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The official magazine of Sport and Recreation South Africa • 2nd Quarter 2009 ISSN 1998-1155

Giniel de Villiers

SA daredevils the toughest

• New test to catch doping cheats • Train right to prevent sport injuries • Directory of federations, provinces, universities

Finances

26

T

he performances of some of the world’s biggest companies are nowadays described with terms like slump, slowdown, drop or downturn, all signifying that none have any spare cash floating around that they might be keen to spend on worthy causes. While companies are battling to meet the payroll — and have to lay off staff when they cannot — they are hardly going to want to take on the extra financial burden of paying athletes or teams vast amounts of money.

The international credit crunch has already had implications for world sport — for example, the UK sport governing body has already cut funding for British athletes preparing for the 2012 London Olympics by £50-m because the expected private sector funding they bargained on did not materialise. The US Olympic Committee has also cut labour and administrative costs and have hinted that sport funding cuts may be on the cards.

The global financial crisis has resulted in one in four Australian companies axing sponsorships, nearly half have shelved plans for new sponsorships and about 27% of corporate sponsors have quit existing sponsorships as a result of the crisis, reports Australian sport research company Sweeney Sports.

“There is pressure on corporate companies to cut back on all areas of marketing, and sponsorship is of course no exception”, cautions Dave Sidenberg of South African sport and sponsorship research company, BMI Sport Info. “Financial Services are the largest sponsorship sector worldwide and Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2009

How will the credit crunch affect sponsors? many have stated they will have to scale back on luxuries, including private boxes and advertising, which will invariably hurt sport revenues across the board”.

Globally, the two biggest sponsorship contributors just happen to be the hardest hit by the international financial crisis — financial services and the automotive industry are responsible for about 42% of global sponsorship spend. In the US and UK banks are being kept solvent by their respective governments and car sales worldwide have dropped by an average of 28%.

SA protected But, will this affect South Africa to the same extent?

The South African market has remained largely isolated from these global affects, says Qondisa Ngwenya, MD of Octagon

Sports Marketing.

“There has not been the withdrawal of sponsorship as people expected. Remember, sponsorship rights are bought on long term contracts and companies honour these contracts.”

Sidenberg agrees. “Growth has definitely slowed, but with the exception of Canterbury SA (which recently applied for liquidation), it’s still pretty much business as usual.”

The Canterbury SA liquidation was, however, not a direct result of the credit crunch.

It was implicated in serious financial irregularities uncovered by SARS at three companies in the House of Monatic Division of the Brimstone Investment Group that were jointly managed by a former 50% shareholder (the other two are Fifth Element and O’Neill).

According to Iqbal Khan, who took over as CEO of the companies after the former shareholder left last year, Brimstone would

Even though most South African companies have been isolated from the global financial crisis, money is not flowing as freely as in boom times and sports teams or athletes looking for sponsorship will face much stricter scrutiny, sponsorship watchers told TRUDI DU TOIT

Two dream moments for sponsors: the Springbok rugby team being honoured as World Champions and Usain Bolt pointing to his golden running shoes in celebration.

Springbok photo: CARIN HARDISTY. Bolt photo: WESSEL OOSTHUIZEN /SASPA

have supported the local Canterbury distributorship financially, but when the irregularities were found, they decided to apply for liquidation.

There was certainly no shortage of companies queuing to take over the Canterbury distributorship in South Africa, but by the time of going to press, Canterbury International had not yet awarded the contract to the new distributors.

Nor does Sidenberg believe that MTN’s reluctance to renew its title rights to the CAF/ African Cup of Nation was a sign of the financial slowdown — but that it has much more do with the vastly increased renewal fee, than just the economic climate.

While South African companies have to a large extent remained isolated from the global financial turmoil, Sidenberg expects to see the global companies operating in South Africa to be amongst the first to cut their marketing and sponsorship budgets. “Our immediate concern is that global sponsors of the 2010 FIFA World Cup have done very little,” he says.

While SA sponsors like FNB, Telkom and MTN have begun to act, the anticipated 2008 year end boost from Global FIFA partners was much slower than expected… “It just didn’t happen, and The Confederations Cup is around the corner”.

We will most probably see a drop in football sponsorships after 2010, adds Ngwenya. “But that will not be due to the economy.

It will have more to do with the market being saturated and companies losing the incentive to be associated with football.”

