Chairman`s Corner - The Wanderers Club

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June 2014 Newsletter
Chairman’s Corner
As I start my term of office as Chairman of the Club it is an opportunity to reflect on the history of our great
and illustrious Club.
I quote an extract from a message from the then Chairman of the Club, Herby Hadfield, that appeared in the
Club magazine on the occasion of the Club’s 90th anniversary in 1978. He said at the time, that “The
Wanderers Club is something which has come down to us from the long–distant past and as its history
grows longer and richer, it continues to play its leading role in South African sport and to provide a home
for many thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen. With our big turnover of members, I believe that its
story can never be told too often…”
At a meeting held on 18 August 1888 it was agreed that the Club would go by the name of the “Wanderers”
and it was agreed that the colours of the Club would be black, red and yellow. This combination of colours
was held to symbolise a progression from darkness through fire into light.
One hundred and twenty six years on we still have a vibrant and prosperous Club with 14 sporting codes
providing an opportunity for the sportsmen and sportswomen of Johannesburg of all ages to participate in
their chosen sport. The Club has been through years of war, revolution, rebellion, insurrection, political
upheaval, economic depression and social unrest. We owe a debt of gratitude to those before us who had the
wisdom, foresight and fortitude to direct the Club through these many travails.
The Club, as we heard at the Annual General Meeting, is financially strong and stable as we go into our one
hundred and twenty seventh year. We, nevertheless, face some ongoing challenges and cannot afford to
become complacent in what remain as tough economic times.
Of concern at present is the threat of higher municipal rates and taxes. The City has just released the latest
valuation and although the valuation remains the same, we have been notified that it is treating the Club
property as “business and commercial” and no longer as “private open space” for rates purposes. We
understand that we are not alone and that other Clubs in the area are being treated similarly. We are
consulting with the experts so that we can take the necessary steps to attempt to reverse this decision as we
go to press. We will keep you informed as developments unfold.
Bruce Burt
Membership Corner
The following is the new Main Committee elected at a meeting
held after the AGM on Thursday 5 June :
Bruce Burt
-
Chairman
Adrian Schofield
-
Vice-Chairman
Antony Cohen
-
Committee Member
Dave Grant
-
Committee Member
Mike Hines
-
Committee Member
Owen Kerr
-
Committee Member (sub-club representative)
Owen Leibbrandt
-
Committee Member
Peter Smith
-
Committee Member
Robert Spanjaard
-
Committee Member
Colin Warner
-
Committee Member (sub-club representative)
Darren Dignam
-
Chief Executive Officer
Maria van den Bosch
-
Financial Manager
Ex-officio and by invitation :
_____________________________________
Important Notice to Members
It’s that time of year again when the membership department will be calling all members who have to
date not yet paid their annual subscriptions. Please ensure that your subscriptions are paid as soon as
possible in order to avoid being defaulted and having your name displayed on the Club’s notice boards.
We would hate to lose you as a member so please call Glenda or Tony in the membership office today!
We are deeply saddened to have to announce that
FRANK GOETZSCHE
passed away on Sunday after a very long and hard-fought illness.
Frank has been a staunch member of the club for 29 years
and he will be sadly missed by his many friends.
The committee offer his wife Myrna and their children and grandchildren
their deepest condolences on their loss.
Athletics
The Ultimate Human Race: Comrades 2014
On the morning of Sunday 1st June 2014, at some unearthly hour when the rest of us were in warm beds, about 45
nervous Wanderers runners were considering their sanity. After months of training and early mornings, they had
arrived in Pietermaritzburg at the start of the Comrades Marathon 2014, The Ultimate Human Race.
Craig Mcclenaghan, Kerynn Constable, Garren Constable, Kirtsen Mortimer, Julia Du Plessis, Andrew Zinn and Jenny Meyer
The singing of Shosholoza, a quiet tear from the novices (and others!) during Chariots of Fire, the national anthem, a
call from a rooster and the starting gun… And then the wait to cross the line and actually start the 89km journey to
Durban. Anywhere between 6 hours 58 mins and 11 hours 54 mins later.
