year-old TUKS swimmer. “But I’m completely ecstatic with that time. It’s faster than yesterday. It definitely didn’t feel as comfortable as yesterday but I’m really happy to have gone 2:05,” added Hartigan, who also claimed victory in the 200m butterfly on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Durban swimmer Connor Buck followed up his dominant victory at the aQuellé Midmar Mile a week earlier with a win in the 1500m freestyle in 15:45.62.

In the other men’s events, there were also victories for Danté Nortjé in the 200m freestyle in 1:53.05 and Clayton Jimmie in the 50m freestyle in 23.44, while Brenden Crawford added the 100m breaststroke to his 50m breaststroke title from Saturday after winning in 1:01.28.

In the women’s events, Catherine van Rensburg followed up her 800m freestyle victory on Saturday with a win in the 400m individual medley in 5:03.91. Kerryn Herbst took the 100m backstroke title in 1:03.76, Leigh McMorran won the 200m butterfly in 2:18.37 and Inge Weidemann took top honours in the 50m butterfly in 27.54.

The next major meet for the country’s top swimmers will be the SA National Championships from 6-11 April in Gqeberha.

Supplied.

Chad le Clos made a return to competition at the second meet of the SA Grand Prix series in Durban on Friday after a recent trip to hospital with bronchitis.

The 2012 Olympic champion revealed that he had spent three nights in hospital and only returned to training just over 10 days ago.

With such a troubled build-up to the meet, including numerous hours spent in doctors and specialists offices this week, Le Clos was thrilled to win his 100m freestyle heat in 49.78. 17-year-old Pieter Coetzé was second fastest in 50.55 seconds before recording the quickest time of the night in the 100m backstroke heats in 54.72.

Le Clos had to settle for the second fastest time in the 200m butterfly heats in 2:03.37 behind Ross Hartigan who finished top in 2:02.88.

The 29-year-old was then back in the pool later in the evening for the 50m butterfly heats where he was edged out by Coetzé. The teenager finished with the quickest time of 24.85 seconds, to Le Clos’s 25.26.

“I was very happy with tonight. It was a very good swim I guess under the circumstances. It’s been a bit of a tough time, being in hospital two weeks ago,” said Le Clos after the evening’s efforts.

“I’m still struggling with a bit of sinus but 49.7 [for the 100m freestyle] was pretty decent. It’s definitely not what I expected so we’ll see how we go tomorrow. The 200 fly I’ve scratched because obviously I haven’t trained as much as I would have liked to. But all in all, I’m pretty happy… Onwards and upwards.”

Le Clos also praised the Durban crowd for their support.

“It was nice to swim in front of the support. There were a lot of fans out tonight, a lot of young kids, a lot of pictures being taken and that’s great for the sport. It’s great to have that energy back. We haven’t had that in a long time. The atmosphere tonight was better than the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, Rebecca Meder looked to be picking up where she left off after claiming six titles at the last Grand Prix event in Mpumalanga. The 19-year-old Olympian powered to the quickest time in the 200m freestyle heats in 2:00.93 and the 100m butterfly in 1:01.42. She then went on to top the times in the 200m individual medley heats in 2:15.07.

Fellow Olympian Emma Chelius was quickest in the 50m freestyle, touching the wall in 25.62.

Upcoming breaststroker Lara van Niekerk showed her intentions, setting the quickest time of the night in the 100m breaststroke in 1:06.52.

Grand Prix action continues in Durban with the first of the finals on Saturday.

Supplied.

Fresh from claiming two golds in the pool at the SA Grand Prix meet in Durban just a few weeks ago, Pretoria swimmer Ruan Breytenbach competed in his first 10km open water swim on Saturday and walked away as the new national champion.

Breytenbach has swum 3km and 5km events in the past, but this was his first attempt at the longer, Olympic distance and it paid off. The 19-year-old outduelled Connor Buck in the last lap of the SA Open Water Championships at Marina Martinique, putting in a final sprint to finish in 1 hour 58 minutes and 14.85 seconds with Buck second in 1:58:26.35 and Joshua Ashley coming a distant third in 2:02:09.58.

