The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has announced a powerful squad of 209 athletes to compete across 11 different sporting codes for the 2022 Region V Games in Lilongwe, Malawi, from 2-12 December.
These Games mark the 10th occasion that they are held and they are expected to attract some 3 000 athletes in total from 10 southern African countries. South Africa is traditionally one of the most successful nations at the event.
Last year an executive decision was made to withdraw Team SA from the Games midway through the competition, following an outbreak of Covid-19 at the event. Despite their withdrawal, with the track and field programme to be completed, Team SA still managed to top the overall medals table.
One of the gold medals secured last year in Maseru was that of netball and head coach Emily Mathosa’s youngsters will be hoping to retain the crown in the Malawian capital, especially with 2023 being the year that South Africa hosts the Netball World Cup.
“These Games are an important fixture on the sporting calendar,” said SASCOC president Mr Barry Hendricks. “We have seen over the past decade that they have always unearthed future world-class talent and this year will be no different. Last year the right decision was made to withdraw our squad from the event in Maseru after an outbreak of Covid-19, but we are confident that next month the region will see the very best from our athletes.”
The CEO of SASCOC, Ms Nozipho Jafta, commented: “We are delighted to be taking such a strong squad of young athletes and we have an experienced management team to oversee them. These Games are vitally important in the development of an athlete’s career. The likes of our Olympians, Wayde van Niekerk and Caster Semenya, who became track legends, are a product of these Games.
“Many of the athletes across Team SA in Malawi will go on to become Olympians and Paralympians. Through our Operation Excellence Programme (OPEX), we are identifying young future stars and supporting them through their careers. This is another opportunity to showcase the importance of OPEX as we build towards the 2024 and 2028 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris and LA, respectively,” she added.