This, however, does not mean that money is

currently flowing as freely as in boom times.

Spending on advertising, PR and promotions to leverage support of the sponsorship have dropped, believes Ngwenya.

It is estimated that in order to get maximum value, a sponsor should spend as much on advertising and sponsorship as the cost of the sponsorship deal. Cutting spending on promotions can therefore reduce the value of a sponsorship — after all, it is not going to help you much if nobody is aware that you sponsor a team or athlete.

Value for money Companies are also becoming much more wary of the value they will derive from sponsorship rights and will look for new ways that they can continue to get involved, adds Ngwenya. “Not every property (project, federation, club, athlete) is sponsorable — it depends on what commercial value it can offer the sponsor and how it can enhance the brand value.”

“In this economy, there’s going to be much more scrutiny of these investments (sponsorships) to make sure they’re working and that the return is there. This is a good thing,” agrees Sidenberg. “From a rights owner’s perspective, the need for independent research will also grow as strategies will need to show not only the value their property can deliver, but also demonstrate why it is a better investment than the next property in terms of target-market reach and strategicbrand fit.”

In some instances, the commercial value is relatively easy to measure. For example:

to derive commercial value during the fiveyear period of the Springbok rugby sponsorship contract, Canterbury SA had to make enough profit from the sale of replica shirts and other rugby-related items to cover the cost of the estimated R22-m per year they paid Saru for the rights, plus the royalties on the sale of each shirt.

The brand value that Sasol derived from the same sponsorship is, however, more difficult to measure. For example, do you count each time their logo appears on TV or in the press as an advertisement, or not?

The commercial value derived will also explain why Nike holds on so tightly to the technical sponsorship of a team like Kaizer Chiefs — their Amakhosi Supporters’ Club has branches all over the country, ensuring that supporters wear shirts countrywide.

On the other hand, a hockey team will have very little commercial value as retailers will find it very hard to sell a technical sponsor’s supporters shirts — if they could be convinced to stock them.

According to Sidenberg athlete endorsement makes up a relatively small percentage of the sponsorship spend pie.

“Many South African companies still have specific policies that prohibit them from sponsoring any individual. A recent trend, both in South Africa and abroad, has been to use legends (retired sporting heroes) to endorse a company’s products or services as it is far less likely that they will ever disappoint. They are also more available and less likely to be an easy target for ambush.

Local examples would include Baby Jake Matlala or Lucas Radebe.”

Finances

27

Team vs athlete The reason for this is simple: athletes can be very fragile, explains Ngwenya. “One day they are on top, tomorrow they are not. Then there is the question of social behaviour — will they always behave decently? Very few athletes will at all times stick to proper behaviour — even an icon like Michael Phelps failed the test” (when he was caught on camera smoking marijuana).

Many team sponsorship agreements, however, include a specific number of athlete promotions, where they may use a minimum number of the team’s athletes, says Sidenberg. The team sponsor therefore gets the best of both worlds — the drawing power of the athletes, without being vulnerable to a specific athlete’s misfortunes.

Companies that sponsor teams, however, sometimes have individual contracts with top athletes. Puma, for example, sponsored the Jamaican athletic team, but had a separate contract with sprinter Usain Bolt, who was the talk of the Beijing Olympics with his three world records. He reward- To p29 Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2009

Talent ID

26

Sabelo Bodhoza running the 400m

Adolph Kuzwayo in the KwaZulu Natal junior championship

Identifying young

W

hen striving for performance excellence, coaches and athletes continually search for answers to questions like What makes a champion athlete? What factors in talent identification can predict performance success?

Talent has several properties that are genetically transmitted and, therefore, innate. Nevertheless, talent is not always evident at an early age. Qualified human movement specialists may use certain markers to identify potential talent, and these early indications can provide a basis for predicting those individuals who have a reasonable chance of succeeding at a later stage.

Taking into account the complex nature of talent, it is not surprising that there is no consensus of opinion regarding the theory and practice of talent identification.

Talent identification refers to the discovery of potential performers who are currently not involved in the sport, or recognising current participants with the potential to become elite players. It entails predicting performance over various periods of time by measuring physical, physiological, psychological and sociological attributes, as well as technical abilities, either alone or in combination (Regnier et al., 1993).