Craig Mcclenaghan, Kerynn Constable and Garren Constable
Although the Wanderers runners had many supporters along the road, some of who moved and rushed between
points (thanks Chantelle), the second table was in Gillits, 30km from the end. What runners want 30km from the end
is amusing – from a Bovril sandwich with a cup of tea to a comfy place for a quick nap (I kid you not – OK, not a
Wanderers runner but still) to ice creams to the normal energy drinks and Gu’s! We had it all! And More – toilet
paper, Vaseline, Voltaren rub, Ice…
The Table (with Anne and Bernie)
Sherri and Lee Harvey taking a break
Sizwe getting a rub down
Wanderers runners came through– generally smiling, often cursing but all achieving amazing things.
Alon Grunthal
Stuart Porrill
Dylan Burgess
We had some Speedy Gonzales who sped through on their own...
Jaco Swart
Andrew Crawford
Lehora Moeng
Neeraj Shah
And some who took it more casually, stopped to eat and left after a pic at the “only” 30km to go sign
Bheka Mchunu waving
happily
Daniel Matsoso
Carl Setzkorn
Bruce Morley having a break…
…and then having his pic taken
Andrew Stainforth
Murray Saunderson wondering what all the fuss is about
Wesley Martens
Jon Forman
Andrew Zinn, Kirsten
Mortimer and Julia Du Plessis
Thanks to some amazing organisation from the club, Wanderers had their gazebo on the finishing straight so we
could stand and shout and cheer our runners in.
Pierre Simon
Mark Hoffman and Karl Setzkorn
Wesley Martens and Bruce Morley
Stuart Porrill, Sandra Du Toit and Jonathon Robinson
Sizwe Mtshali and Bheka Mchunu
Kirsten Mortimer, Andrew Zinn and Julia Du Plessis
Regardless of how or when our runners finished, whether or not they achieved exactly what they wanted, each and
every one is a winner and achieved something amazing on that day. To run 89km and still smile afterwards is
phenomenal. Remember, Hard is what makes it Great.
Shannon Blankfield
Dylan Burgess
Craig Mcclenaghan and Kerynn Constable
The Finish of a long day in the sun
This was celebrated at the Aches and Pains party on 12th June – giving the runners a week or two to be able to walk
correctly again and start planning for the Up run next year. The following awards were also given out:
Hare (First Runner): Ngate Lepulane
Tortoise (Last Runner): Sherri and Lee Harvey - the first time we can remember a husband and wife team running
together
First Female: Sandra Du Plessis
First Novice: Rowan Williams
The overall Wanderers results are:
Name
Ngate Lepulane
Cliff Sizer
Shannon Blankfield
Rowan Williams
Lance Wynne
Dylan Burgess
Pierre Simon
Mark Hoffman
Carl Setzkorn
Jaco Swart
Andrew Stainforth
Lehora Moeng
Wesley Martens
Bruce Morley
Neeraj Shah
John Hislop
Lucas Ndala
Alon Grunthal
Andrew Crawford
Jon Forman
Murray Saunderson
Time (hh:mm:ss)
6:58:56
8:35:31
8:49:38
8:52:03
8:54:48
9:25:26
9:41:08
9:45:18
9:45:19
9:49:22
10:18:39
10:20:22
10:25:09
10:25:10
10:25:17
10:27:10
10:38:30
10:38:53
10:40:27
10:41:20
10:44:55
Name
Jonathon Robinson
Stuart Porrill
Sandra Du Toit
Sizwe Mtshali
Bheka Mchunu
Grathel Motau
Kirsten Mortimer
Andrew Zinn
Julia Du Plessis
Tracy Brown
Garren Constable
Kerynn Constable
Craig Mcclenaghan
Jolene Sunjich
Stuart Spence
Monique Lines
Aleck Mabena
Boitumelo Lesomo
Daniel Matsoso
Sherri Harvey
Lee Harvey
Time (hh:mm:ss)
10:45:45
10:45:45
10:45:45
10:52:25
10:52:25
10:55:48
11:12:09
11:12:10
11:12:10
11:25:15
11:28:38
11:28:38
11:28:38
11:35:46
11:38:04
11:38:13
11:39:33
11:46:42
11:47:28
11:54:47
11:54:48
Comrades Aches & Pains Party
Graham Calder awarding the Hare Trophy to Ngate Lepulane
Pierre Simon the Novice Trophy winner with Graham Calder
Sherri & Lee Harvey the winners of the Tortoise Trophy
Graham Calder (chairman Athletics) presenting the
Joe Stutzen trophy to Andrew
THE JOE STUTZEN TROPHY – Athletics Club person of the year award
This trophy was the concept of the late Joe Stutzen who was Athletics chairman from 1958-1993, yes
an amazing thirty-five years!
