South Africa’s men’s hockey team will play in the 2022 IIHF World Championship Division III A in Cape Town this weekend.
From March 13-18, GrandWest Arena will host South Africa, Thailand, and Bosnia & Herzegovina in Division III B, with the teams playing each other twice. The top-ranked team will be promoted to Division IIIA.
The Rhinos last competitive outing resulted in their being relegated from the World Championship Division IIIA in Bulgaria and then COVID-19 denying them promotion for 2020 and 2021.
South Africa was still playing in Division II Group A as recently as 2015. They were demoted that year, and continued to fall down the Division III table until being relegated four years later.
For context, the International Ice Hockey Federation divides the teams into five divisions. Canada and the USA are competing in the Championship Division. [16 teams]. South Africa’s goal division II features teams such as Australia, Iceland and China.
Uthman Samaai (Rhinos captain) said that it was difficult to replace the core players that drove their success in 2015. They are only now starting to find their feet.
It is difficult to find new talent at a grassroots level due to the high cost of playing the game. Equipment is difficult to find and ice rinks are rare.
Samaai stated to ESPN that ice hockey is a costly sport, especially in South Africa where a lot of the equipment has to be imported.
“There was a time when older players left and the talent that came through wasn’t as good as the ones leaving.
“We went through a period of transformation over the past couple of years. We needed older players to stay a while longer to allow younger players to make mistakes.
“Since 2020 that gap has been closed very nicely. We have only one or two newcomers this year and the younger players have a lot of experience.
Despite a lack of international action over the past decade, South Africa is still the top-ranked Africa team despite their recent struggles. Additionally, there is an overseas contingent within the team with experience.
“I was a four-year student at Rochester, New York. I played for Rochester Basketball. [D3 school]Nazareth College. Cameron Birrell was a hockey player in England, and also played in America as a kid. [with the Michigan Mountain Cats],” Samaai said.
“Reinhard Venter was on the stage [for Vermont Lumberjacks in the Easter Hockey League]Before COVID, his tournament was cut short, so he returned home.
It is remarkable that there is even a national team, considering the fact that there is very little in South Africa for ice hockey. The players play for their passion in regional tournaments and receive small salaries. The Gauteng Premier Hockey League features many of the national team’s players. [GPHL]The competition features 10 teams from Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Samaai plays in the WPIHL for the Cape Town Kings. Samaai works for the City of Cape Town’s media department. However, his day jobs can vary greatly from those of his colleagues.
He said, “A few of them.” [our players] are digital designers. We have a couple teachers. There is a headmaster. There are American workers and crypto experts. A few students also work here – one is studying mechanical engineering, the other is a priest.
“I believe that we have a very diverse group of people. But that’s part of what makes this team so great. It’s almost like magic when we come together from so many different backgrounds.
South Africa is aiming to be promoted to Division IIIA immediately and Samaai says they will not accept anything less. At least their competition has been narrowed by Hong Kong’s withdrawal from the GrandWest tournament.
“The goal in 2020 was to return to Division II within the next five years. That was our goal when we met. Samaai explained that they are still pursuing the same goal.
“This is our year to win it. We can’t be prouder of anything less than that, I believe.
“Next year in [Division]III [A]We would be content with placing and next year we want to win it. The goal for the three-year period is to return to Division II B.