Added to the squad at the announcement at Olympic House in Johannesburg were further representatives from track and field, rugby sevens, cycling, swimming and para powerlifting.

Last month an initial Commonwealth squad of 115 names were announced, also in Johannesburg.

It’s expected that the bulk of South Africa’s medals in New Delhi will come from athletics and swimming and with Sevens rugby having being included as an Olympic code in Rio, 2016, this sporting code takes on added significance.

Eleven athletes were named on Wednesday and as expected world 800-metre champion Caster Semenya is among them as she continues her comeback after being cleared to compete by the IAAF last month. Also there are world 800m men’s champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, Olympic long jump silver medallist Khotso Mokoena and Commonwealth champions Elizna Naude (discus), Sunette Viljoen (javelin) and LJ van Zyl (400m hurdles).

Recently crowned world junior track 1000m time trial champion Bernard Esterhuizen is also in the team.

Four swimmers joined the squad: Jean Basson, Graeme Moore, Sebastien Rousseau and Charl van Zyl.

Speaking at the latest announcement Sam said the country needed to focus on its strengths. “It’s now becoming clearer that we have to move in the direction where our strengths lie. South Africa must learn to play to their strengths and I think that there’s no doubting that swimming and athletics must be the core of our medal onslaught in New Delhi.

“The other federations will still play their part, like lawn bowls that has traditionally been strong for us at previous Commonwealth Games, but the main thrust must be athletics and swimming. “I think South African sports fans are often obsessed with winning medals at each and every sport that we take part in but that can’t always be the case.

“Having said that, If athletics and swimming don’t fire on all eight cylinders then we are in trouble so we must put all our energies firmly behind them.

“I’m very happy to see the return of Caster Semenya to duty for South Africa. We have observed her progress closely since the IAAF cleared her to run and it’s good to hear her say that she’s focusing all her efforts on the Commonwealth. The fact that she’s unbeaten in her three races thus far and has improved her time on each occasion is good news for our medal effort in New Delhi.”

Sevens coach Paul Treu makes no bones about the task lying ahead in New Delhi. “We’ll be taking quite a young, inexperienced side to New Delhi and it’s going to be tough coming up against the likes of Australia and New Zealand who will be drafting in some members of the 15-man code.

“But we’re going to be working very hard from now until the Commonwealth Games because we obviously want to try and win a medal for the team.”

Treu was a player when the Sevens side won a bronze medal in Manchester in 2002 and was coaching the side in Melbourne in 2006. “It’s still quite a unique experience for the guys when we are part of a multi-sport event but as usual we’ll be buying into the team spirit and supporting all the other codes.

“With this in mind the World Games in Taiwan was a great learning experience last year and with sevens being part of the 2016 Olympics in Rio these multi-sport events can only be good for us a team in the lead up till then.”

Since their return to the Commonwealth, South Africa have never finished lower than 12th on the medals table. Their first Commonwealth Games after isolation were in Victoria, British Colombia where they won 11 medals to place 12th. Since then they have been represented in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1998), Manchester (2002) and Melbourne (2006).

In Melbourne they were fifth on the medals table, winning a total of 38 medals (12 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze) and finishing behind Australia, England, India and Canada. South Africa’s gold medals came from swimming (five), track and field (five) and one each from boxing and shooting.

A total of 17 sports will be contested at the Games: Archery, Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

Apart from these sports, 15 events will be contested across four Para-Sports codes, for elite athletes with a disability, on the inclusive sports programme. These are Athletics, Swimming, Powerlifting and Table Tennis.

Names added to the Commonwealth Games squad on Wednesday

Athletics: Elizna Naude, Justine Robbeson, Caster Semenya, Sunette Viljoen, Chris Harmse, Simon Magakwe, Khotso Mokoena, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, Cheyne Rahme, Tumelo Thagane, LJ Van Zyl. Manager: Motlatsi Kekabele. Coaches: Brandan Du Plessis, Carl Preller. Para-athletes: Samkelo Radebe, David Roos. Manager/coach: Jacobus Matthyser

Cycling: Bernard Esterhuizen

Para powerlifting: Johannes Matthysen, Evgeni Niklaevich. Manager/coach: Rodney Anthony

Rugby Sevens: Cecil Afrika, Ryno Benjamin, Bernardo Botha, Kyle Brown, Renfred Dazel, Branco du Preez, Christopher Dry, MJ Mentz, Chase Minnaar, Lubabalo Mtembu, Johannes Prinsloo, Sibusiso Sithole. Manager: Sebastien Prim. Coach: Paul Treu. Assistant coach: Allan Temple-Jones