The trophy is awarded annually to an athletics member who has done extensive duties for the section
over the year. The 2014 award goes to Andrew Zinn for his behind the scenes work!
Recipients of this award are as follows:
1993 LOUELLA NOPPÉ, 1994 FIONA RENNIE, 1995 KARLIE HEIDT & ROSE,
1996 NEVER MATIYA, 1997 KEN HAMILTON, 1998 GILLIAN KARSTAEDT,
1999 RICHARD MAYER, 2000 TEDDY HUTAMO, 2001 JIM GREEN,
2002 MURRAY SAUNDERSON, 2003 FIONA MORLEY, 2004 MARTIN URRY,
2005 FENELLA SOMERVILLE, 2006 ROY JENNINGS, 2007 SEAN KLEYNHANS,
2008 FRANCESCA PARRINI, 2009 BRETT CAMERON, 2010 BILL YEAMAN,
2011 PAT CALDER, 2012 JENNY LANCASTER, 2013 JASON WARD, 2014 ANDREW ZINN
Karate
Wanderers Karate offers classes every Monday to Saturday for children and adults, beginners and
those who have trained before. For more information, please contact Sensei Johan la Grange on
083 825 9318, email [email protected] or visit www.karategauteng.co.za
2014 Class Schedule:
Mondays and Wednesdays:
15:30 to 16:00
16:00 to 16:45
16:45 to 17:30
17:30 to 18:00
18:00 to 19:00
19:00 to 20:00
Beginner White belt Dinkies 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old
White belt beginners 8 to 12 years old – Yellow belts – Orange belts
Green – Blue – Purple – Red – Brown – Junior Black belts (split class)
Beginner White belt Dinkies 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old
High school and older White belt beginners – Senior Yellow to Black belt (split class)
Black belt Seniors
Tuesdays and Thursdays:
08:00 to 09:00
17:30 to 18:00
18:00 to 18:45
18:45 to 19:45
Self-defence for women (all levels)
White belt beginners (children) – Yellow – Orange belts (split class)
Green – Blue – Purple – Red – Brown – Junior Black belts (split class)
High school and older White belt beginners – Senior Yellow to Black belt (split class)
Fridays:
08:00 to 09:00 Self-defence for women (all levels)
Squad training and private classes as arranged
Saturdays:
08:00 to 09:00 Brown and Black belt Senior class
09:00 to 09:45 Junior class: Green – Blue – Purple – Red – Brown – Junior Black belts
Rugby
Mid-Season Report – June 2014
Chairman’s Message
As I sit down to write this mid-season report there are many thoughts running through my mind. Last year
we managed to beat Pirates at their home ground to reclaim the Danford Cup – through some strange twist
of fate the fixtures draw put this year’s contest at Pirates again – that match takes place this weekend and the
results may be in by the time this newsletter goes to print, but from all of us on the side-lines, best of luck
lads, I trust the silverware remains at the Wanderers!
Many members of the Wanderers Club, many of whom were past members of the Rugby Sub-Section, may
not know, or have heard all that is going on at Kent Park. So I thought it would be a good idea to write a
“mid-season report” to inform the members of the huge strides being made by our sub-section. I hope it
gives an insight into the workings of this fantastic rugby club. As with any sphere of life, there are areas to
work on, and to improve, but the overall message is one of positivity. I congratulate everyone on their
success so far this season and thank all the volunteers and sponsors who help us fulfil our goal to provide a
rugby home for as many people as possible regardless of age, gender, race or ability.
