{"id":46715,"date":"2024-07-10T12:15:28","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T10:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/the-best-of-the-best-20240709-5\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T11:28:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T09:28:51","slug":"the-best-of-the-best-20240709-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/the-best-of-the-best-20240709-5\/","title":{"rendered":"The best of the best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Helderberg Tug of War Club has achieved unprecedented success in the 2024 season, clinching the Western Province Club Championships, Western Cape Club Championships and the coveted South African Club Championships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This winning streak culminated in the club\u2019s crowning as the overall nationa; club champions at the Buffeljagsrivier event held on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The club\u2019s impressive performance saw seven men\u2019s teams, four mixed teams, and five women\u2019s teams (known as the Disas) participate, with each team comprising eight athletes and a reserve. The local club secured victories in both the Premier and President divisions, solidifying their position as the top tug of war club in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its representing teams won an impressive haul of medals, including one gold, two silver and one bronze in the Premier class, and one gold in the President class on the first day. The second day brought even greater success, with three gold medals and two bronze medals in the Premier class, and one gold medal and one bronze medal in the President class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Men\u2019s captain Tiaan Ras praised the teams\u2019 performance, highlighting the impressive showing by younger members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am very proud of both the men\u2019s and the women\u2019s teams,\u201d he said. \u201cThe younger members, both scholars and under-23 members performed well beyond expectations and I am very excited about the future of Helderberg Tug of War Club, especially when you look at the under-23 teams. They are the club\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Women\u2019s captain Chloe Smith added: \u201cI am very proud to be a part of the Helderberg Tug of War Club. Everyone worked incredibly hard and sacrificed a lot for our sport. To win the South African club champs was extremely rewarding and well deserved for everyone. Our new members, school kids and under-23 members outperformed my expectations; they did extremely well and I couldn\u2019t be more proud. I look forward to seeing them grow in this sport and seeing the, become strong athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The club looks forward to its 40th anniversary next year, honouring its enduring legacy of ensuring the sport of tug of war is a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div contenteditable=\"false\" data-embed24=\"Images\" data-pos=\"middle\" id=\"embed_700c839e\">\n<div class=\"slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-smallsrc=\"https:\/\/cdn.24.co.za\/files\/Cms\/General\/d\/11991\/ea14399d8fd04dbea3023d6ec85a774a.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/c4a6006a64754a1b9bfaa4b497cbbc36.jpg\" title=\"Top athletes (behind from left) are Mario de Jager, Schalk van der Merwe, Dewald van Heerden, Albertus Uys and Janco van Zyl. Front: Andr\u00e9 van Rooyen, Tania Menmuir, Amor Oosthuizen, Janconet Vermeulen and Marine Perold. \"><p><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\">Top athletes (behind from left) are Mario de Jager, Schalk van der Merwe, Dewald van Heerden, Albertus Uys and Janco van Zyl. Front: Andr\u00e9 van Rooyen, Tania Menmuir, Amor Oosthuizen, Janconet Vermeulen and Marine Perold. <\/div>\n<div class=\"img_accreditation\"><span class=\"source\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><span class=\"photographer\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-smallsrc=\"https:\/\/cdn.24.co.za\/files\/Cms\/General\/d\/11991\/c898d0a60e6545beaee7e5a347ad0c13.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/be6c0e0f1640465e8316c637b653b9c1.jpg\" title=\"Showing off their medals (behind from left) are Jackie Brand, Tania Menmuir, Melanie Botha, Chloe Smith and Janconet Vermeulen. Front: Marine Perold, Emily Bisogno, Melizza van der Merwe and Amor Oosthuizen.\"><p><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\">Showing off their medals (behind from left) are Jackie Brand, Tania Menmuir, Melanie Botha, Chloe Smith and Janconet Vermeulen. Front: Marine Perold, Emily Bisogno, Melizza van der Merwe and Amor Oosthuizen.<\/div>\n<div class=\"img_accreditation\"><span class=\"source\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><span class=\"photographer\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Helderberg Tug of War Club has achieved unprecedented success in the 2024 season, clinching the Western Province Club Championships, Western Cape Club Championships and the coveted South African Club 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This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The best of the best | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/the-best-of-the-best-20240709-5\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The best of the best\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Helderberg Tug of War Club has achieved unprecedented success in the 2024 season, clinching the Western Province Club Championships, Western Cape Club Championships and the coveted South African Club Championships.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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