SA swimming coming of age

August 01, 2005, 19:00

South Africa won five medals at the World Swimming Championships in Montreal -- finishing fourth overall in the swimming competition.

Dirk Lange, the director of coaching for Swimming South Africa, has passed his first test, just six months into his new job.

Although the medals were shared by only two swimmers, Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling, Lange believes the younger swimmers have come of age in Montreal. Almost half the swimming squad in Montreal should have been in the class rooms the last two weeks. Instead they learnt their lessons at the Parc Jean Drepaux swimming complex, where they excelled.

A number of age-group, national and continental records were set while most of them also recorded their fastest times ever. Swimming South Africa believes its youth policy will bear fruit by 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. But there is still next year's Commonwealth Games and another World Championships in 2007 where someone other than Schoeman and Neethling need to step to the fore.

Nevertheless, the performances by the team in Montreal were a great boost for the sport and South Africa are now established as one of the top five swimming nations. The spotlight throughout last week has been on the emergence of Africa as significant force in the swimming pool. The continent has won more medals at this world championships than in the previous ten championships put together.

Player to Watch: Van Heerden breaking in with Bafana
10 September 2004
by FIFAworldcup.com
Rarely has a footballer competed more at full international level than for his club, but South Africa have been fast tracking midfielder Elrio van Heerden into the advanced rigours of FIFA World Cup football. And, the 21-year-old has burst into the squad over the last months and now proudly boasts five appearances for his country.
In effect, he has played more minutes in the colours of South African national team, Bafana Bafana, than for the first side of the club that employs him, the Danish champions FC Kobenhaven. Van Heerden is the first player to ever appear for South Africa without having played a full match of first team club soccer.

At the end of last season, Copenhagen brought him on for the final four minutes of their last match of the season against Aalborg BK, during which he scored a vital goal that was to help them go on and win the championship again. He went home for the off-season break and was swiftly called up into the South African side, beginning the collection of his five caps with his debut against the Cape Verde Islands in Bloemfontein in early June.

Four of his appearances have come in the countryÂ’s qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany, where Bafana have made a slow start to their campaign. But, Van Heerden is one of the new generation of footballers that South Africa are blooding with an eye on the 2010 finals, which they will host.
Coach Stuart Baxter has made no secret of his plan to bring more and more of the countryÂ’s promising young players in the team, with one eye on creating a side that can compete with the worldÂ’s best in 2010.

“Although our priority is first to qualify for Germany it would be criminal of me not to start right now with the building of a team for 2010,” explains the coach.

Hence the rapid-fire emergence of Van Heerden, whose only other appearance for FCK was in the UEFA Champions League recently as a substitute against NK Gorica of Slovenia. Van Heerden bypassed the South African league to sign in Denmark after having attended the academy that FCK run in Port Elizabeth, his home town.

“It was fantastic for me. It’s every player’s dream to play overseas, and I realised that dream very early in my career,” says Van Heerden. “I didn’t expect to be playing for the first team straight away because I was young, and I was training with the first team and playing for the reserves.”

The confident youngster adds: “I want to make more of an impact this season, ] to at least command a regular place in the squad. But it all depends on the coach and what plans he has for me and for the club.”

But as far as South Africa are concerned, Van Heerden is already a regular, beginning with the first Group Two clash against the Cape Verdians.
“When I was first called up for the camp I was very excited and it was a great incentive for me to go and show the coach what I could do, but I had no expectations. I thought to myself that I would at least be on the bench and I could get some kind of idea of what it was like to part of the national team. I never imagined I would start the game and make my debut.”
Van Heerden says it is important that South Africa, who now lie fourth in their group, qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals in 2006.

“It will give the younger players great experience so that when 2010 come as around we know what you expect. I’ll only be 27 years only in 2010, so hopefully I will make it.”

By Craig Ray

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Springbok coach Jake White said a victory over the All Blacks at Newlands on Saturday would be similar to winning the Rugby World Cup.

"If we beat the All Blacks on Saturday it must come close to the achievement of winning a World Cup," White told a news conference on Monday.

The Springboks beat Australia 22-16 in the Tri-nations opener in Pretoria on Saturday, which followed their 33-20 Mandela Challenge Plate win over the same opponents at Ellis Park in Johannesburg a week earlier.