Please make an effort to support us at our last home game of the league against Union on the 5th of July.
Kick-off times are as follows;
U21 (B-Field) and 3rd team (A-Field) – 1.15pm
U19 (B-Field) and 2nd team (A-Field) – 2.40pm
1st team (A-Field) – 4pm
I look forward to seeing many of you there backing our teams in their endeavour to top the league log and
qualify to compete in the Community Cup competition next year.
Yours sincerely
Rob Cloete
Administration
The Rugby sub-section administrative team and committee have seen huge changes. Mr Fareed Behardien
was voted in as chairman of the Rugby Club at the rugby sub-section AGM last year and began his tenure
with a relatively young and inexperienced committee backing him up (only 1 member was left from the
2013 season committee). Fareed proved himself up to the challenge put into place the excellent structures
and plans with which we continue to operate today. Unfortunately Fareed had to leave the club earlier this
year due to career commitments in Cape Town. We were very sad to see him go. I was then elected
chairman with Dylan Herwill filling the position of vice-chairman, a position which was previously vacant.
Brendon Cross resigned as the rugby club manager late last year and his position has been ably filled by
Gary Joseph.
Rugby
First off special thanks must go to our sponsors – Vaseline, ‘official skincare sponsors of Wanderers Rugby
Club and the Springboks’ for providing our magnificent BLK kit. In addition, their ongoing support of
rugby development initiatives provides transport free of charge to lesser privileged members of our rugby
community. This makes it possible for us to bus young, u/19 and u/21, players in from surrounding
townships to join our club and benefit from the top level coaching and facilities at Wanderers.
The u/19 and u/21 teams, being coached by Clayton Snyman (u/19), and Njabulo Zulu and Sbu Zwane
(u/21) have had rather poor results so far this year, having played 5, won 2 and played 5 won 1 respectively.
These results can be put down to the fact that our particularly strong u/19 squad having to fill in for the
weaker u/21 squad leading to many a boy having to play two full matches on games day in order to ensure
that we field a full team and avoid losing log points. These on-field efforts by our ‘colts’ have not gone
unnoticed by the rest of the club and are in fact much appreciated. The coaching staff and committee are
working hard to fill the u/21 squad up and continuing to nurture young talent.
Our 3rd XV squad, under the astute management of Vic Booyens and Andre Wessels, sometimes numbering
up to 40 players, have fared very well playing 5 and winning 4 games to place them 3 rd on the log behind
Raiders and UJ. The one loss of the season was against a particularly strong UJ team.
The 2nd XV squad, adeptly coached by Gareth Shackleford, has also done well so far this season with a win
loss record of 3 and 2 placing them 4th on the log. The losses again coming against very strong university
teams.
The competition within the club has been fierce with many of the 2nd XV players being serious contenders
for spots in the 1st XV squad. This has led to the coaches, Neil Kalify and Jonny Mallet, being able to field a
squad of 23 strong players, week in and week out. Needless to say this has been of great benefit to the team
and coupled to the significant increase in depth in key positions has been reflected by the results our premier
team has shown this year. We are currently third on the log behind UJ and Raiders with 2 games in hand on
both of them. This places us in a position to challenge for the top spot on the log, and automatic
qualification for the 2015 Cell C Community Cup Competition, at the end of the league matches.
The Clubhouse
Application has been made to the main club committee to build a deck onto the rugby clubhouse and we
anxiously await the decision on this development. The Rugby sub-section has been raising money to
contribute, and enable this addition to be completed before the end of the 2014 season. The proposed
development is pictured below (artist’s impression) and will make for a much better and more convivial
facility for spectators to view the rugby from whilst also enabling the club to let the facility for functions
during the off-season to raise funds.
Volunteers
The club cannot run without volunteers and we pay tribute to everyone who gives their time to help the club
achieve its goals.
Hockey
We are well into a season which has been disrupted by public holidays, load shedding, social functions,
weddings and unfortunately, a few players’ lack of commitment to their teams. Regular checks of the
website to find the updated results is also a problem as many of the leagues still have postponed games to
catch up.
