Brief History of South African Sport

For many years, cricket was regarded as the game of the privileged white man, but great strides have been made to make it a game for all South Africans. An ever-increasing number of players of color have made it to the top of the game in South Africa, being chosen to represent the National team known as the Proteas who compete in World Cricket amongst the likes of Australia, England, New Zealand, India, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and others. But it is at lower levels that the change is most obvious. Quotas introduced at the provincial (local) level have unearthed some excellent talent, while junior provincial teams are even closer to reflecting the demographics of country. This is a growing trend, and the hope is that in years to come quotas will not be necessary, all South Africans will have equal opportunity to make it to the top of the game, and South African cricket will be able to challenge the world by drawing on all the talent available in the country.
 
For the many South African fans of rugby the game is a serious matter, a source of bursting pride and joy - or shattering disappointment. The Springboks are the national rugby team and traditionally one of the sport's international powerhouses. Many talented South African youngsters dreams of one day wearing "the green and gold". The country has traditionally fared extremely well on the world stage, and South African fans expect their national team to win every game it plays. For the disadvantaged people of the old apartheid South Africa, rugby was the white man's game. Traditionally, most communities of color played soccer while, for white communities, rugby was the winter sport of choice. Things have changed in South Africa and since 1994 the South African Rugby Football Union has been working hard to make rugby the game of all South Africans, mainly through an active development & quota program.
 
South Africa competes in the Tri-Nations & Super 14 professional rugby leagues. The Tri-Nations is an annual rugby competition, taking place in July and August that decides who the top international team in the southern hemisphere is. The competition was first staged in 1996, born of a demand for more regular competition between the southern hemisphere superpowers following the success of the 1995 World Cup. New Zealand, South Africa and Australia have traditionally set the pace in world rugby - five out of the six World Cups contested since 1987 have been shared among these three - so becoming Tri-Nations champion is a great honor. The Super 14 competition features 14 professional club teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, with South Africa providing five teams, New Zealand five and Australia four.
 
In recent memory, soccer has evolved into one of the country's most popular and well loved sports. However, the list of South African sporting achievements goes wider than the "Big Three" sports of rugby, cricket and soccer. In a country of magnificent golf courses it is not surprising that South Africa has bred some world-beating stars including Bobby Locke, Gary Player, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and others. South Africa has also bred world champions among swimmers, track & field athletes, surfers, boxers, tennis players and more. Basketball, completely unknown 12 years ago, has recently become more popular, particularly amongst black youths impressed by frequent glimpses of US basketball stars on local television. Basketball is now offered as a sport at many schools and no doubt through the NBA's powerful global marketing campaign will increase its popularity in years to come.
 
Believe it or not Australian Rules Football is a fast growing team sport, having grown in participation by 159% between 2005-07. Since 1996, the sport has been growing quickly amongst indigenous communities through the work of development officers paid by the Australian Football League (AFL). The AFL is an extremely well managed professional sport in Australia and they see South Africa as a part of their future development plan. South Africa's national team, The Lions, made history in 2007 by competing against Australia's best Under 17 players and also participated in the inaugural 2008 Australian Football International Cup finishing 3rd.
 
With dramatic increases in sports tourism the popularity and availability of Adventure Sports is also on the rise. The mountains offer hiking, rock climbing and hang gliding opportunities. There is also fishing, sailing, hot air ballooning, horseback riding, surfing, bungee jumping as well as some of the greatest game parks on the planet. South Africans love outdoor long-distance challenges - the country's climate and contrasting landscape is ideal for endurance sport activities. Whether on land or in water, South Africans love testing their endurance ability and an ever-increasing number of people from overseas have discovered the fantastic events the country has to offer and are participating in them in record numbers. Among them are a good number of world leading events including the; The Comrades Marathon, The Two Oceans Marathon, The Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour, The Absa Cape Epic, The Subaru Sani 2 C & The Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon. Finally, horse racing is a hugely popular sport in South Africa, with regular racing taking place around the country. The sport in South Africa enjoys a long and rich history that can be traced back to 1797! The first recorded race club meeting took place five years later in 1802.