Swimming: Jean Basson, Graeme Moore, Sebastien Rousseau, Charl van Zyl. Manager: Laura Postma. Coaches: Graham Hill, Pierre de Roubaix, Cedric Finch, Dean Price

General team management
Chef de Mission: Patience Shikwambana
Manager (Logistics): Isaac Mdaka
Manager (Athlete Services): Jean Kelly
Administration: Jabu Malindi, Zandile Monyadi, Thiru Mundree, Jameson Seale, Sonja Grobler, Kayalethu Majeke

The Pan Pacs is a championship widely considered to the third toughest behind the Olympics and the World Championships, mainly as it involves the two traditional strongest nations in the pool, the United States and Australia.

Schoeman climbed out of the water after the 50m butterfly final a happy man. “I’m unshaved, unrested and seven weeks away of my major meet (the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October). I’ll take that result. It’s never easy racing guys at their major meet of the year,” he said.

Elsewhere in the pool on the opening day of competition, South Africa’s finalist in the 2008 Olympic men’s freestyle, Jean Basson, also reached the ‘A’ final last night, where he placed sixth in 1min 47.43sec, improving on his morning heats swim by 0.37sec. The event was won by Ryan Lochte. The American stamped his authority down with a dominant, world-leading 1:45.30 victory over Olympic silver medallist Tae Hwan Park, of South Korea, on 1:46.27. 

Schoeman had qualified for the evening’s final in the 50m butterfly second fastest from the morning’s heats with a 23.41 performance. The Australian Geoff Huegill, a world champion from 2001 and now on the comeback trail, had been quickest in the heats, but in the final Schoeman pulled one over his rival, nudging him out of the bronze medal. The gold medal went to the Brazilian Cesar Cielo, in a Pan Pacs record of 23.03, with his countryman Nicholas Santos second in 23.06, Schoeman was credited with 23.39.

Cielo, whose best distance is the 50m freestyle, said: “I’m not really a 50-meter butterflyer, but everything that’s a 50 I find a way to go fast and tonight I found a way to go really fast. It was a wonderful surprise.”

Schoeman’s best for the event is 22.99, set in July 2005, and which remains a world record for a textile swim suit; the mark was subsequently broken last year when the controversial swimsuit war led to an avalanche of new world bests.

Basson might have been sixth in the men’s 200m freestyle final, but ahead of him were two Americans and a South Korean, who he won’t have to face should he be added to Team South Africa for the Commonwealth Games. While Lochte was out on his own, hitting the wall in 1:45.30, just 0.20 seconds separated fourth, fifth and sixth.

The championships serve as great build-up to the Commonwealth Games in India later this year. Zackey had said on Friday that the game plan was to take an early lead and to break the rhythm of their opponents, which is exactly what the Pretoria team did when they came out gun’s ablaze and went into a 5-0 lead before Free State were able to score their first goal. Gauteng North dominated the court and Free State struggled to get the ball into their circle in the early stages of the game.

Although Free State fought back bravely, it didn’t seem likely that they would catch up with Gauteng North.  Free State goal attack Maryke Holtzhausen had a good game, but her national teammates, goalkeeper Amanda Mynhardt and goal defence Zackey proved very hard to handle.

Gauteng North led 7-3 by the end of the first quarter and increased their lead to 10 goals by halftime, when they led 17-7. The third quarter was the most successful for the Free State, who scored eight goals in the quarter, but Gauteng North goalshooter Vanes-Mari du Toit and goal attack Annemarie Frost added 11 goals to their total.  By the final quarter, it was all over but Free State never gave up trying.

Marshalling her troops with skill and speed Erin Burger, named player of the tournament, was once again a dominant force on the court. She was ably supported by her centre court partners, wing attack Vasta Mhlongo and wing defence Rozanne Naidoo.

Coach Elize Kotze said the plan had been to dominate their opponents from the start. “We didn’t want to give them any hope,” she said.  “Throughout the tournament, we have started hard and got a good lead, and then made it difficult for our opponents to catch up.”

She said the success was partly because the nucleus of the team had been together for about three years. “They understand and trust one another, and that is why they are able to dominate,” she said.

“We started a very rigorous training programme at the start of the soccer World Cup, when there was a long lay-off.  I was determined that we would be the fittest team at the tournament, and I think there is no doubt that also contributed to our success.”

