Master: Somerset West's golden boy, Trevor Immelman, in action at the Nelson Mandela Invitational Golf Day held at the Arabella Golf Estate in 2006. Photo: Peter Bee

Africa's top weightlifters
The best weightlifters on the African continent will converge on the Strand next week for the African Weightlifting Championships which will be held in the Strand Town Hall from May 12 to 16.

Jess to swim in Beijing
At only 16, Somerset West's Jessica Pengelly is the youngest member of the South African swimming team who will be competing at the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.

Mac Utd notch up a record score
Macassar United racked up a record score in their Super League match in the Mitchell?s Plain LFA on Saturday when they beat Arsenal 19-0 in what can only be described as "Kuikenmoord".

Helderberg kry pak by Durbell
Helderberg het verlede Donderdag sy Super Liga A kragmeting op Durbanville met 51-26 teen die tuisklub Durbanville/Bellville (Durbell) verloor.

Shore anglers target winter fish
After the past weekend which featured mostly northerly winter weather it appears that the gale force north wind is picking up and winter in the Cape has finally arrived.

' want a civic reception for Immelman'
Since Somerset West born-and-bred professional golfer, Trevor Immelman, won the US Masters at Augusta on Sunday, the DistrictMail has been inundated with callers wanting to talk about his win.

Kob and Geelbek still in the bay
In previous years there were quite a number of Leerfish (Garrick) caught by spinnermen while fishing for Elf or purposely targeting these magnificent, hard fighting game fish with poppers, lures, spoons or live bait along our coastline, but this past season catches have been scarce.

Strand Nippers 9th at Nationals in PE
The Strand Surf Life Saving Club's Nippers were outstanding at the recent Nipper National Championships held in Port Elizabeth finishing ninth overall in the country - their first top 10 place in many a year.

Jaco wins three coveted prizes at awards dinner
Somerset West Cricket Club's talented all-rounder and the first team's vice-captain, Jaco Castle, walked off with three coveted awards - including the SWCC Player of the Year at the club's annual prize giving dinner held at Kilts Restaurant on Friday, April 11.

H'berg beat Tygers in opening match
The news that Helderberg will play Victorians at Newlands in a curtain raiser to the Super 14 match between the Stormers and the Hurricanes this Saturday was all the motivation they needed to beat Tygerberg 37-16 last weekend.

Johannes opens his 'dream gym'
Johannes Hendriks, well-known body-builder from Macassar, saw his life-long dream become a reality this week when he opened a gym for the Macassar community where he lives.

Bigger Elf start to come on the bite
The fishing season has now really started in all earnest and one of the major differences this year to previous years, is the fierce heat and early south easter we have experienced to date.

Self belief gets Portia to the top
The overwhelming will to succeed combined with the determination to be the best she possibly can has seen the diminutive Broadlands Park weightlifter, Portia Vries (48 kg and 1, 49 metres tall), beat poverty and incredible odds stacked up against her to become the best weightlifter in South Africa in her division.

Summer fishing draws to a close
The Summer fishing season is slowly beginning to wane, although there are still a few Elf, Kob and Geelbek being caught by anglers who persevere by fishing throughout the night from local beaches and harbours.

St. Georges klop bure
St. Georges was Saterdag baas in hul Premier Liga B derby teen Macassar op Gustrouw en het die wedstryd, wat in 'n baie goeie gees gespeel is, 10-3 gewen.

New centres work wonders for Lowrians
Sir Lowrians started the new season by sending out an early warning to other teams in their division when they took on the more fancied Whistling Wheels at Kleinvlei and beat them 25-6.

De Beers win opener
De Beers started the 2008 season in the best possible way with a 4-0 away win over the hard tackling Norway Parks.

Small Geelbek puzzle local anglers
During the Easter weekend the Cape fish market was flooded with small Yellowtail and it seemed as if most fish mongers and fish wholesalers did good business with these small fish - some of which were the size of a good size Mackerel.

Helderberg R.V.K. klop Kraaie in taai stryd
Helderberg het verlede Saterdag vir Kraaifontein 33-26 in 'n taai stryd geklop.

