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4 July 2008

As the Continent prepares to host the World in 2010, we as the Zone VI countries of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) are preparing to host the Southern Region of our Continent in the form of the SCSA Zone VI Under 20 Youth Games that will take place in the Tlokwe Municipality of the North West province, South Africa, from 7 to 17 October this year. The Games will be played at venues situated in and around Tlokwe.

The main objective of these bi-annual games is to prepare the region's athletes for major competitions such as the All Africa, Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games, as well as international championships of the various sporting codes. While excelling athletes may go on to represent South Africa in major championships, the games are by their nature, developmental.

Through these games, we will welcome more than 10 nations to our country, bringing almost 1 600 athletes together for 10 days of top class competition, cultural exchange and a great experience of social cohesion, thus contributing to Nepad in a very real way. We hope that these games will add to other efforts to establish friendships across the borders and help fight xenophobia in our country and elsewhere on the Continent.

These games, will take place in seven sports codes, namely: athletics (including track events for the visually impaired), swimming, basketball, boxing (males only), soccer, netball (females only), and tennis.

We are excited as a country to host these games while also holding the leadership of Zone VI as represented by Rev. Dr. Makhenkesi Stofile, who is also the Minister of Sport and Recreation in our country. We hope that Swaziland as the next host of the SCSA Zone VI games will learn from our successes and shortcomings as much as we did, from Mozambique in 2004 and Namibia in 2006.

Ladies and gentlemen, to us as South Africans, it is important to emphasise to the Zone VI that what we are talking about here, is Tlokwe representing our country. Just to give some background, the SCSA Zone VI Games are an extension of the SCSA, which was created by the erstwhile Organisation of African Unity, to co-ordinate sport on the African continent. The SCSA divided Africa into seven competition zones, due to the vastness of the Continent and for financial prudence. South Africa was grouped into Zone Six, along with Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. As these games attempt to foster African unity and solidarity, an invitation is normally extended to SADC countries which are not part of Zone VI.

As the Department of Sport and Recreation in South Africa, we cannot fully take advantage of the opportunities presented by these games if we were to go it alone. We are therefore grateful to our colleagues from the Ministry of Defence for their assistance towards accommodating the teams at their institution in Tlokwe; the North West province; the Tlokwe Municipality; and North West University, for their support. These games present a wonderful example for one of our up and coming towns enjoying the benefits of sports tourism. Tlokwe, with support from the National Lottery, must benefit from the legacy of these games through infrastructure upgrading, new equipment, new skills, national pride as well as inward investment with local businesses benefiting from increased opportunities.

It is from taking advantage of such opportunities, that our people are able to see that when we talk about an event leaving a legacy; it is not just about mega sports events but also about regional and local events. As the Local Organising Committee (LOC) we are putting structures in place to employ and train volunteers to come and assist us deliver successful games, while also empowering them with work experience and skills.

As I conclude, allow me unveil to you, the Logo of the SCSA Zone VI under 20 Youth Games. As you all can see, this logo is vibrant, dynamic and innovative and is set in motion to jump, run, and leap forward. Its sole intention is to move or cause movement that is not only energetic but also highly motivating in the fact that it encapsulates the dynamism and enthusiasm of today's top performers. The symbol is non-gender specific. The colours of the symbol indicate a sense of South African belonging hinting towards the colours of the National Flag as well as the Olympic logo. As Zone VI is within Africa the map of Africa forms part of the logo.

Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the LOC, I wish to invite the media to become our partners as we attempt to foster through these Games, African Unity and solidarity on the continent.

For enquiries, please contact:
Mr Manase Makwela
Tel: 012 304 5017
Cell: 082 782 1759

Mr William Maphosa
Cell: 083 379 9177

Issued by: Sport and Recreation South Africa
4 July 2008