It was Gauteng North’s 19th championship title. They last won in Durban in 2007.

Gauteng North also won the men’s final, beating Ethekwini 31-28. The Gauteng North women’s B-team almost made it a hat-trick for their province in the B-section final, losing to South Western Districts by a single goal in extra time.  The final score in that match was SWD 55 Gauteng North 54. The C-section final was won by West Coast, who beat the Mpumalanga team, Gert Sibanda, 43-32.

Final day results
Women’s A Section
Gauteng North bt Free State Motheo 38/21

Women’s B Section
SWD bt Gauteng North 55/54

Women’s C Section
Gauteng North bt Ethekwini 31/28

Men’s Section
West Coast bt Gert Sibanda 43/32

Final standings
Women’s A Section
1 Gauteng North
2 Free State Motheo
3 Dr Kenneth Kaunda (NWS)
4 Western Province
5 Griqualand West
6 Gauteng East
7 Boland
8 Nelson Mandela Bay
9 Gauteng Central
10 Gauteng West

Women’s B Section
1 SWD
2 Gauteng North
3 Boland
4 Western Province
5 Zululand
6 Nelson Mandela Bay
7 Vhembe
8 Amathole
9 Gauteng Vaal
10 Capricorn

Women’s C Section
1 West Coast
2 Gert Sibanda
3 Griqualand West
4 Central Boland
5 KZN Midlands
6 Enhlanzeni
7 Shared between Waterberg and Ethekwini
9 Gauteng Central
10 Nkangala
11 Sekhukhune
12 NM Molema
13 Bojanala
14 OR Tambo
15 Fezile Dabi
16 KZN Ukhahlamba
17 Alfred NZO
18 Cacadu
19 EC Ukhahlamba
20 Chris Hani

Men’s Section
1 Gauteng North
2 Ethekwini
3 Zululand
4 KZN Midlands
5 Waterberg
6 Free State Motheo
7 Gauteng Central
8 NM Molema
9 Gauteng Vaal
10 KZN Ukhahlamba
11 Bojanala
12 Gauteng North
13 Dr Kenneth Kaunda (NWS)
14 Capricorn
15 Central Boland
16 Vhembe
17 Fezile Dabie
18 Limpopo Sekhukhune

Dr Kenneth Kaunda (North West South) were pushed to the wayside in the first quarter of their semi-final match by Gauteng North, who stormed into a 15-4 lead. Although the host side fought back valiantly in the second half, the damage had been done and they were unable to catch up.

Erin Burger – who plays Centre for the winning Gauteng North Side – and her national teammate Leigh-Ann Zackey both played exceptionally well. Despite fierce defending by Kaunda, Burger always appeared to have space around her, and Zackey was superb in defence.

In the first two quarters, Gauteng North were completely dominant, and skilled Dr Kenneth Kaunda goalshooter Chrishna Bootha was rendered useless. However, she had more opportunities as the game wore on, and as always was very accurate in her shooting.

Interception was something that the Pretoria team was able to do on numerous occasions, but after trailing 22-8 at halftime, the North West team began to fight back.  In the third quarter, they kept pace with Gauteng North, and outscored them by 10 goals to seven in the final quarter.  However, Gauteng North won by a handy 52-40. “We started brilliantly,” said Gauteng North captain Zackey.  “We knew we had to have a good lead right from the start and keep them playing catch-up throughout the game.”

Zackey said they had expected a tough match against Kaunda. “This was a semi-final, and they are always tough,” she said.  “They are very different from pool matches.” She said they would have to go out hard against Free State on Saturday; “We need to get a good lead and try to break their rhythm.”

A much easier match was had between Free State and Western Province in the other semi-final, as Free State beat the Cape team by 39 goals to 19.  Free State were all over WP in the first half, leading 22-9 at the break, but Province came back strongly in the third quarter. “We struggled with our rhythm at times,” said Free State coach Burta de Kock.  “But I’m very happy with the way we played.  Because we got a good early lead, I was able to bring some of the young players on and give them some experience so they won’t be over-awed if they are needed tomorrow.” “We know Elize Kotze’s team is a very strong defensive side, so we will need to be very strong on attack tomorrow.”

In the play-offs for lower positions, Kaunda beat Western Province 50-31 to take third place, and Griqualand West beat Gauteng East 53-46 to take fifth place.  The play-off for seventh place featured last year’s finalists, Boland and Nelson Mandela Bay. Boland beat the defending champions 44-23.  Gauteng Central won the play-off for ninth position, beating Gauteng West 54-44, despite once again conceding six goals for not fielding a mixed team.

