CX umpires impress at SWD

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS – Local cricket umpires Kerrin Klaaste and Lorenzo Preissex were named the best of the best in their respective SWD Cricket leagues at the annual SWD Cricket Umpires' Association Awards in Oudtshoorn last week.

While this was Klaaste's first season umpiring under the ambit of SWD Cricket, she is no stranger to breaking the mould and smashing barriers.

One of the top female umpires in the country, Klaaste moved to Knysna last year keen on making her mark in SWD during the 2021/22 season. To say she left her mark would perhaps be the understatement to top all understatements.

This season alone, Klaaste became the first woman to umpire in a men's SWD Cricket final when she officiated in the final of the SWD T20 competition; she was the first woman to umpire in the men's SWD Premier League; she umpired in the CSA Women's Week in October, the CSA USSA A and Khaya Majola U19 weeks in December and the CSA T20 Community Cup in April.

These are achievements many umpires aspire to throughout the course of their career, but Klaaste did them all in just one season.

Lorenzo Preissex (left) receives his award from Umpires Association treasurer Wilhelm Stander.

It comes as no surprise then that she is the first woman to become the SWD Cricket Umpire of the Season at the SWD Cricket Annual Awards earlier this month.

At the Umpires' Association Awards last week she made another first - this time as the first woman to be named the SWD Premier League Umpire of the Season.

She also received commemorative certificates for officiating in the finals of the SWD Women's League and the SWD T20 Competition.

Needless to say, Klaaste has enjoyed a highly successful 2021/22.

For Preissex, this isn't the first time that he has been named as the best umpire in a league within SWD Cricket's club structures - in the 2019/20 season he was the Umpire of the Season in the SWD Reserve League.

This season he upped his game and made his mark on a rung one step higher - the SWD Promotion League.

His hard work this season paid off and at the awards on Saturday 28 May, Preissex was named the SWD Promotion League Umpire of the Season.

These two were not the only local umpire commemorated at the event. Along with Preissex, Colin Wildeman also received a commemorative certificate for officiating in the final of the SWD Reserve League.

Kerrin Klaaste is awarded her prizes by chairman of the Umpires Association, Mario Jansen.