Curtain falls on school sport champs

The proverbial curtain fell on arguably one of the most prestigious and flagship events in the school sports calendar, the South African Schools Sport National Championships, which took place in Pretoria from December 10 to 15.

The Departments of Sport and Recreation and Basic Education held a ceremony to officially mark an end to the games, to honour winners as well as to recognise and reward athletes for their achievements. Themed ‘Today’s athletes, tomorrow’s legends’, the third edition of the gathering of school learners, were contested in 14 different sporting codes, namely; athletics (cross-country), basketball, chess, cricket, football, gymnastics, goalball, netball, volleyball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, hockey and rugby, as well as four indigenous games, namely jukskei, kgati, khokho and morabaraba.

Hundreds of schools and thousands of learners from across the country took part in the competition, but there could only be one winner. For the third time in a row Gauteng beat the eight other provinces to be crowned 2014 champions. Having amassed a whopping 158 gold medals, the hosts successfully retain the title and get to keep the trophy in their cabinet for good. Kwazulu Natal is second in the standings with 79 gold medals to their name. The Free State round off the top three with 40 gold medals.

Meanwhile 18 learners were identified as the most talented and requiring support. They were offered Ministerial Sport Bursaries by the Ministry of Sport and Recreation of R100 000 per annum until they complete high school. The bursary covers academic and sport-related support for each identified talented learner at the identified sport focus schools. The chosen school would mainly be the one closest to the athlete’s home and offering the sport code in which the athlete excels.