A key question is whether the individual has the potential to benefit from a systematic programme of support and training.

Talent identification has been viewed as part of talent development, which implies that players are provided with a suitable learning environment so that they have the opportunity to realise their potential.

The area of talent development has received considerable interest of late, leading several researchers to suggest Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2008

It is every coach’s dream to spot the future champion from among a group of young athletes and to provide him or her with everything necessary to reach the top. There are some talent spotters who are able to do that, but they most likely rely on scientific principles that help them to identify the talent crieria necessary to succeed in that particular sport. PROF. DARLENE KLUKA* explains how science can help to identify and create future champions that there has been a shift in emphasis from talent detection and identification to talent guidance and, therefore, long term athlete development (Durand-Bush and Salmela, 2001; Kluka, 2004).

For many years, scientists have attempted to identify the key predictors of talent in various sports (Regnier et al., 1993).

In research particularly evident in Australia, China, Cuba and the former Soviet bloc countries, there are attempts to identify characteristics that differentiate skilled from less skilled performers, and to determine the role of heredity and environment in the development of expertise.

Eastern European systems relied on the

generation of comprehensive databases of personal and performance variables and formal monitoring of progress and development. These systems were most effective where clear relationships between individual characteristics were established. These were almost exclusively individual rather than team-based sports.

Multi-disciplinary approach The most effective contribution from sport science to talent identification is likely to be multi-disciplinary and in the form of Performance Enhancement Teams (PETs). Identifying talent for games at an early age is not likely to be mechanistic or unidisciplinary. Successful identifica-

Different approaches to talent identification THERE ARE three general categories of approaches to talent identification: • SYSTEMATIC, GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEMS — as in former Soviet bloc countries, China and Cuba; • SYSTEMATIC, NON-GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEMS — for example used by sporting codes like tennis or swimming with well-structured age-group pro-

grammes. Developmental infrastructure identifies and reinforces talent moving through the system; • NON-SYSTEMATIC APPROACH — somewhat random identification systems with no particular approach; in essence, they appear to be little more than physical education classes designed as scholastic teams by coaches.

Talent ID

27

Yolana du Plessis practicing at the hpc.

talent tion needs to be followed by selection into a formal program for developing playing abilities and nurturing the individual holistically towards realising the potential predicted.

Eventual success is ultimately dependent upon a myriad of circumstantial factors, including access and opportunities to practice, staying free of injury, and the type of mentoring and coaching available during the developmental years.

Personal, social and cultural factors also influence ultimate performance.

Skills such as speed, dynamic and static balance, focus, power, and agility are packaged differently by different sporting codes, but it is critical for youngsters to have baselines for basic skills.

These skills will transfer to a youngster’s primary activity, so everything that a youngster does to improve the quality and extent of baselines from which sportspecific skills can grow, can enhance opportunities to excel in sport.

Performance Excellence Excellence in performance shares common roots, regardless of its form of expression. The concert pianist, research neurologist and Olympic athlete are all products of multi-stage development systems. The common factors shared by these pathways to excellence are surprisingly strong.

Bloom was one of the first researchers to deal with the topic of talent development. In his book, Developing Talent in Young People, he determined • Darlene A. Kluka, Ph. D., Extraordinary Professor, Department of Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences/Center for Leisure Studies, University of Pretoria.

Jennifer Kwhela is a talented gymnast.

Tennis star Grant Ive

Talent search improves performance

T

he talent search programme of the former Deutsche Democratic Republic (DDR) was probably the most systematic model, which became a pillar of that country’s tremendous international success in elite sport. Within this system, not every individual displaying talent was selected for systematic training. Youngsters were selected for specialisation, only on the provision that they were healthy and free of medical anomalies; could tolerate high training loads; had a psychological capability for training; and maintained good academic achievement levels.

Australia adopted some elements of the DDR talent identification approach by implementing a talent search programme in preparation for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, especially for individual sports like rowing, swimming, cycling and track.

In contrast, the West Germans never developed a systematic approach. Even after the German reunification of 1990, elements of a successful system were not seriously considered as appropriate measures of talent identification in a democratic society (Pfutzner, et al., 2001).

The quality of talent identification may influence international sport success. A comparison of the medals won at the Summer Olympic Games shows a significant drop in the medals won by Germany after unification (see table).