2008 Epic said to be the toughest yet
The 2008 Absa Cape Epic, which started in Knysna on Friday, March 28 and finishes at the Lourensford Estate in Somerset West on Saturday, April 5, has 1 200 riders from more than 40 countries cycling 966 km in nine days and climbing 18 529 m, which is the equivalent of riding twice up Mount Everest.

Somerset West end season unbeaten
Somerset West drew their final WP 1 C Division match against Wynberg on Saturday, at Radloff Park, ensuring that they remained unbeaten for the season.

Open water swimmer sets new record off West coast
Alan Jamieson, a Somerset West open water swimmer, broke the existing long distance swimming record (held by Lewis Pugh) when he swam from Dassen Island to Yzerfontein in a time of two hours 33 minutes on Sunday, March 30.

Unexpected Mackerel in the bay
AS usual, the weather conditions are one of the main factors in the fishing game. Many anglers feel that the recent weather pattern has really gone haywire with the south easter blowing along our coast.

St Georges victorious!
Easter rugby action: The 2008 Top 8 Easter Rugby Tournament presented by St Georges at the Gustrouw Sportsgrounds from March 19 to 24 was a resounding success, with the organising club once again winning the competition after beating All Saints RFC 34-0 in the final.

H'berg swimmers raise funds for Patch
THE PATCH gala took place on Tuesday, February 26 at Somerset House. This is the third consecutive year the gala has been held. Over 120 swimmers from the Helderberg, ranging from 6-14 years of age, took part. It was hosted by the Greydogs Swimming Team, and Vineyard Helderberg participated against them.

National rubberduck event in Strand
FALSE BAY Inflatable Boat Club (FBIBC) will host the Strand National Rubberduck event from March 28 to 30 in Strand. About 35 boats from all over the country are expected to participate. They will compete in three different classes - Standard, Blueprint and Modified class.

Helderberg u/20's too strong for Argentinians
THE past week saw four Helderberg teams host Van der Stel at Charles Morkel Stadium on Wednesday evening and on Saturday host a junior team from Buenos Aires called Los Cedros.

SWCC win derby and 1 C league
Somerset West wrapped up the WP 1C league with a win over neighbours Helderberg at Radloff Park on Saturday and by so doing ensured themselves promotion into the WP 1B league next season.

South easter blows the fish in
This past week was a week of mixed fortunes for many anglers who know that a strong south easter brings a good colour to the sea along our coastline.

SA's best waveskiers in Cape for Nationals
Action surf junkies can brace themselves as the country's top waveski surfers hit the surf at venues around Cape Town and Strand this weekend for the annual South African Closed Waveski Surfing Championships.

De Beers Reserves beat Tramways
THE De Beers first team game against Tramways was abandoned half way into the first half when De Beers striker, Gareth Roelf, challenged the keeper on a 50/50 ball and broke his leg.

Helderberg té sterk vir gewillige Hawston
Helderberg het die afgelope Saterdag al drie sy rugbywedstryde by die Charles Morkel Stadion gerieflik gewen, teen sy Bolandse besoekers van Hawston.

Croquet continues despite downpours
Despite the extreme heat on Monday and then the heavy and unseasonable downpours on Tuesday and Wednesday the World Golf Croquet Championships, currently being played around Cape Town and the Helderberg continued.

Elf exit the scene but Yellowtail move in
Many anglers are perplexed about the change in the sea conditions and in the weather this season and shore anglers using bait and spinners are not sure whether the Elf season is over or not.

SW vs Helderberg derby evenly poised
The WP 1C two-day derby between Helderberg and Somerset West, being played at Radloff Park, is very evenly balanced and victory could go either way.

De Beers win 2nd friendly
De Beers soccer club continued their good display from last week to beat Durbanville 3-2 in their second friendly of the season on Sunday. De Beers started the brighter and scored early when Byron Graham struck with a looping right footed shot from far out.

Helderberg klop Wellington net-net
Helderberg was verlede Saterdag kniediep in die moeilikheid toe hulle sowat 15 minute in die tweede helfte met 17-3 agtergeloop het teen besoekers Wellington, voordat hulle bygekom het en die wedstryd 25-17 gewen het.

