THE Greyvensteins Attorney’s Pam Golding Touchies Tournament is back this year and will be introducing the Nissan Eastern Cape Fast5 netball tournament as part of the sporting event.
One of the biggest highlights on the sports calender in Port Elizabeth will see 60 rugby teams and additional 20 ladies netball teams battle for the winning prize.
“We have decided to also showcase a new style of netball for PE with only five players on the field. It is one of the biggest touch rugby tournaments in South Africa,” said event organiser, Christo Botha from 1Touch.
The tournament, which started in 2012 with only 10 teams and one league, has since grew to a whopping 60 teams and six leagues.
The teams registered for the tournament are from all over South Africa and age groups as young as seven years old, will compete. The tournament consists of six leagues – pro, semi-pro, veterans, beer, rookie and U/13 leagues.
“Our players come from the Nelson Mandela Bay, including Rustenburg, Grahamstown, Jeffrey’s Bay, Hankey, Patensie and so much more. At first people think that it’s just a school event, but as soon as they get to the venue on the day, they realise how big the event actually is. We had 2 000 to 3 000 spectators last year,” Botha explained.
Teams will practise at different venues as social touchies are played all over PE on Sundays.
“Some venues are Grey High, Charlo, Framesby, Kings
“I visit the school teams just to explain the rules to them, as the primary schools are new to touch rugby,” Botha added.
The winners of the pro-league will win a R4 000 cash prize and the different league winners will receive goodies worth R50 000.
Botha said, “As it is a family event, we will be having food stalls, a beer tent and the SAPS K9 dog unit show, as well as the Southern Kings players who will meet and greet the fans.”
The tournament has seen the likes of well-known players such as Selwyn Davids, a South African rugby union player for the SA Sevens team, as well as Curwin Bosch, a South African rugby union player for the Sharks in Super Rugby and in the Currie Cup.
The tournament will take place on October 27, at Charlo Primary School. The first of the 156 games will commence at 08:00.
For more information on the event, contact Christo Botha at 072 238 4463 or 1Touch@igen.co.za.