In addition, the German Olympic team

1992

1996

US

14%

13%

2000 11%

Russia

15%

8%

10%

China

7%

6%

7%

Australia

3%

4%

6%

Germany

11%

7%

5%

(Rütten & Ziemainz, 2004)

was the oldest at the 2000 Olympic Games. The mean ages of the top teams were (Pfützner et al, 2001): US 27.3 years; Russia 26.0 years; China 23.4 years; Australia 26.6 years and Germany 27.5 years.

A high retention rate has been identified as a major condition for Olympic success. The German team had the lowest in 2000 (Rütten & Ziemainz, 2004): US 72%; Russia 40 %; China 50 %; Australia 65.8 % and Germany 18 %.

Apart from the quality of the talent identification system, a high retention rate may be affected by the quantity of potential talents available. While talent development in China can commence with approximately 120-m youngsters aged 10 –14 years, the base in Australia is only 1.3-m.

Countries with smaller populations therefore need to depend more on very systematic approaches to talent identification.

Australia has implemented a systematic Talent Search Program, which has already shown several achievements at national and international championships.

Population size and talent pool 10-14 yrs 20-m

15-19 yrs 20-m

Russia

13-m

15-m

28-m

2.8-m

China

120-m

99-m

219-m

21.9-m

US

Total 40-m

Talent pool 4-m

Australia

1.3-m

1.3-m

2.6-m

0.26-m

Germany

4.6-m

4.6-m

9.2-m

0.92-m

(Rütten & Ziemainz, 2004)

Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2008

Talent ID

22 Offering Tlaka, no longer soaring Offering Tlaka, the first South African trampoline-athlete to qualify for the World Games, has decided not to continue with the sport, but to concentrate on his studies as first-year student in B.Comm-accountancy at the University of Pretoria, says his mentor and national coach of the trampoline team, Tiaan van der Walt.

Van der Walt says he is very disappointed about Offering’s decision not to pursue a very promising career as a trampolinist.

After being unable to train during his final term of school, Offering had ample time to study for the final exams. Van der Walt had encouraged him to pursue his studies after the young student excelled in his matric-examination with one distinction and B-symbols in all his other subjects.

But, he was expecting that Offering would be following his promptings to work hard to improve his grades in his first year as a student, whilst continuing as a trampoline-athlete.

This has, unfortunately, come to nothing. “He is not training at all. I am disappointed. I know it is not wishful thinking that Offering has the talent to become an Olympic medal-winner in the trampolinesport. He is fast, talented and has excellent balance.

“At the World Games in Canada, he was amongst the leaders after the first round, and gave a very impressive performance.”

He unfortunately misjudged a landing and had to withdraw after he tore three liga-

Talented youngsters (from p18) fall and continued to win a medal in Spain, what if he qualified for the Beijing Olympics, what if he had done well in Beijing…?

The young athletes all had some sort of support structure, but some enjoyed stronger support than others.

Adolph had the least support — in rural KwaZulu-Natal he is cut off from the assistance other athletes receive from biokineticists, sport doctors, gym training and all the other inputs that help to create champions.

He does not even live in the same town as his coach.

Sabelo believes that his disappointing performances last year were partly due to the fact that his family were urging him to get a proper job instead of spending so much time on the athletic track, but a new coach has given him renewed focus.

Yolana has had mixed relations with the professionals who support her at the hpc — during her down period last year, she broke Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2009

off contact with the sport psychologist who have been assisting her.

Offering lived in the same house as his trainer and team mates and also had ample time to train in the sport-sympathetic environment of the TuksSport School.

Although she has limited resources, Rebecca Khwela is very supportive of her talented granddaughter, Jennifer — who is also supported and cared for in many ways by her coach Julie Adamson and Macsteel Maestro’s.

Grant Ive not only has the backing of his parents, but he also receives intensive training and supportive assistance from the professionals at the SA Tennis Association (SATA) performance centre based at the hpc at the University of Pretoria.

But, in the end, the external factors can only help — or hinder. Ultimately, it is up to the individual athlete and his or her hunger to succeed, that will determine success. YS

• Discipline: Trampoline • Dream: No longer participates • Coach’s verdict: “Offering has the talent to become an Olympic medalwinner in trampoline sport” ments in his leg in the fall.