World Golf Croquet Champs come to SW
The opening ceremony of the WCF Laidlaw World Golf Croquet Championships, which will be held in and around Cape Town from March 8 to 16 takes place at Kelvin Grove, Newlands at 17:00 on Friday, March 7.

Elf come on the bite at long last
We have recently had a complete change in the weather pattern and it now appears that the so called prime fishing time has finally arrived - a month late.

H'berg win first friendly
In their first 15-man friendly of the season Helderberg travelled to Rawsonville to take on the 2007 Boland Champions whom they beat 34-23 in an entertaining match.

Clinical Pirates beat Batswood
Pirates put on a clinical display of baseball to soundly beat Batswood 9-2 on Saturday at Radloff Park.

Nippers excel at WP Champs
Strand Nippers competed at WP Champs at Big Bay Blouberg last weekend and again excelled.

Sensational Jess smashes SA records
Somerset West's sensational swimming star, Jessica Pengelly (16), not only walked away from the Samsung Grand Prix swimming series held at the University of the Western Cape ( last weekend) as the best female swimmer, but has now also qualified for the Olympic Games four times.

HHCC's Temoor off to Cricket SA Academy
Talented young leg spin bowler from the Hottentots Holland cricket club, Abdul Aziz Temoor, heard earlier this month that he had been accepted into the Cricket South Africa Academy.

SWCC edge ahead of HHCC in derby
Despite A top order batting collapse in both their innings Somerset West are still fairly well placed against neighbours Hottentots Holland in the WP 1 C derby being played at Gustrouw, but will have their work cut out if they want to win this match that resumes this Saturday.

Shore anglers target White Steenbras
Now that fishing from boats has become so expensive many anglers are returning to reef and shore angling - this despite the fact that the fish seem to be more scarce.

St. Georges wen Helderberg 7's
Die Helderberg-Streek Sewestoernooi wat verlede Vrydagaand en Saterdag op die Charles Morkelstadion plaasgevind het, is verdienstelik gewen deur St. Georges A, wie die tuisklub se A-span 24-5 in die finaal verslaan het. St. Georges en Helderberg het die toernooi, wat vanjaar deur DistriksPos en Optimum Sport geborg is, gedomineer.

Now is the time to target 'Steamers'
Judging from reports from shore anglers and also from personal observation, it is clear that the long awaited Elf shoals have still not arrived.

HCDC and Cricket SA help local schools
The Helderberg Cricket Development Centre (HCDC), situated in Somerset Business Park, recently received a very welcome donation of two full cricket kits from Cricket South Africa to use in their local schools development programme.

Tartan Army sets up camp in Gordon's Bay
THE Soccer World Cup 2010 is two years away, but Scotland supporters are already preparing to come to South Africa in their thousands - whether their team qualifies or not.

St. Georges plan bigger, better Easter tournament
After the phenomenal success of their Top 8 Easter Tournament last year, St. Georges Rugby Club in Strand will this year again host the tournament and have vowed to make this year's event, to be held from March 19 to 24, even bigger and better than last year's.

It's all systems go for Helderberg Sevens
The draw has been made and all the systems are in place for the Helderberg Sevens Rugby Tournament, sponsored by DistrictMail and Optimum Sport, which takes place on Friday and Saturday, February 16 and 17.

Tunny anglers predict a bumper season
The Tunny season this year got off to a great start and old fundis such as Earl Fenwick and other expert predict an excellent Tunny season for 2008.

Somerset West well-placed for another victory
Somerset West are well placed to win their two-day match against Strandfontein at Radloff Park on Saturday and if they are able to do this, they will strengthen their top spot in the Western Province 1 C League.

SWGC celebrate Centenary year
Somerset West Golf Club (SWGC) began its Centenary celebrations in style last month following the launch cocktail party with the inaugural Centenary Cup competition.

'Mail a player in Helderberg sevens'
DISTRICTMAIL together with Strand sportswear and equipment company Optimum Apparell, are the main sponsors of the Helderberg Rugby Club's annual Helderberg Sevens Tournament that takes place at the Charles Morkel Stadium on February 15 and 16.

SWCC cruise to a
Somerset West won their two-day match against Cravenby, played at Radloff Park on Saturday, with a clinical cricket display to win by an innings and 10 runs.