Final matches will be played on Saturday morning, starting with the women’s C-section final between Gert Sibanda and West Coast.  The men’s final will be between Gauteng North A and Ethekwini, and the women’s B-section final is between South Western Districts and Gauteng North B. The women’s A-section final between Gauteng North and Free State starts at 12.30.

The other teams to reach the semi-finals were Western Province in Pool One and Dr Kenneth Kaunda (North West South) in Pool Two of the women’s A-section. Gauteng East, defending champions Nelson Mandela Bay, Griqualand West and Boland will battle it out for positions five to eight, while Gauteng West and Gauteng Central will play each other to decide positions nine and 10.

The action started early yesterday morning when Gauteng Central and last year’s losing finalists Boland played against each other, neither having won any matches in the tournament thus far. However, the all black team from Johannesburg proved the strongest, and won a hard battle by 41 goals to 39. Captain Nthabiseng Moabi said that her team was confident going into the match: “We knew we had the fitness, speed and agility to beat them,” she said.

But fitness and speed wasn’t enough to win the game, and jubilation turned to disappointment when Boland were awarded an extra six goals for complying with Netball South Africa’s transformation policy. The policy states that each team should field a mixed team at a ratio of five to two, which meant that Boland won the match 45-41, and finished fourth in their group.

Although Boland had been penalised on Wednesday for non-compliance against hosts Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the overall outcome was not affected as the host team had won the match by far and the six goals had made no difference to the score. Yesterday’s morning match between Boland and Gauteng Central was thus the first A-section match of the tournament to be swung due to the transformation policy.

In a backwards and forwards battle between neighbours, Free State beat Griqualand West by 49 goals to 45. They continued with their winning streak later on in the day and thrashed Boland 56-27.

Despite all the early action, the best match of the day was between undefeated Gauteng North and the young team from Gauteng East. Although the Pretoria team never looked like losing, Elsje Jordaan’s youngsters put up a very good fight, and in fact, in the last quarter, outscored their more experienced opponents. “I’m very proud of them, although I would like a little more consistency. They are a very young team – my oldest player is only 23 and my youngest 18. We finished third in our group, and I’m proud of that.”

Jordaan singled out goalshooter Lindie Lombard for special praise. “She’s definitely someone for the future,” said Jordaan. “I like her composure and I thought she handled those two Protea defenders, Amanda Mynhardt and Leigh-Ann Zackey extremely well.”

Other matches included those of Western Province beating Nelson Mandela Bay 33-22, and a very tight match between Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Griqualand West that resulted in the host region winning 56-53 over Griqualand West.

Gauteng North, who have three national team players at their disposal, with Erin Burger at centre, still look like the front-runners. They will play Kaunda in the semi-finals, and it could be an intriguing battle between Mynhardt and Zackey and their Protea teammate Chrisna Bootha, who has impressed with her unerring accuracy as the North West South’s goalshooter.

All the results on Day Four

Women’s A Section
Freestate Motheo bt Griqualand West 49-45
Bizhub Boland bt Gauteng Central 45-41
Dr Kenneth Kaunda bt Griqualand West 56-53
Freestate Motheo bt Bizhub Boland 56-27
Gauteng North bt Gauteng East 48-37
Western Province bt Nelson Mandela Bay 33-22

Women’s B Section
SWD bt Vhembe 49-32
Bizhub Boland bt Westen Province 43-37
Nelson Mandela Bay bt Zululand 40-32
Gauteng North drew against Amathole 31-31
Vhembe bt Capricorn 38-18
Western Province bt Nelson Mandela Bay 48-39
SWD bt Amathole 28-26
Bizhub Boland bt Gauteng Vaal 36-33

Women’s C Section
KZN Midlands bt Ethekwini 46-39
West Coast bt Griqualand West 48-27
Bojanala bt Fezile Dabie 31-50
Cacadu bt Chris Hani 51-49
Nkangala bt Sekhukhune 53-52
Enhlanzeni bt Waterberg 31-25
OR Tambo bt KZN Ukhahlamba 52-29
Gert Sibanda bt Central Boland 35-32
Gauteng Central bt NM Molema 70-21
Alfred NZO bt EC Ukhahlamba 50-28

Men’s Section
Gauteng Vaal bt Gauteng North 44-39
Waterberg bt Gauteng Central 47-32
Gauteng North bt Zululand 41-39
Dr Kenneth Kaunda bt Vhembe 53-23
Ethekwini bt KZN Midlands 36-24
Ukhahlamba bt Bojanala 34-31
Capricorn bt Central Boland 32-23
Freestate Motheo bt NM Molema 49-35

Hosts Dr Kenneth Kaunda (North West South) and Boland provided the match of the day, which was action-packed and ended in the host region winning by 53 goals to 40.