"To beat Australia on two consecutive weekends and then beat the All Blacks the next Saturday would be special and I don't think too many sides can get that right," White said by way of explaining his earlier comment.

"One of the things we must be aware of is that if you want to win the World Cup you are going to have to play three big Saturdays in a row.

"We have England in our pool in 2007 and if we beat them we could have to play a quarter-final, semi-final and final in consecutive weeks.

"It could happen that we end up playing, say, France in the quarters, Australia in the semis and New Zealand in the final, or whoever. To win the tournament you will have to win those three weekends in a row.

"Winning the World Cup is massive and you can't take that away from anybody but for us this weekend is part of the plan and something you can use when preparing for the World Cup."

The Springboks will be playing their third test in three weeks while the All Blacks have not played since July 9 when they beat the British and Irish Lions 38-19 in the third test to clinch the series 3-0.

White was not sure who would be better prepared for the Tri-nations match, the weary but confident Springboks or the rested but match shy All Blacks.

"I'll tell you on Saturday afternoon if it was an advantage to play two weekends in a row before this match or not," White said with a smile.

By Mark Gleeson

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A new South African season opens on Wednesday with the usual cast of favourites expected to dominate but several other pretenders threatening in the wings.

For the last decade, the professional game in the country has been dominated by Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns but other clubs are threatening to break their stranglehold on the league championship.

The awarding of the 2010 World Cup finals to South Africa has proved a major boost to the professional game in the country, now awash with sponsorship and television money.

Clubs are now able to make forays into the international transfer market, evidenced by the purchase of two Venezuelan internationals by Sundowns last month.

The Pretoria club, whose owner Patrice Motsepe is a mining magnate with pretensions of becoming the Roman Abramovich of Africa, won Saturday's Charity Cup at the conclusion of their pre-season preparations, which also included a trip to South Korea for the Peace Cup.

DISAPPOINTING THIRD

It will be the first full season in charge for Argentine Angel Cappa, who took over midway through the last campaign in which Sundowns finished a disappointing third.

Chiefs clinched the championship on the last day of last season in May from arch rivals Pirates but have since lost key personnel, which has led many to write off their chances of a third successive title.

Veteran coach Ted Dumitru retired to be replaced by the German Ernst Middendorp, who turned down a job offer from Bundesliga club Arminia Bielefeld to work in South Africa.

"With the World Cup coming to South Africa in 2010, this is a job well worth taking," he said when his appointment was first announced.

But Chiefs have sold key marksman Collins Mbesuma to English premier league side Portsmouth. The Zambian striker's 35 goals last season proved the catalyst for the club's storming late run in defence of their title and also their success in the League Cup.

Pirates, by contrast, have beefed up their side after missing out on the championship despite enjoying a nine-point lead four months from the finish.

New signings include Zambian international Davies Mwale and Congo-born Lebo Mbele while Serbian coach Kosta Papic has been given a contract extension.

Cup winners SuperSport United led a growing list of ambitious pretenders. The Pretoria club were fourth last season as well as winning the national cup.

Bloemfontein Celtic and Moroka Swallows are another two of those with an outside chance but have yet to win a championship title in the professional era.

Wednesday's season-opening match in Cape Town pits two unpredictable teams in Ajax Cape Town and Jomo Cosmos.

Ajax's youthful side are involved in the last eight of the African Champions League but their threadbare squad is not expected to maintain a consistent challenge for league honours.

South Africa's season runs through until May next year although there will be a six-week break in January and February when the country's national team participate in the African Nations Cup finals.

01.08.05


By Richard Boock


It would be nice if we could begin this column with something cheerful and positive, so all readers could feel swimmingly good about sport, life and the universe as they know it.

But alas, the tidings of the past 48 hours have been so grim that it would be misrepresentative to speak of anything but false starts, premature endings and (in the case of the beloved All Blacks) an almighty challenge in the making.

The only genuine bright spot was the fact that the Springboks and Wallabies pummeled each other with equal ferocity during the Tri-Nations opener at Pretoria yesterday morning, in a match that went with the hosts 22-16.