Also Randburg Astro has had a hard time of it as they were without water for two weekends due to water
pipe trouble they too need to make up several matches as well as they run two AstroTurf’s Saturday
afternoons and Sundays all day.
Our Premier league results are not up to our usual high standards at this stage but a few good wins in the
near future will see us back again into contention for more league honours. Our men’s 1sts are currently
lying in 3rd place but still have two games to catch up. Last Saturday they played some excellent hockey
and had an excellent win beating Wits 8-1. Old Eds are in 1st position with UJ A lying 2nd.
Our other men’s sides are mostly midway in their respective leagues. Best of the men at this time are our 7th
team who are 2nd in men’s 3rd league.
The ladies 1st team is currently in 4th spot in Premier league, leading the league is UJ lying 2nd is Juppe/St
Andrews followed by Pirates and then our Wanderers side. Our other ladies teams are really doing well in
their respective leagues. Ladies 2nd team is a close 3rd in Reserve league. Ladies 4ths are top of 1st league.
The 5th team is comfortably lying in 2nd spot in 2nd league and the 7th team are presently winning 3rd league.
I received mail yesterday from SA superstar hockey International Pietie Coetzee who joined Wanderers two
seasons ago and played for our ladies 1st team when she was in SA which unluckily for us was not that often
as she was busy travelling overseas and playing for SA most of the time.
Pietie has asked for a clearance from the Wanderers Club. Not sure what her plans are in the future as she
has publicly announced her retirement from future International competition. It has indeed been a privilege
for Wanderers to have had someone of that calibre in our club. The 35 year old South African hockey icon
ended her International career with an astonishing 282 goals in 287 Test matches. Pietie scored in the final
match for SA against Japan in the recent Hockey World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands when SA beat
Japan in the play off for 9th place by 2 goals to nil. We wish Pietie all the very best in the future, sure that
hockey will still feature prominently in her life for many more years to come.
Colts hockey
Our boys and girls Colts practice once a week on the Wanderers Astroturf and play matches on a Friday
evening at several clubs in Gauteng. Tsoanelo Pholo who plays in our ladies 1st team and who is an ex-SA
hockey player heads up the girls Colts coaching program and Craig Till is in charge of the boys program.
Several of our top Premier league players are also involved in the Colts coaching program as well and our
results to date have been most pleasing.
Thanks to Sue Meyerson and Craig Till for all their hard work in coordinating these two important aspects
of our Club hockey.
Mini-hockey
The last few Saturday mornings have been bitterly cold but that has not stopped our mini-hockey players
from practicing and attending tournaments all over Gauteng.
We take a short break of two weeks for the July school holidays and private schools mid- term breaks and
resume again on Saturday 12th July.
Wendy B Cooke
Mini Hockey Festival – May 2014
Wanderers u9 boys at the Crusaders Tournament
The DSA gazebo was sponsored by Dee Smith & Associates. Dee is
the mother of Chloe Smith who plays in the under 9 team.
The KLM gazebo was sponsored by KLM Air France, Joris Holtus
one of our mini-hockey dads. His daughter is Jasmijn who is also
under 9.
Alison van Rensburg of “The Daisy Lady” arranged the supply and
printing of our gazebos at a greatly reduced price. Her son is Ben
who is in our under 11 team.
A huge thanks goes to Michelle Jackson who initiated the
sponsorships, Michelle is our mom in charge of the under 9 age
group.
We thank all these parents for their generosity and we have and will
be using our mini-hockey gazebos at the Wanderers Astro and also
all our away Tournaments.
Guy Terry scored 6 goals in the I sides, 9 – 4 demolition of St Martin’s Alumni on Sunday 22 June
The second team thoroughly enjoyed the club night for June
Snooker
The Central Gauteng Snooker Association League fixtures are running smoothly and the season is now
approaching the halfway mark. At this stage “The Undertakers”, consisting of Fakhrie Gierdien and Hugo
Lotriet, have taken the lead in the team standings, as well as the individual standings. The competition is
very tough this year and there are still a number of teams that are in contention at this stage.