Both teams played fast and adventurous netball, and Kaunda goalshooter, Chrisna Bootha – who also plays for the SPAR national team – had a superb game, succeeding with just about every attempt at goal. Proteas teammate and Boland Counterpart, Christina Markgraaff, had a much better game than she did against Griqualand West on Tuesday, and national coach Carin Strauss, watching the girls performances in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, was beaming with pride.

Liezel Wium, Proteas captain, also had a good game, starting at centre and then moving to wing attack for the second half. Although Boland coach Mariana van Zyl conceded that her team was unlikely to make the final, she was philosophical about her team’s second defeat. “We still have four more matches (including the play-offs) and I was happy with the way we played today,” she said. “We played a more constructive game, and the players supported one another better than they did yesterday.”

Continuing with their winning streak, Gauteng North beat Western Province 61-24 in the first match of the day. With just one pool match left to play, Gauteng North seem likely to win their section and reach the final.

Although defeated in the first match of the day, Western Province coach Dalene Louw remains positive and believes that her team still has a chance of finishing second in their pool; “We’re not down and out yet,” she said. “We always knew Gauteng North were physically stronger than we are, and they made better use of their opportunities. But we will learn from today’s experience and do better tomorrow.”

It was a bad day for Gauteng West on Wednesday, who lost 47-29 to Elsje Jordaan’s young team from Gauteng East in their second match of the day. In other matches; Free State Motheo beat Gauteng Central 46-30 and defending champions Nelson Mandela Bay beat Gauteng West 47-30 to keep alive their hopes of finishing second in their pool.

Results from Day Three
Women’s A Section
Gauteng East bt Gauteng West 47-29
Freestate Motheo bt Gauteng Central 46-30
Nelson Mandela Bay bt Gauteng West 47-30
Gauteng North bt Western Province 61-24
Dr Kenneth Kaunda bt Bizhub Boland 53-40

Women’s B Section
Zululand bt Western Province 59-33
Amathole bt Capricorn 34-31
Nelson Mandela Bay bt Gauteng Vaal 26-24
Griqualand West bt EC Ukhahlamba 61-25
Gauteng North bt SWD 53-41

Women’s C Section
Gert Sibanda bt Nkangala 66-32
Gauteng Central bt Bojanala 44-37
NM Molema bt Fezile Dabie 29-23
KZN Ukhahlamba bt Cacadu 42-29
Ethekwini bt NM Molema 50-23
Midlands bt West Coast 36-28
Gert Sibanda bt OR Tambo 47-26
Bojanala bt Alfred NZO 51-27
Central Boland bt Enhlanzeni 40-29
Waterberg bt Chris Hani 47-29
Lim Sekhukhune bt KZN Ukhahlamba 63-26
Griqualand West bt NM Molema 57-27
KZN Midlands bt Bojanala 49-26
Gauteng Central bt Alfred NZO 57-36
Ethekwini bt Fezile Dabie 56-20
Waterberg bt OR Tambo 41-20
Enhlanzeni bt Cacadu 61-31

Men’s Section
Gauteng North bt Waterberg 57-28
KZN Midlands bt Freestate Motheo 46-33
NM Molema bt Capricorn 26-15
Dr Kenneth Kaunda bt Lim Sekhukhune 41-18
Ethekwini bt KZN Ukhahlamba 45-8
Zululand bt Fezile Dabie 52-23
Gauteng North bt Vhembe 46-26
Waterberg bt Gauteng Vaal 51-30
Freestate Motheo bt Bojanala 38-34
Bojanala bt Central Boland 43-29
Gauteng Vaal bt Dr Kenneth Kaunda 47-41
Vhembe bt Fezile Dabie  27-22
Ethekwini bt Capricorn 53-5
Gauteng Central bt Gauteng North 39-28

They beat last year’s champions Nelson Mandela Bay, from Port Elizabeth 36-27.

On day one they accounted for West Gauteng 73-16 in a runaway result.

