18 schools to fly Limpopo flag at SA championships

POLOKWANE – Some 18 schools will represent Limpopo in 18 sporting codes during the National Schools Sports Championships in Pretoria, which started yesterday (Monday) and will end on December 16.

The schools will proceed to national level after winning the various provincial schools sports championships that were held in October.

These championships were staged by the department of sport, arts and culture in conjunction with the department of education and Limpopo School Sport Co-coordinating Committee (LSCC).

The games cater for both primary and secondary schools.

According to Veronica Choshane, sport and recreation general manager at the department of sport, arts and culture, the games serves as a platform for talent identification, which is conducted by talent scouts from several national sports federations.

“The athletes that excel will be placed in sports focused schools for further nurturing and development. Through leagues, the culture of continuous participation in sport is instilled in athletes from an early age; promoting lifelong participation and development in sport,” she says.

Choshane says Limpopo did well in last year’s championships that took place in Bloemfontein.

Limpopo won 53 medals, of which 11 were gold medals in athletics won by intellectually impaired learners. Limpopo also won one gold medal in chess and one in “morabaraba”.

“We did well, although we did not win. Five learners from Limpopo received ministerial bursaries worth R100 000 each from sport minister, Fikile Mbalula,” says Choshane.

These learners who makes use of the bursaries are Thabo Nkoana, Nnani Moloto and Kwena Mabitsela for chess, Elizabeth Tsweleng for soccer, and Mapitsi Tselane for netball.

More than 899 athletes will take part in this year’s National Schools Sports Championships.