By Myolisi Gophe. Images: Supplied
Hlumelo Booi is taking his love of playing on ice international: the Gugulethu youth is one of five Cape Town youngsters in the South African Under 20 ice hockey participating in the Ice Hockey World Championships in Turkey this week.
Hlumelo’s first experience on ice came when he accompanied his family to his sister’s figure skating practices in Grand West. He couldn’t just watch – and he soon found himself enjoying playing on the ice instead.
So when an opportunity presented itself to join an ice hockey team, the Gugulethu-based youth grabbed it with both hands – and he turned out to be very good at it.
This week, Hlumelo is one of five Cape Town youngsters in the South African Under 20 ice hockey team that is participating in the Ice Hockey World Championships in Turkey. The event kicked off on Saturday 28 January and will continue until Friday 3 February 2023.
While Hlumelo was unavailable to speak to Cape At Six Sport due to his busy schedule, his father, Monde Booi, who introduced him and his sister Lisakhanya, to the sport, could not hide his family’s happiness about his selection.
“As a family, we are all very excited about his inclusion in the national team,” he says. “He spent the festive season hard at work training and preparing, and he has big dreams for the tournament.”
It’s not the first time that Hlumelo’s outstanding talent has been spotted by the national selectors. In 2021 he represented South African juniors in their Under 18 tour to Bosnia – an experience he thoroughly enjoyed.
Mr Booi believes that ice hockey has changed his son for the good.
“Hlumelo has changed a lot since he started to play ice hockey. He is enjoying himself so much he’s even stopped playing football (which he was also good at) to only focus on ice hockey. And he is now more focused at school, more analytical and observant. When he went to Bosnia, he looked at the development and economy of that country more closely. Ice hockey has really built his capacity for thinking clearly about tough issues.”
Thinking Big – And Breaking Barriers
Hlumelo, a learner at Premier College in Athlone, is one of just three black Africans in the 21-member South African Under 20 squad. This is a situation, according to Mr Booi, that his son would dearly like to see changed.
So Hlumelo has offered to be the assistant coach of his team’s Under 12 and under 16 divisions to impart the expertise he has accumulated. He hopes young kids will relate easily with him in terms of the language as he understands their backgrounds and situations.
“Ice hockey is still dominated by the white population, but Hlumelo has broken those barriers. And he wants to keep breaking them, even when he stops playing – his goal is to become a coach to help more and more young kids from disadvantaged communities to join ice hockey.”
One of those barriers, unfortunately, is financial.
Although Hlumelo and his teammates are flying the national flag in Europe, they had to dig deep into their own pockets to make their trip a reality, raising their own funds to pay for flights, accommodation and meals.
But while this may make success challenging, Mr Booi believes that many others could follow in Hlumelo’s footsteps, if they get the chance.
“Hlumelo has shown that challenges can be overcome – and he wants others to achieve as well,” Booi says. “As long as one is exposed to the sport, is focused, puts in effort and hard work, talent will show. Anything is possible.”
As the Turkey tour comes to an end today, Hlumelo’s journey in the national set up continues after he was named in the South African Under 18 squad to play world championships that are scheduled to take place in Cape Town next month.