Helderberg drown on water-logged pitch
The Helderberg Municipality staff entrusted with watering the sports fields around the Helderberg, must according to the Helderberg Cricket Club take responsibility for flooding Helderzicht's A field on Friday night.

Vandale verwoes netbalklub
Oor die feesseisoen het vandale by Helderberg Netbal-klub se klubhuis in die Strand ingebreek en wasbakke uit die mure geruk en gebreek, meubels verwoes en ook koperpype en netbal apparaat gesteel.

Hundreds expected at Mile swim
The Brian Curtis Mile celebrates its 10th anniversary this month when several hundred swimmers will take to the water at Elgin Country Club Dam on Sunday, February 17 at 09:00.

Somerset West croquet players selected for SA
The Somerset West Croquet Club will not only have two of its members, Grahame Tomes and Peter Johnson, playing for South Africa during the forthcoming WCF Laidlaw World Golf Croquet Championships, but a number of games will also be hosted by the club.

Yellowtail 'dik' expected in the bay
THE Cape Doctor, or south east wind, has really brought in unusual fish species for this time of the year. Our part of the bay has come alive with plenty of bait fish like Carantine, smaller Elf and Harders.

Boland Ladies on a winning streak
THE Boland Women's Senior cricket team continued their unbeaten run this season with a six wicket win over Free State this Saturday. During the preliminary round, Boland played six games, winning six and finishing top of the Coastal Pool, thereby ensuring a spot in the coveted Super 6 stage of the National Provincial League. In the first match of the Super 6 stage, Boland beat their hosts Border by 103 runs.

Schools of small fish move into the bay
The recent strong south easter blowing along the False Bay coastline has brought a large variety of smaller fish - including Kob, Geelbek, Leerfish and Elf - into the bay together with large schools of bait fish.

Poor batting by SW costs them the game
Somerset West played Wynberg away this past Saturday and thanks to a poor batting display lost by 41 runs. Jaco Castle, captain of the team in the absence of injured Craig Melvill, lost the toss and was asked to bowl.

New cycling club to hold inaugural meeting
An inaugural meeting of the recently formed cycling club in the Helderberg will be held on Monday, January 28 at 18:30 at the Methodist Church, Coronation Street, Somerset West.

SW Inspector selected to play golf for SAPS in Malaysia
Somerset West's South African Police Services Inspector, Sebastian Williams, was recently selected to play for the SAPS WP Golf Team in a tournament in Malaysia during April.

Appreciation society for rugby league on the cards
Martin Birmingham is a man who is absolutely passionate about rugby league - in fact, so much so that he wants to start a rugby league appreciation group in the Helderberg.

Somerset West stumble
Somerset West played Milnerton away in a one-day match and lost by one solitary run. Somerset West's captain, Jaco Castle, won the toss and decided to bowl first and did well to restrict Milnerton to only 91 runs all out.

Hugo wins seventh Totalsport Challenge in new record time
Top South African multi-sport athlete Dan Hugo kicked the year off with a bang on Saturday, 12 January when he successfully defended his title at the seventh annual Totalsports Challenge in Klein-mond, presented by New Balance and Powerade. What is more he completed the race in a new record time of six hours 33 minutes and 29 seconds improving his previous record by just under three minutes.

More big Snoek runs predicted
Just as one feels the regular summer fishing season is starting to take shape and one is able to read the signs, nature intervenes causing major changes and upsets such as the big Snoek run last Friday.

Helderberg hammer Langa in one dayer
Helderberg beat Langa by 86 runs in a one-day match played at the Helderzicht Sportsgrounds on Saturday on a pitch that was conducive to fast bowling.

Helderberg's 7's now bigger and better
The annual Helderberg Rugby Club's Sevens Tournament will this year be held over two days, Friday 15 and Saturday, 16 February at the Charles Morkel Stadium giving players more time to display their skills and spectators more time to enjoy the spectacle.

SW team excel in Trans Agulhas
False Bay Inflatable Boat Club members, Marc Gleed (pilot) and Chris Vos (co-pilot) both from Somerset West, excelled at this year's Rat Race Media Trans Agulhas Inflatable Boat Race from Plettenberg Bay to Strand, winning the Best Team Award and finishing second in the modified class and second overall in the race.

