My Journey On Becoming A Springbok Team Angler 2023

 

I was privileged enough to have ended 10th for the tournament and it was also enough to piece together a 3 year ranking to get me into the top 6 in the country and get picked for the springbok team to face Namibia in December!

 

This has been a dream of mine since the day I found out that fishing actually had a springbok team , which was about when I was 6 years old.

 

The journey however was not as easy as it may sound…

 

The emotions were a bit overwhelming and I felt extremely honoured to have shared it with people that have helped me get there.

 

The margins in this sport are so tight and we are blessed with so many good anglers that competitors find themselves pushing all limits and the difference between a gold or a silver, to be picked or not be picked, can come down to a single cast over a tournament of 4 days.

 

You can’t acheivie something of this magnitude by yourself and I have been fortunate enough to have some amazing mentors that helped me get there.

 

It started with Don van Blommestein who made himself available for way too many fishing sessions when I moved to Cape Town for my studies and I knew no-one. He helped me get plugged into the competitive angling scene and really help me leap into the right direction.

 

Followed by two absolute legends in the sport Charl Marias (Yvonne Bekker Marais) who was my competition partner in WP for 3 years. I was given nothing easy though , and keeping up with him felt basically impossible. His work rate and decision making is unbelievably fast. Today we are great friends and I feel extremely honoured to have him as our coach for Namibia!

 

And then blessed with Gerhard Guse AKA the Goose here back home. As a youngster on the beach I always knew who he was and the class of angling was something I could only aspire to! (Still today).

 

So this was a big one for me and at this point I really realised that my competitive angling career was in good standing and the rest was up to me to piece together and to wait for Gods timing.

 

Ridiculous amount of hours and quite a few irritable moments from friends and family that they embraced with love and support helped me do the rest. Thank you Jessie van Breda Every league every national tournament you are there with me and you feel as nervous and excited as I do. You have sacrificed so much to allow me to peruse my dreams. And I’m extremely thankful for you

 

A thank you is not enough for this moment and there are other people that also helped me. Thank you Jesus for the favour and opportunity to do what I love!

 

Wesley Renken what a classy performance and I’m so proud of you! Happy and privileged to fish alongside you in this team!

 

Some of the journey highlights below!