North Gauteng though will be hoping they don’t make the same mistake as at last year’s championships where they looked unbeatable until the final stages and eventually ended up fourth.

Our netballers will be representing their country at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.

Results from Day Two of the Spar National Netball Championships in Potchefstroom

Women’s A Section
Gauteng East bt Nelson Mandela Bay 38-33
Griqualand West bt Bizhub Boland 45-38
Dr Kenneth Kaunda bt Gauteng Central 66-40
Gauteng North bt Nelson Mandela Bay 36-27
Western Province bt Gauteng West 48-34

Women’s B Section
Vhembe bt Amathole 33-25
Zululand bt Gauteng Vaal 32-29
Gauteng North bt Capricorn 48-30
Bizhub Boland bt Nelson Mandela Bay 34-29

Women’s C Section
Griqualand West bt Fezile Dabie 42-31
Ethekwini bt Griqualand West 46-30
Midlands bt Gauteng Central 61-29
Central Boland bt Lim Sekhukhune 42-35
Waterberg bt Nkangala 49-38
West Coast bt Bojanala 43-32
OR Tambo bt Chris Hani 38-27
Nkangala bt Chris Hani 47-31
Lim Sekhukhune bt Cacadu 50-41
West Coast bt Gauteng Central 41-30
Ethekwini bt EC Ukhahlamba 52-42
Midlands bt Alfred NZO 55-30
Gert Sibanda bt Waterberg 37-33
Central Boland bt KZN Ukhahlamba 40-24
Enhlanzeni bt KZN Ukhahlamba 45-23
NM Molema bt EC Ukhahlamba 45-35

Men’s Section
Gauteng North bt Dr Kenneth Kaunda 50-28
Zululand bt Gauteng North 51-32
KZN Midlands bt Central Boland 69-7
KZN Midlands bt Bojanala 38-16
Gauteng North bt Fezile Dabie 45-18
Waterberg bt Lim Sekhukhune 36-14
KZN Ukhahlamba bt Capricorn 25-14
Gauteng North bt Gauteng Vaal 42-33
Zululand bt Gauteng Central 52-25
Gauteng Vaal bt Lim Sekhkhune 58-25
Ethekwini bt NM Molema 46-10

Speaking at the opening of the SPAR national netball tournament in Potchefstroom, South Rand Managing Director Brett Botten said he had 14-million reasons to make the participants happy, because the sponsorship is worth R14million over the next three years.

“Sport provides an exciting platform on which to build our brand and women’s sport presents an excellent channel for this,” said Botten. “The huge majority of our customers are women, and we believe that we have a duty to support them in return. Netball provides us with a great opportunity to demonstrate our support for our customers. Not many people know that Netball is South Africa’s second most popular sport (after soccer) and certainly the most popular sport amongst women, who are important role players in the new South Africa.”

Botten said he was delighted to announce that SPAR had decided to continue their sponsorship of netball for another three years. He said the sponsorship would cover the national netball team, the national championships, a Tri-nations series, development, administration and the promotion of netball.

“We are very serious about this partnership,” said Botten. “Having sponsored this beautiful game for the past eight years, SPAR believes that it has formed a sound and solid working relationship with Netball South Africa and our future together can only grow from strength to strength.”

NSA President Mimi Mthethwa said NSA were overjoyed by the decision. “SPAR has been a loyal and devoted sponsor for the past eight years,” she said. “Without their support and assistance, it would be almost impossible to achieve the things we need to achieve. Many of the teams taking part in these championships would not have been able to do so if they had not had that support. Their support for the national team, and their willingness to help the Proteas to get international exposure has meant that we have been able to start working our way back up the world rankings.”

Mthethwa said the sponsorship had also helped NSA with their transformation programme. “We believe we have done well with transformation, and with the support of SPAR and the Department of Sport and Recreation, we have come a very long way,” she said. “The netball family is very happy that our relationship with SPAR will continue to flourish.”

Sports Minister Reverend Makhenkesi Stofile praised SPAR for its continued sponsorship of netball. “Women’s sports often find it difficult to find sponsors, but SPAR must be lauded for their ongoing loyalty and support for the biggest women’s participation sport in South Africa,” said the Minister.

