The annual Fabian Juries Community Fun Day will once again be hosted at the Makhanda Oval, in celebration of community safety and well-being. The sixth annual Community Fun Day will host a number of different rugby and netball sides, from all of the different wards, on Saturday 24 November at the Oval Sports Ground.
The Fun Day started as a 10-a-side rugby fun day in 2013, with five areas of the community being represented in the inaugural event. These areas, namely Ghost Town, Currie Park, Hoogenoeg, Scott’s Farm and Vergenoeg, competed for pride and a trophy, but most importantly, all prize money was donated to a charity of the organisations’ choice.
After the success of the first year, in 2014, there was a call for all areas to also include a netball team, and so the day was expanded to include a netball tournament as well. This means that since 2014, every area has been represented both on the netball court and rugby field.
The fun day strives to promote a healthy, safe and fun atmosphere around the community, with a strong focus on youth safety and their well-being. The aims of the tournament have been to promote sport in the community, as well as unearth and nurture young sporting talent across the town. Additionally, the community fun day is centred around supporting non-profit NGOs and community organisations, and encourage people to take pride in their communities by reducing crime and improving safety around the community.
Despite winning the rugby tournament in the first year, Ghost Town United have missed out on the bragging rights since 2013. The Currie Park Rangers earned the bragging rights in both 2014 and 2015, before being overtaken by defending champions, Scott’s Farm Cellotape, who had won in both 2016 and 2017.
Verries United, representing Vergenoeg, are the most successful netball team in the history of the fun day, having one the inaugural netball tournament in 2014, as well as in 2015 and 2016. However, defending champions, the Ghost Town Lions (formerly Ghost Town United), will be looking to continue where they left off in 2017.
Last year’s Fabian Juries Community Fun Day had expanded to ten teams, with areas such as Tyantyi, Joza, Fingo, Rhodes University and even the Six South African Infantry (6 SAI) Military Base being represented. The upcoming 2018 event promises to be equally as memorable and entertaining as previous years, and will undoubtedly be a great sporting occasion for the entire family.