With his focus largely on the pool, Breytenbach admitted afterwards that his friends had convinced him to try out open water swimming.

“I wasn’t expecting much because it was my first 10km so I was just trying to stick with the group for the first couple of laps and then hopefully someone would try and break away mid-race, which happened luckily. So we just went from there and had a good ending,” he said.

Finishing in the top two meant Breytenbach is now eligible for selection for the team to represent South Africa at the World Championships at the end of June – something that’s come as a bit of a surprise to the pool swimmer.

“I didn’t know there was world champs this year for open water so I only heard about it on Thursday on my flight,” he said. “Coach Neville [Smith] told me that he would like me to win the 5km and the 10km so that I can represent us there in Budapest.”

Meanwhile, also part of the same race were the 16 and 17-year-old swimmers competing in the 7.5km event. It was 16-year-old Keegan Wright who outsprinted Sven van der Linde for top honours, finishing in 1:34:13.27 with Van der Linde second in 1:34:18.87. Liam Ellis then battled it out with Jeandre Kleynhans and edged ahead to take third spot in 1:35:06.98.

“The first two laps felt pretty good,” said Wright afterwards. “Sven was with me the whole way, constantly pushing each other, going back and forth. The last lap was then all about pushing as hard as I could.”

Van der Linde added: “My plan was to try and stick with the 10km swimmers as long as I could and once they dropped, to try and keep my pace as long as I could and to stay with Keegan because I knew we’d be pushing each other right to the end.

“It was a tight one, it hurt a lot, but Keegan was stronger on the day so well done to him.”

Later in the day Samantha Randle dominated the women’s 3km event, finishing in 37:30.16. Emma Carmody was second in 38:24.82 and Kaitlynne Horne third (38:25.43).

Both Randle and Breytenbach were back in the water for the final event of the day, guiding their Aquatics Gauteng Tshwane mixed 4x1.25km relay team to victory in a combined time of 1:00:02 (along with Stephanie Houtman and Reece Zowitsky).

Another Aquatics Gauteng Tshwane team (Catherine van Rensburg, Ricardo Rebelo, Callan Lotter and Richardt Beineke) were second in 1:01:30 and the Western Cape team of 7.5km champion Wright, women’s 7.5km winner Hannah Neilson, Babette van Rooyen and Liam Ellis were third in 1:02.51.

Racing concludes on Sunday with the women’s and men’s 5km events. All the action can be followed via live streaming on: http://swimsa.org/news/sa-open-water-swimming-championships-2022

Pictured here: Men's 10km podium

Photo credit: Nonda Sakelliou

Supplied.

Howick High School will be presenting a romantic comedy production in March 2022. The show is made up of two one-act plays and will take place on Tuesday, 15, Wednesday, 16 and Thursday, 17 March 2022.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DATE:
Two exes go head to head to find replacement dates for prom...and it doesn't go well. Warning: this play contains the use of hilariously ridiculous characters.

TOO MANY DAUGHTERS:
In this Jane Austen parody, the Ashworth daughters (of which there are twelve - or is it thirteen?) struggle to find suitors that will meet their mother's high standard. Her standard, of course, being that they must be filthy rich. Their task is made all the more difficult because their choices are so limited.

In the meantime, they must fend off unwanted proposals, snooty cousins, and the dreaded Dowager Countess.

Tickets available at Howick High school office.

Amber Camera Club is based at Amber Valley where meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the Auditorium there. We generally have a morning session where we sometimes have practical lessons or outings and then an evening meeting where we have a speaker and also judging of our monthly photographic competition.

Outings are arranged and this year we will be exploring the Midlands especially for photographic opportunities.

We are a mixed group of photographers in age and experience in photography and cell phone photography is also allowed. ACC is a friendly group of 60 -70 members .Training is freely given and we aim to enjoy our photography together with fellow photographers.

The one point that I must stress is that membership of ACC is not limited to people living in the Ambers - anyone living in or around Howick is welcomed.

Contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pictured here below: The winners of our monthly competition which ended on 1 February are as follows:- Best Senior was Dave Mullin with “Under a Starry sky”. 

Pictured here above: Best Junior was Rob Ainslie with “Young Man”.

Despite a damp, misty start to the day, the fundraising Keep It Local ‘Host for Hospice’ event turned out to be a fun-filled day. Both experienced bowlers and non- bowlers alike came from far and wide in the Midlands to participate in this event. It was such a pleasure to see so many 'old’ and ‘new’ faces on our greens and in our clubhouse.

Congratulations go to Mark Schraader and to all club members who worked so hard to make the day such a success. The organisation was flawless and the prizes, all from local companies, were extremely generous. Special thanks is extended to all the sponsors for their support and generosity.

Pictured above: The Hospice team with Lisa & Wendy

Pictured below: The Meet & Greet at the 'Host for Hospice' event.

RESULTS
The monthly 2- Bowl Trips Competition played on Friday, 25 February and sponsored by Woodstone Craft Café was won by Mike Scheffer, Bob Chetty and Barry Fairbrother (Umgeni Waterfall BC), The runners up were Craig Whitby, Mark Taylor and Tara J van Rensburg (Howick BC and West BC)

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
NB Tabs in for all afternoon competitions will be 13h45.Morning tabs in remain 08h15
Wednesday, 02 March: Monthly Tabs In Competition sponsored by Halfway Toyota Howick. Play commences at 2 pm
Saturday, 05 March: Monthly Tabs In Competition sponsored by Greendale Superspar.

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

Come say hello to our little friends this weekend at Dingo's Farm and Reptile Park!! Fun for all ages, it warms everyone’s heart - no matter how tough your week has been!

More about Piggly Wiggly Midlands

Networking. Connecting. Encouraging. Join Women in Business at The Darling Dachshund on Tuesday next week to meet other women in business. Guest speaker: Mayor Chris Pappas.

To book: https://forms.gle/gTvSTbafMxQQKBbL9

This past week has been a lot more relaxed at the club with only two events taking place, namely the Monthly 2-4-2 Competition sponsored by J Leslie Smith and Dr Alan Sara which was played on Tuesday and the first round of the club nominated mixed pairs competition.

RESULTS
The 2-4-2 competition where most players entered into the spirit of the season and wore red was won by Colin Burden and Arlene Molloy. The Plate event was won by Mike Crause and Mark Schraader. Our thanks are extended to the sponsors for the eats and the generous prizes.

Missing from Photo: Lisa Nagel and Bernice Burden. Included were ladies who were being coached that same morning.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS FOR FEBRUARY
Friday, 25 February: Nominated Trips sponsored by Woodstone Craft Cafe. Start time 09h00. Please be at the club 15 minutes before start of play. Entries to be in before Thursday, 24 Feb.
Saturday, 26 February: ‘Host for Hospice’ Event. Ladies Trips starting at 11h00. Entry fee includes High Tea. Wonderful prizes to be won. Enter your team asap by contacting Lisa on 084 586 6984.

We thank all our sponsors for their continued support. This is really appreciated.

All registered players are welcome to participate on tabs in days and in all our sponsored competitions.

Coaching by registered coaches will recommence this week. Phone/Whatsapp 071 164 3162

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

We are giving away R4000! Want it?

The Rotary Club of Hilton and Howick is launching its 100 club and has 100 tickets to sell for R100 each. Funds raised will be used to support Love Howick in its community building initiatives.

1st prize: R4000, 2nd prize: R1000, 3rd prize: R500

The first draw will take place at: Legacy Coffee Co., 1 Dicks Street, Howick on Thursday 3 March At 5.30pm

Get your ticket to win one of three fabulous prizes!

Tickets available from Love Howick, Colin Hall (Rotary) on 082 920 6306 or message the Rotary Club of Hilton and Howick Facebook page for help.

Join us for coffee and a toastie and an evening of fun and excitement!