The fall also dashed Offering’s chance of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

Van der Walt was not only a coach and mentor to the young trampolinist, he was also house master of the house where Offering stayed with the other members of the trampoline squad while he was still at school.

“Because Offering has withdrawn from the World Games (in July this year in Kaohsiung City) he will be replaced by Lucky Radebe,” adds Van der Walt.

During his matric year, Offering was deputy-head boy at the TUKS sport school, where he was also considered to be a gifted academic learner.

At Greenside Primary School he was a Dux learner and a prefect in Gr7.

At both primary and high school Offering showed that he could successfully combine his sporting career with academic excellence — and one could only guess about the impact of that fall in the World Games in Spain.

Would Offering have made the same decision to quit his sport had he qualified to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games… and, who knows, perhaps won a medal? YS

resources: • Athletics SA: www.athletics.org.za • Hpc Pretoria: http://web.up.ac.za/de fault.asp?ipkCategoryID=1795&subid=1 795&ipklookid=14&parentid= • Macsteel Maestro Life Skill Unit: www.macsteelmaestros.co.za. Their Ithuseng football life skills programme is a THETA credit bearing unit: Tel: 011 217 0600 or www. theta.org.za/projects/default. asp?thepage=lsss.htm.

• SA Gymnastics Federation: http:// sagf.co.za/index.php • SA Tennis Association: www.satennis.co.za • Swimming SA: www.swimsa.co.za • Trampoline Gymnastics: http://sagf. co.za/dpage.php?disc_id=7 • Wrestling SA: www.wrestling.org.za/ SAstoei/Admin/Admin.htm

How sport can improve sustainability

A

part from having major health benefits, sport has the immense power to inspire fitness and an alternative lifestyle to drugs and crime in youths, to unite a nation, and heal old wounds. South Africa is one of the best examples of the latter when one thinks of how the Springbok team’s victory in the 1995 World Cup united a seriously divided South Africa behind President Nelson Mandela. There can be no doubt that this made South Africa a better place for all.

Some aspects of sports could, however, have a negative impact on the environment and eco-systems.

Equipment, clothing, footwear, facilities and infrastructure are, for example, necessary for the practice of nearly every type of sport — which inevitably has an impact on the eco-system and environment as they contribute to the ecological footprint (impact on the natural environment) of the sport.

Governance

Creating a better life for all

23

Sustainability is a way of life that makes the world a better place for all. The broad term covers many ways of improving life: from protecting natural environments, ensuring cleaner air, reducing waste, to improving the health, living and working conditions of people

Enjoying healthy activities in the fresh air… surely few activities can beat sport when it comes to sustainability? Not so. It is true that sport plays a major role in improving the health and welfare of communities — but some aspects of sport can be bad for sustainability, NELLE DU TOIT reports

Harmful toxic substances can, for example, be used during the manufacturing of sports equipment — PVC, for example, is one of the most toxic substances and can be found in some cheaper sporting equipment. The manufacturing of some sports equipment can threaten species like Australia’s kangaroo population that provide the sought after leather (k-leather) for the manufacturing of top-end football boots.

But many of the top international — and South African — sports brands have introduced sustainability into their Code of Conduct and their manufacturing processes (see www.sportstrader.co.za and follow the link to: What brands are doing to make the world a better place).

Sport facilities and events consume energy and can contribute to air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation, as well as habitat and biodiversity loss, soil erosion and water pollution.

Sport facilities, manufacturers and venues all have a responsibility to examine the effects they have on the environment and apply the most sustainable efforts possible to their business.

Athletes and sport stars can, however, make an immensely positive Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2009

High performance

18

Percy Montgomery, Bakkies Botha, Coach Jake White, Schalk Burger, Bryan Habana and Butch James members of the South African Rugby Union team, winners of the Laureus World Team of the Year Award, pose with their Laureus statuette during the 2008 Laureus World Sports Awards at the Mariinsky Concert Hall on February 18, 2008 in St.Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by John Gichigi/Getty Images for Laureus) Liezel Huber

Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2008

Jacques Kallis

Khotso Mokoena

Winning teams or athletes inspire a whole na-

Only five months earlier, Fourie du Preez had summoned the oval ball into the crowd in the 80th minute of the IRB World Cup

final match between South Africa and England and CJ van der Linde spontaneously hugged and then lifted his prop partner Os du Randt heavenwards as if he was a twoyear-old baby. It was a moment of sheer exhilaration, because South Africa had become the owner of the Webb Ellis trophy.