Fishing spots once again accessible
Now that the holidays are practically over and the visitors have left, local beaches will become more accessible once again for local anglers, although during the holidays there was no shortage of anglers along our coastline.

SW hockey stars shine for SA
South African hockey players Eric Rose-Innes and Taryn Hosking, who both hail from Somerset West, recently achieved major milestones in their international hockey careers with Eric winning his 104th cap for SA and Taryn her 61st test cap.

Entries open for 99'er race
On-line entries for the popular Construction du Cap Ninety Niner cycle race opened on December 15, 2007. The race, which is in its 10th year, will be staged on Saturday, February 9 in the Durbanville area.

Monty wins Sport Legends award
Hubert Montgomery, a doyen of weightlifting in South Africa and chairman of the Hottentots Holland Weightlifting Club (HHWC)in the Strand since 1955, was rewarded for service to the sport with a Sport Legends Award on Monday, December 10.

17 Squirrels for Paul Roos
SEVENTEEN players of the u/13 A rugby squad of the Metho Squirrels of Somerset West Methodist Primary received full bursaries to complete their high school education at Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch.

Shore anglers still await elf shoals
The recent strong south easter conditions which have prevailed of late have done little to dampen the spirits of local anglers and visitors.

Marais wins memorial surf ski race
Fish Hoek local Paul Marais won the Discovery Daniel Conradie Memorial surf ski race, held on Saturday, using his years of experience to master the strong downwind conditions to earn a nail biting win in the eighth leg of the Discovery Men?s Health Surf Ski Series.

Surfers rewarded for their hard work
Boland surfer, Alex Stary, received a special bravery award at Boland Surfing's prize giving function last week for rescuing Andrew Smith after a shark attack at the Pipe in Strand recently.

Toughest inflatable boat race in the world
The Rat Race Media Trans Agulhas is celebrating its 20th birthday this year and it will no doubt prove to be as successful as ever.

Big Kob and Geelbek still in the bay
During the latter part of last week, when the South Easter was still blowing briskly, there were some good catches of Kob and a few just size Geelbek caught from Melk Bay and Blake's Beaches by keen shore and reef anglers.

HYA to focus on rugby transformation
THE Helderberg Youth Academy (HYA) held a meeting last week with different stakeholders to drive the process of transformation for schools and club rugby in Western Province.

New club formed for Helderberg cyclists
Cycling South Africa (CSA) is enforcing new licensing requirements in order for cyclists to partake in major events such as the Pick 'n Pay Argus and others, which means riders will have to take out a license from CSA and will thereby need to be affiliated to a club.

Strand Nippers shine at Big Bay Blouberg
The Strand Nippers excelled in their first competition of the season, which took place at Big Bay, Blouberg recently.

Living his dream...
Strand Stockbroker, Johan van der Westhuizen, has just returned home after sailing in one of the legs of the clipperroundtheworld.com yacht race and has described his adventure as a "life changing experience".

Elf season opens on Saturday
Two weeks ago many anglers and readers must've seen the large streaks of orange and yellow in the sea between Kogel Bay and Rooiels which was definitely the beginning of a red tide bloom.

SWCC hammer luckless Langa
Somerset West Cricket Club (SWCC) scored a massive innings and 45 run victory over Langa in their two-day match which ended at Radloff Park on Saturday.

Helderberg draw with potent Ottomans
Despite a valiant run chase, Helderberg were only able to draw their two-day match, against the powerful Ottoman's team, which ended at the Helderzicht sports fields on Saturday.

Helderberg's best to play WP Academy
The chairmen of the Helderberg, Hottentots Holland and Somerset West Cricket Clubs recently convened for a meeting at the Somerset West Cricket Club to select a Helderberg Invitational squad to play against a Western Province Academy team on December 9.

Lombardi and Boonstra do SA proud in Hawaii
The South African flag was flying high in Hawaii when top XTERRA South Africa athletes Conrad Stoltz, Lieuwe Boonstra and Michelle Lombardi (who are both from Somerset West) took on the World XTERRA Championships at the end of October.