MARK WARD
The Major league baseball match between VOB and Bothasig at the Chukker Road sports ground on Saturday marked the inaugural challenge for the Brent Beier memorial shield.
While the result on the day did not go in favour of the host VOB, celebrating Brent’s memory and contribution to the sport and club was far more important on the day, said Kevin Johnson, the club’s chairman.
Johnson has expressed the hope to celebrate the legacy of Brent, who died of motor neurone disease six years ago at the age of 36, with an annual event with the emphasis of placing focus on the disease. The rare disease has also claimed the lives of top rugby stars Tinus Linee and Joost van der Westhuizen in the recent past.
“We would like to turn it into an annual event where we compete against Bothasig because the Beier family has a connection with the Bothasig club. This might not always be possible due to the draw of the fixtures, but we will play against any team whose fixtures is the closest to the 2 November date, which is Brent’s memorial date,” said Johnson.
According to Johnson, all the club’s teams on Saturday played in specially designed kit, in shirts with the number 33, which was Brent’s number. The front of the playing shirts were embossed with a blue ribbon with ALS printed on. ALS is the acronym for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the most common form of Motor neurone disease (MND), which is a rare condition that progressively damages parts of the nervous system. This leads to muscle weakness.
Major League results:
VOB 2, Bothasig 9; Durbanville 5, Athlone Athletics 4; Helderberg Piartes 4, Crusaders 8; Thistle 3, Bellville 11.
Major league fixtures on Saturday November 25:
Athlone Athletics vs Helderberg Pirates; VOB vs Thistle; Durbanville Villians vs Bothasig Knights; Crusaders vs Bellville Tygers.
