South Africa to honour sports men, women

South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee

Pretoria – South Africa is to reward the country’s most successful sports men and women for their outstanding efforts made on and off the sporting field.

Sport and Recreation South Africa, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will host the SA Sports Awards as a token of appreciation to thousands of sports men and women in the country.

International celebrities such as Brandy, Vivica A Fox and Sugar Ray Leonard are expected to grace the event, which will be broadcast live on SABC 1 and SuperSport channel 204 at 8pm.

Briefing the media ahead of the event, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said the event is to say thank you to the outstanding sports men and women who work hard to keep the enthusiasm of sport alive in the spirits and minds of all South Africans.

Mbalula said the much anticipated 2011 SA Sports Awards, to be hosted at the Sun City Superbowl in the North West, on Sunday will not come cheap.

“These awards are not going to cost R500 000, but they will cost a lot of money and we are happy that we have sponsors who have graciously sponsored this magnificent event. Of course we will also contribute together with the North West provincial government.

“This is not going to come cheap, but it would be spectacular. We are going big. We want the country to come to a standstill when we celebrate the courage of our sports stars. So this is not a micky mouse event,” he said.

He said the event will position the country’s sport landscape in a positive paradigm to successfully implement his department’s “Road Map into Optimal Performance and Functional Excellence” framework that will shape and characterise sport and recreation discourse in South Africa.

The minister said they will also be hosting the awards to honour and recognise outstanding personalities, individuals and teams that against all odds have excelled since November 2009 to April 30 2011.

The awards carry 16 categories, which will recognise individuals – male and female – people with disabilities, federations, continental participants, community builders, indigenous games, media and outstanding personalities in the field of sport and recreation.

North West MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Patrick Chauke, said they are ready to host the glittering event.

The winner of the Sports Star of the Year award will be decided by the public, who can vote by SMS or online on the Sascoc website.

Nominees on this category are A; Charl Schwartzel;  B. Noko Matlou; C. Cameron van Der Burgh; D. Cecil Africa, E. Hashim Amla.

To vote for the Sports Star of the Year, SMS the word “Sport” followed by A, B, C, D or E to 34760 and stand a chance to win a Toyota Yaris. – BuaNews