In February 2008, the Springboks were named World Team of the Year at the Laureus world sports awards in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

On hand to receive it were International Rugby Board (IRB) coach of the year, JAKE WHITE, accompanied by the IRB player of the year, BRYAN HABANA, former IRB player of the year, SCHALK BURGER, the top points’ scorer at the 2007 World Cup, PERCY MONTGOMERY, and fellow World Cup winners Butch James and Bakkies Botha.

The Boks overcame strong competition for the award. The Australian cricket team, who won the third straight Cricket World Cup and recorded a record-equalling 16 straight test win run, had to be content with silver or bronze this time. UEFA Champions league and FIFA World Club champions AC Milan, were also in the running.

Habana, who had scored a World Cup record-equaling tally of 8 tries, told Brad Morgan afterwards that the Springboks were able to inspire, and added that they hoped their success would make South Africa a better place for all.

The Springboks are currently the #1ranked rugby nation in the world after their convincing display in the Rugby World Cup and would remain in that spot with France and England suffering some heavy defeats lately. England beat

SA World Champions

World ranking of SA teams

tion and create a shared feeling of pride. There are several teams and athletes who have made us proud, and several others who have the potential to become world champions, report FANIE HEYNS

We are the champions ... in some sport codes I

t is the 2008 world indoor championships in Valencia, Spain. KHOTSO MOKOENA looks to his right, where his greatest challenger in the long jump, Christopher Tomlinson, is lurking, grimacing after his failed attempt.

“This is my chance,” says Mokoena quietly. His next effort feels good, and the crowd erupts. The electronic scoreboard displays his masterpiece. He achieved 8.08 metres, the winning jump.

South Africa has a new world champion in athletics.

Afterwards, Mokoena and his coach, Angus Pohl, were treated like kings and hundreds of fans asked Mokoena for his autograph. “There was absolute chaos, people treated Godfrey as if he was a soccer star,” said Pohl in a SMS to Die Burger on Saturday 8th March 2008, just moments after the achievement.

Mokoena and Pohl, finally, had reason to celebrate, three days after Mokoena’s 22nd birthday.

MBULAENI MULAUDZI was beaten into second place in the final of the 800m at the indoor championships by Abubaker Khamis of Sudan, who won in 1:44.81. Mulaudzi was second in 1:44.91 during this titanic struggle for gold in March 2008.

Mulaudzi, ranked #1 in the world in the 800m, was South Africa’s first indoor world champion in 2004. He was second in 2006 (source: Die Burger). According

to Gert le Roux, statistician of Athletics South Africa, Mulaudzi recorded the fastest time in the world in the 800m in 2007.

Team of the Year: Springboks

Athletics: IAAF ranking #1 in 800m: Mbulaeni Mulaudzi #1 Long jump Indoor World Champs: Khotso Mokoena

Boxing IBO world rankings #1 IBO bantamweight: Silence Mabuza #1 IBO welterweight: Isaac Hlatswayo #1 IBF junior lightweight: Mzonke Fana

Cricket: LG ICC ranking #1 ODI batsman: Graeme Smith #1 Test all-rounder: Jacques Kallis #1 ODI bowler & all-rounder: Shaun Pollock before retirement

Rugby IRB ranking #1 IRB Coach of Year: Jake White #1 IRB Player of the Year: Bryan Habana

Surfski World ranking (out of 174) #1 Oscar Chalupski

Tennis WTA Doubles #1 Liezel Huber & Cara Black (Zim)

High performance

19

#1 Laureus Team of the Year: the Springbok rugby team #1 IRB rugby #1 ICC ODI cricket #1 Surfski (out of 17) # 4 ICC test cricket #7 ICC cricket, women #9 IFNA netball (out of 22) #13 Hockey, men (out of 75) #12 Hockey, women (out of 62) #25 FIVB volleyball, men (out of 108) # 28 FISA rowing 2007 World Cup (0f 32) #40 FIVB volleyball, women (out of 98) #56 FIBA basketball, men (out of 73) #63 FIBA basketball, women (out of 69) #71 FIFA football, men (out of 202) #74 FIFA football, women (out of 150)

YS

Your Sport 2nd Quarter 2008