Winning a gold medal at the South African Masters Table Tennis Championships in October marked the fulfilment of a 32-year-old dream for Chris Sloster from Kuils River.
Sloster, a pastor at Calvary Sanctuary Full Gospel Church in Wynberg, captured gold in the 50+ team category of the national championships held in Berea, Durban, from 9 to 12 October.
Representing Cape Town Table Tennis (formerly Western Province) alongside teammate Lorenzo Haupt from Kraaifontein, the pair triumphed over Johannesburg in a thrilling final.
“It’s more than just a medal,” says Sloster. “It’s the fulfilment of something I thought was lost forever. It reminds me that God’s timing is perfect — and that it’s never too late to see a dream restored.”
For Sloster, the victory carries deep personal meaning.
Back in 1993, as a promising young player and captain of the Mondale High School table tennis team, he was on the verge of Western Province selection when his club, Strandfontein Table Tennis Club, unexpectedly closed. Earlier, he also missed out on provincial selection when his school — one of the first to leave the South African Council on Sport (Sacos) to join the new multiracial sporting structures — became ineligible under the old system.
Disheartened, Sloster walked away from the sport after matriculating in 1993.
Full circle
More than two decades later, in 2015, while serving in full-time ministry, he felt prompted to return to the sport he once loved, joining Top Table Tennis Club in Belhar.
“I needed an outlet — something to balance ministry and personal growth,” he recalls.
Three years later, his comeback gathered pace when he was selected to represent Cape Town Table Tennis in the 40+ category at the 2018 SA Masters.
This year, at age 50, his journey came full circle.
It took grit, faith, and determination to secure the gold, Sloster says.
Sloster also competed in the 40+ Open (losing in the quarterfinals to nine-time SA Champion Shane Overmeyer) and in the 40+ doubles, where he and partner Ashley Wesson claimed bronze.
Off the table, Sloster has embarked on a personal transformation too — shedding 18 kilograms since August as part of a weight-loss journey.
Reflecting on his long path from missed opportunities to national glory, he says:
“Dreams delayed are not dreams denied. This gold medal is testament to perseverance and second chances.”
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