Results on the first day of the national championships
Women’s A Section
Western Province bt Gauteng East 38-37
Griqualand West bt Gauteng Central 58-35
Freestate Motheo bt Dr Kenneth Kaunda 40-30
Gauteng North bt Gauteng West 73-16

Women’s B Section
SWD bt Capricorn 41-24
Zululand bt Bizhub Boland 34-22
Gauteng North bt Vhemba 34-23
Western Province bt Gauteng Vaal 30-28

Women’s C Section
Fezile Dabie bt EC Ukhahlamba 33-23
Enhlanzeni bt Lim Sekhukhune 27-31
OR Tambo bt Nkangala 37-31
Central Boland bt Cacadu 58-32
West Coast bt Alfred NZO 43-21
Gert Sibanda bt Chris Hani 55-16

Men’s Section
NM Molema bt KZN Ukahlamba 23-19
Gauteng Central bt Fezile Dabie 14-46
Freestate Motheo bt Central Boland 55-25
Waterberg bt Dr Kenneth Kaunda 32-23
Gauteng North bt  Lim Sekhukhune 64-13
Zululand bt Vhembe 57-13

The tournament is the culmination of a whole season’s competition. The teams that have qualified for the Festival Challenge have gone through an arduous programme, starting with circuit leagues, and then going on to district, regional, and provincial competitions before qualifying for the national Challenge tournament.

Nine provinces, represented by 164 teams ranging from Under-12 to Under-18, will be taking part in the action-packed weekend, which will see 52 rounds of matches.  Play gets under way at eight o’clock in the morning, and will continue until about 8pm on Friday and Saturday, with the finals being played before noon on Sunday.

There is a special incentive for the teams in the Under-16 section, as the two top teams will be given the opportunity to play in an international schools netball tournament in Singapore against teams from countries like Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei.  Last year, a South African team finished second in the tournament.

The country’s national women’s team will be playing in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India later this year.

South Africa’s Olympic governing body, SASCOC, made the team announcement at Olympic House in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 21 July. A final amendment to the team is scheduled for 25 August when names of the track and field and Sevens rugby representatives will be made known as well as in swimming. Other possible inclusions are para-powerlifting and para-athletics.

This will be the fifth occasion that South Africa has been represented at the Commonwealth Games since re-joining the Commonwealth in 1994 after a break of 33 years during the international sports isolation period.

Speaking at the announcement, SASCOC president Gideon Sam wished the team well and urged them to give of their very best. “The message to the team remains. All we have to do is to improve on our fifth position at the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia four years ago and equal or improve our medals tally.

“This will be an excellent test of whether our policy of ‘only the best’ will show results. We have included team sports that will make the size of the team look big, but it will still be a far cry from the big team that represented us in Melbourne.”

The South African team of 2006 was one of the largest in Melbourne.

“The performance of this team will also give us an indication of how well we are doing on the road to the London Olympics in 2012. We expect good performances from both the swimmers and the track and field athletes with good contributions from the bowls team as well,” said Sam.

A total of 17 sports will be contested at the Games: Archery, Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

Apart from these sports, 15 events will be contested across four Para-Sports codes, for elite athletes with a disability, on the inclusive sports programme. These are Athletics, Swimming, Powerlifting and Table Tennis.

Some of the household names in action across the different codes will be Roland Schoeman and Natalie Du Toit (aquatics), hard-hitting Lebogang Pilane (boxing) and Robbie Hunter (a previous stage winner of the Tour de France cycle race).

In the team sports, both the men’s and women’s hockey teams will be in action as will the men’s and women’s lawn bowls squads. Liezel Wium’s netball side will also travel to New Delhi.

Since their return to the Commonwealth, South Africa have never finished lower than 12th on the medals table. Their first Commonwealth Games after isolation were in Victoria, British Colombia where they won 11 medals to place 12th.

Since then they have been represented in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1998), Manchester (2002) and Melbourne (2006).

In Melbourne they were fifth on the medals table, winning a total of 38 medals (12 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze) and finishing behind Australia, England, India and Canada.
South Africa’s gold medals came from swimming (five), track and field (five) and one each from boxing and shooting.

In the pool, Roland Schoeman was South Africa’s star, winning three gold medals and a bronze. And Natalie Du Toit was also right up there, earning two gold medals in the pool.

New Delhi won the right to host the 2010 Games by defeating the Canadian city of Hamilton by 46 votes to 22 at the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly held in Montego Bay, Jamaica in November 2003.

South Africans have already had a taste of the Commonwealth Games experience this year, with the Queen’s Baton Relay touching down in South Africa and taking in a successful whirlwind tour of the country before it continued its journey from Buckingham Palace, England to New Delhi.

