Netball featured prominently among the finalists for the SPAR gsport4girls! Awards announced at The Venue in Melrose Arch on Monday.
Gauteng Under-21 coach, Dumisani Chauke, who is also assistant coach to the SPAR Baby Proteas, was named as a finalist in two categories – Coach of the Year and Woman of the Year. In the Coach of the Year category, she is up against Free State Crinums coach, Burta de Kock.
The Crinums, who have won the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League three years in succession, are Team of the Year finalists. The other finalists are the Momentum Proteas women’s cricket team and the South African Rugby Sevens squad.
Karla Mostert, regarded as one of the best defenders in world netball, is an Athlete of the Year finalist. She is up against very strong competition from Comrades Marathon winner Charne Bosman and Olympian Caster Semenya.
Two journalists who have done much to promote South African netball – Rachel Makhura and Busisiwe Mokwena – are also among the finalists. Channel Africa’s Makhura reached the xfinals in the Style Star, Women in Media (Radio) and Women in Media (Social Media) categories, while Mokwena, who is a former Women in Media winner, is a finalist in the Women in Media (Print) category.
Former SPAR Protea vice-captain Zanele Mdodana – a former Style Star winner – is one of the members of the new look judges panel, which also includes former South African hockey star, Pietie Coetzee, sports activist Cheryl Roberts and 2009 Style Star winner Uyanda Mbuli.