The Ken Shaw Open Championships was played at Wanderers in April over two consecutive weekends,
with the finals happening on the 26th of April 2014. Over the last number of years this premier event on the
Highveld Region Snooker calendar has been dominated by our own Fakhrie Gierdien. This year was no
exception and after some tough matches it was Fakhrie Gierdien and Kiashan Moodley who met in the final
match. Defending champion Fakhrie Gierdien from Central Gauteng and Wanderers Club convincingly beat
Kiashan Moodley from Gauteng North 5-0 to claim the title with yet another spectacular performance.
Ken Shaw Finalists - Fakhrie Gierdien and Kiashan Moodley
The CGSA 6 Red Championships was played from 14-24 April this year and with Fakhrie Gierdien in the
devastating form that he has been in; he quickly raced through his round robin and knockout matches and
only dropped one frame on his way to the final. In the other half of the draw it was Mike Hines who made it
through to the final of the main event, while Ismail Kippie and Mukesh Dayah played in the final of the Plate
event. Mike put up a brave fight, but it was Fakhrie Gierdien who ran out 6-3 victor in the end, while
Mukesh Dayah claimed the Plate title by beating Ismail Kippie 4 - 0. Well done to both these players.
CGSA 6 Reds Finalists - Fakhrie Gierdien and Mike Hines
CGSA 6 Reds Plate Finalists – Mukesh Dayah and Ismail Kippie
The South African 6 Red Championships took place in Durban from 8-11 May, while the South African
Open Championships was played from 10-17 May, also in Durban.
The final was eventually won by Kiashan Moodley who beat Igshaan Stanfield 7-3 in the final. Well done
Kiashan on winning another SA title.
Squash
Club News:
The repairs and reparations to the Match Court are now complete and ready for the SA Nationals in August.
League News:
As you know, we have 6 teams competing in the Southern Gauteng League and 6 in the Gauteng Masters.
The current standings as of June 25th are as follows :
Southern Gauteng League
Gauteng Masters League
Wanderers 1st
3rd in 2nd League
Wanderers A
3rd in 2nd League
Wanderers 2nd
9th in 3rd League
Wanderers B
2nd in 3rd League
Wanderers 3rd
4th in 4th League
Wanderers C
5th in 3rd League 
Wanderers 4th
8th in 4th League
Wanderers D
3rd in 4th League
Wanderers 5th
8th in 6th League
Wanderers E
5th in 6th League
Wanderers 6th
5th in 8th League
Wanderers F
6th in 6th League
Showing movements since last month
Tournament News :
The inaugural “Century Doubles Tournament” was held over the 20/21st Weekend which requires that the
combined age of each partnership be 100 or over. The Tournament started on Friday evening and ended on
the Saturday with a lunch and prize-giving. Our resident coach, Gary Plumstead, ran the tournament with
his customary precision which required players to play all their matches in quick succession. The only
downside was that the first three prize-winners came from clubs other than Wanderers, namely, Chamber
Exiles, JCC/Randburg, and Randburg, which is testimony to the higher standard of doubles played at these
clubs. Perhaps this should serve as a wake-up for us to improve our standard.
Winners: Chris & Phil from Chamber Exiles
Second: Vincent from JCC & Maryna from Randburg SC
Third: Jeremy & Eldon from Randburg SC
Fourth: Phil & Dave from Wanderers
Fifth: Sheena & Ken from Wanderers
Sixth: David & Tony from Wanderers sorry, no pic
Seventh: Mish & Francois from Wanderers
Eighth: Andy & Chris from Wanderers
Wanderers Sports Awards :
This is a repeat request that we nominate someone from Squash to receive an award.
The annual Sports Awards Dinner will be held on the 6th September in the Ballroom and we would like to
have some good representation from the Squash Section. Please let me know if you and your partner would
like to join us for an entertaining evening. Furthermore, to show our importance as an active member of the
Wanderers’ sporting activities, we would like to have some of our members put forward for an award at this
prestigious event. Please let me know of anyone within Squash who has performed exceptionally over the
last year so that I may put him/her forward for an award. The keynote speaker will be Martin Cowper who
was a Wanderers Springbok Gymnast and more recently a Masters Squash Player. I’m sure he will be
entertaining as he has an extensive knowledge of sport across the board.
