Hockey in the City of Roses has always been its pride and joy, with many schools in Bloemfontein ranking among the top 10 hockey playing schools in the country, including the top two girls’ schools, Eunice and Oranje.
Indoor hockey is just as popular, with seven teams from the Bloemfontein Bears club heading to Cape Town to take part in the Pro Series Indoor (PSI) National Tournament over the December holiday.
The teams showed their strengths and did remarkably well, with both the under-13 boys and under-14 girls winning their section, while the under-14 girls goalkeeper, Dane Janse van Vuuren, won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award, and Rayhan Fitz winning Player of the Tournament in the Plate section. The under-16 boys team brought home a bronze medal, while the under-18 girls team also won the Fair Play Award.
Overall the club itself won the Plate Franchise of the Year award. For Tarrin Ramsden of the Bloem Bears Club, a match that stood out was “definitely the last pool game. The girls had to win or draw to go through to the final and they managed to put their last goal in as the time was up,” she said. “They never backed down and played ’til the very last second,” Ramsden claimed proudly.
She also explained that the club was founded in 2013, and that “goals for the club are to grow as much as possible, and give all players a chance to play indoor [hockey] in Bloemfontein.”
Warren Hawkins