Having performed an astonishing transformation the previous week, South Africa were forced to graft much harder against a desperate Australian side, and could possibly be vulnerable when they square off against the All Blacks on Sunday, their third test in as many weeks. But that was about as good as it got.

The not-so-good news was that, in repelling Australia at the weekend, South Africa showed that their great resilience and tenacity was still at the forefront of their game, however quickly it was evolving and expanding.

There were ominous signs for New Zealand, not least the sight of the new-look Springboks combining their willingness to run the ball with some no-frills business decisions at crucial times.

There was a confidence there too, confidence that will only surge higher after the experience of winning such a cliff-hanger, particularly against a side as single-minded and as determined as Australia.

The Wallabies simply needed to win the weekend's test, and it showed. They hoped to relegate all the distractions of the past week into the background and to re-establish their professional equilibrium in the best possible fashion. It was a chance to wipe egg from faces.

The extra pressure showed in the way Steve Larkham (surely Australia's best actor after Russell Crowe) attempted to milk penalties with feigned injuries, in the manic way they celebrated George Smith's try and, as the game wore on, in the desperation of their body language.

What it meant was that the Springboks were forced to win a test of far higher intensity than the previous weekend's outing and, by association, that the All Blacks can be certain of a full-scale examination in the next match.

Of particular interest will be the battle between the respective loose-trios, an area in which South Africa appear well equipped with players of the quality of Juan Smith, Joe van Niekirk and Schalk Burger.

Aussie flankers Smith and Phil Waugh can make life at the breakdown difficult at the best of times, but South Africa were up to the task and will almost certainly cause Richie McCaw and company some problems at Ellis Park.

The orca, or killer whale, is a type of porpoise.

What hair-product manufacturer was originally known as the French Harmless Hair Dye Company?

I have been told that the little smilies, etc in Incredimail can be the reason for all the spam I get.
I have a few e-mails in Incredimail that I do not want to get rid of, is there any way in which I can send it to Outlook?
I want to uninstall Incredimail, but not before I have the e-mails that I do not want to lose?

Hope someone can help me!


:duh: ad:

God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?

Isn't it amazing how God works in our lives! On a Saturday night several weeks ago, this pastor was working late, and decided to call his wife before he left for home. It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn't answer the phone.

The pastor let the phone ring many times. He thought it was odd that she didn't answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few minutes. When he tried again she answered right away. He asked her why she hadn't answered before, and she said that it hadn't rung at their house. They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.

The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he'd used that Saturday night. The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday night.

The pastor couldn't figure out what the man was talking about. Then the man said, "It rang and rang, but I didn't answer." The pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him, explaining that he'd intended to call his wife.

The man said, "That's, OK. Let me tell you my story.

You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I prayed, 'God if you're there, and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign now.' At that point my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID, and it said, 'Almighty God'. I was afraid to answer!"

The reason why it showed on the man's caller ID that the call came from "Almighty God" is because the church that the pastor attends is
called Almighty God Tabernacle!!


READ EACH SENTENCE SLOWLY AND THINK ABOUT IT.
Love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear.

Don't cry over anyone who won't cry over you.

Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.

Don't let the past hold you back, you're missing the good stuff.

BEST FRIENDS are the siblings God forgot to give us.

When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can
look beside you and your BEST FRIEND will be there.

Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with them.

"I got two A's" the small boy said,
his voice was filled with glee,
his father very bluntly said
"Why didn't you get three?"

"Mom, I've got the dishes done"
the girl called from the door.
Her mother very calmly said,
"Did you sweep the floor?"

"I mowed the grass" the tall boy said,
"and put the mower away"
His father asked him with a shrug,
"Did you clean off the clay?"

The Children in the house next door
seemed happy and content
The same thing happened over there,
but this is how it went:


"I got two A's" the young boy said,
his voice was filled with glee,
his father proudly said "that?s great,
I'm glad you belong to me"

"Mom, I got the dishes done,"
the girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said,
"Each day I love you more."

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"and put the mower away"
his father answered with much joy,
"You've made my happy day"

Children deserve a little praise
for tasks they're asked to do,
if they're to lead a happy life,
so much depends on you!