The inaugural Track+Field series is expected to close in spectacular fashion this week when the National Final is held at the University of Johannesburg Athletics Stadium on Thursday and Friday.
The memorable opening campaign saw over 4 100 athletes from 240 schools across the country competing at nine provincial events over the last two months.
These meetings provided a rare opportunity for some of South Africa’s smaller athletics schools to compete against the nation’s top institutions, while also giving young athletes a chance to showcase their talent.
With the top boys and schools at each provincial leg qualifying for the two-day T+F National Final, the best track and field schools in the country will now be crowned at the National Final.
Over 500 athletes from 17 different schools will turn out at UJ Stadium.
“We are thrilled to be able to crown the first T+F national champions, and we are expecting a close competition between South Africa’s top track and field schools,” said T+F series co-founder and former Olympic sprinter Mathew Quinn.
“This series has unearthed some incredible talent around the country, and we are looking forward to giving the best performing schools an opportunity to compete against each other in the search for the overall T+F champions.”
The National Final of the T+F series – a joint venture between SuperSport, SA Schools Athletics and Athletics South Africa – will be broadcasted live on SuperSport Variety 4 (channel 209) and the SuperSport Schools app.
The competition will be held between 3.30pm-6.30pm on Thursday, 10 April and between 1.30pm and 6pm on Friday, 11 April.
The programme will feature 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and relay races, as well as long jump, shot put and javelin throw contests.
Participating schools, T+F National Final
Hoërskool Diamantveld
Capricorn High School
Vryburg High School
TuksSport High School
Rand Park High School
Hoërskool Voortrekker
Queen’s College
Cambridge High School
Rob Ferreira High School
Penryn College
Maritzburg College
Hoërskool Suid Natal
Hilton College
St Anne’s Diocesan College
Bergvliet High School
Hoërskool Stellenbosch
Barkly East High School