The South African team of athletes and officials that will do duty at the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India between 3-14 October:

Aquatics: Wendy Trott, Heerden Herman, Chad le Clos, Gideon Louw, Mark Randall, Roland Schoeman, Riaan Schoeman, Darian Townsend, Cameron van der Burgh. Para Swim: Natalie Du Toit

Archery: Jorina Coetzee, Nico Benade, Septimus Cilliers, Jacobus de Wet. Manager/coach: Barbara Manning

Boxing: Papish Baloyi, Siphiwe Lusizi, Masana Manganyi, Lebogang Pilane. Manager: Peter Armstrong. Coach: Nkosinathi Hlatshwayo

Cycling: Robyn de Groot, Ashleigh Moolman, Anriette Schoeman, Carla Swart, Cherise Taylor, Marissa van der Merwe, Dean Edwards, Robert Hunter, Daryl Impey, Darren Lill, Jay Thompson, Christoff van Heerden, Jaco Venter. Manager/coach: Barry Austin. Coach: George Cornelissen. Mechanic: Melvin Claassen

Gymnastics: Ashleigh Heldsinger, Jennifer Khwela, Sibongile Mjekula. Manager/coach: Julie Adamson-Schurmann. Coach: Tatiana Lavrentchouk

Hockey (women): Tarryn Bright, Dirkie Chamberlain, Lisa-Marie Deetliefs, Farah Fredericks, Lesle-Ann George, Kim Hubach, Marcelle Keet, Kelly Madsen, Vuyisanani Mangisa, Marsha Marescia, Mariette Rix, Lenise Marais, Kathleen Taylor, Nicolene Terblanche, Roxanne Turner, Jennifer Wilson. Manager: Luntu Ntloko. Coach: Giles Bonnett. Assistant coach: Fabian Gregory.

Hockey (men): Brendan Botes, Gareth Carr, Tim Drummond, Ian Haley, Rhett Halkett, Thomas Hammond, Marvin Harper, Julian Hykes, Lance Louw, Lloyd Madsen, Lloyd Norris-Jones, Wade Paton, Taine Paton, Erasmus Pieterse, Justin Reid-Ross, Austin Smith. Manager: Anton van Rooyen. Coach: Gregg Clark. Assistant coach: David Viney.

Lawn bowls: Tracy-Lee Botha, Helen Grundlingh, Susan Nel, Colleen Piketh, Brunhilda Roussouw, Susanna Steyn, Shaun Addinall, Gerry Baker, Bobby Donnelly, Johan du Plessis, Wayne Perry, Gideon Vermeulen. Manager: Ron Weddell. Coach: Theunis Fraser. Coach: Jessica Henderson

Netball: Chrisna Botha, Erin Burger, Zukelwa Cwaba, Sindisiwe Gumede, Maryke Holtzhausen, Christene Markgraaf, Zanele Mdodane, Nthabiseng Moabi, Precious Mthembu, Amanda Mynhardt, Liezel Wium, Leigh-Ann Zackey. Manager: Marchelle Maroun. Coach: Carin Strauss. Assistant coach: Cecilia Molokwane

Shooting: Tielman Breedt, Martin Davis, Petrus Haasbroek. Coaches: Jacob de Beer and Robert Thompson

Table Tennis: Luke Abrahams, Theo Cogill, Kurt Lingeveldt, Itumeleng Molahloe, Shane Overmeyer. Manager/coach: Sameera Maal. Coach: Marcus Gustafsson

Wheelchair Table Tennis: Aletta Moll

Weightlifting: Babalwa Ndleleni, Mona Pretorius, Portia Vries. Manager/coach: Aveenash Pandoo

Wrestling: Sonja Coetzee, Brumilda Leeuw, Mpho Madi, Zumicke Geringer, Richard Addinall, Heinrich Barnes, Bella-Lufa Hughes, Marius Loots, Gerald Meyer, Andries Schutte, Etienne van Huyssteen, Carlo van Wyk, Dean van Zyl. Manager: Sakkie Bosse. Coach: Nico Coetzee

Medical team
Doctors
Chief Medical Officer: Shuiab Manjra. Doctors: Demitri Constantinou, Jo-Anne Kirby

Physiotherapists
Chief Physiotherapist: Caren Fleishman. Physiotherapists: Megan Dutton, Tamlyn Guest, Grace Hughes, Fikile Phasha, Tanushree Pillay, Sandhya Silal, Edwin Bodha, Nhlanhla Maphanga, David van Wyk