Yours in Squash, Dave Grant
Badminton
Congratulations to Sarah, Prakash and Isha for being selected in the Southern Gauteng ‘A’ side to play at
the South African Inter-Provincials in Cape Town later this year. We wish you everything of the best.
Earlier this month, in Nigeria, the South African Badminton players walked away with gold (men’s
doubles), silver (mixed doubles) and bronze (ladies doubles). They went on to play in Mauritius but, as yet,
I haven’t had the results for that – something for next month’s newsletter.
The various badminton groups are training hard at the weekends for their various tournaments that happen
monthly between now and the end of the year. Our very own Chairman, Owen Kerr, is at this moment
representing Southern Gauteng Badminton at an inter-provincial in Robertson. More about that in next
month’s epistle.
Again I would encourage those interested in improving their skills to attend the Monday night’s training.
While Shane is away, different committee members have kept this session going and, from my part, it was
great to see the enthusiasm of those who come down.
Junior training continues on a Friday night. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please
encourage them to come down. The two young players who have given up their Friday evenings would
love to have more juniors.
Major League has begun and Wanderers has two teams in league. So far the A side has won their games
easily. I await the results from the B side. Good luck to both teams going forward.
Soccer
Wanderers Wellness Centre
Food & Mood
Kezia Kent, Registered Dietitian
Wanderers Wellness Centre
[email protected]
Is there a connection to how we feel and the foods we have eaten? Could we plan a diet for a ‘good’ mood?
There are many different reasons why we sometimes feel down, weak or even irritable so here are a few
ways in which improved nutrition could possibly improve how you feel.

Vitamins and Minerals
When you don’t eat enough nutrient-rich food, your body will lack vitamins and minerals, often affecting
energy, mood and brain function.
Below is a list showing how missing some vitamins/minerals can affect how you feel
Missing nutrient
Iron
Effect on mood
Feeling weak, tired and possibly
lethargic all the time
Foods that can help
Iron rich foods: lean red meat, poultry, fish,
liver, eggs, grains, spinach
B-complex vitamins
Tiredness and feeling depressed
or irritability
Wholegrain bread and cereals, dark green
vegetables (spinach, asparagus, broccoli), red
meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy
Folate
Increased chance of feeling
depressed
Green vegetables, oranges and other citrus
fruit, beans, Marmite, liver
Selenium
Increased chance of having
negative mood states as well as
depression
Whole wheat bread, meat, fish, nuts (Brazil
nuts) and seeds

Supplementation
Many find it difficult to have a balanced diet everyday due to time and lifestyle pressures, so for certain
people in these circumstances, supplementing with a general multivitamin and mineral may be beneficial.
However certain people e.g., pregnant / breastfeeding women, Anaemia and the elderly may require a
healthy balanced diet with added nutrients from supplemental forms.

Comfort eating
Many associate eating certain foods with an improvement in mood. Eating carbohydrate-rich foods (bread,
pasta, chips & chocolates) may increase the release of the feel-good hormone Serotonin; however more
research is needed to support this. There is more of a connection to NOT eating sufficient carbohydrates
leading to low mood levels. Carb-rich foods are broken down into glucose enabling the brain to function at
optimal levels, keeping you awake and energized.
Instead of the ‘cultural’ choice of eating chocolate when you are feeling down, choose dark chocolate as the
benefits of cocoa far outweigh the possible release of feel good hormones from regular chocolate.
Summary
There are many ways that foods can affect how we feel, just as how we feel has an
influence on what foods we choose. So eating a healthy, balanced diet with plenty
nutrient rich foods of fruits and vegetables, wholegrain foods with lean protein foods
especially oily fish, will ensure a good supply of nutrients for both good health and
good mood.
Rokeya Lakhi
In Essence Skin Care
The Wanderers Club
21 North Street
Illovo, 2196
Johannesburg
Telephone: 011 447 6451
Cellphone: 082 768 3863
Email: [email protected]