Coca-Cola Hero of the day for day 1 of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge

Today’s Coca-Cola hero of the day is Wihan Victor from the Knights (Grey High School) after his 114 in 51 balls against the Dolphins (Hilton College).

Grey College have put themselves in a position of the tournament favourites by being the only unbeaten team after  day 1 of the Coca-Cola School T20 Challenge. Thanks to players like Wihan, Grey College look like a complete team.

Wihan won the award thanks to an amazing innings in Grey’s first game of the day. He opened the innings with Christopher Schreuder and started off a little slowly hitting 12 runs off his first 13 balls but then exploded with two sixes in a row and in a burst from the 4^th to the 8^th over he hit 51 runs in 15 balls and that took the game away from Hilton.

You have to give Hilton credit because when they came in to bat they tried to chase the total throwing away their wickets in the pursuit of the 195/3 that Grey scored. Hilton are a quality team and they proved that in their next game by easily beating Hoer Volkskool Potchefstroom from the Lions. Wihan’s innings and especially that 15 ball spurt of his is what put the game past Hilton’s reach.

Interviews, footage and transcripts can be found on http://www.csamedia.co.za/coca-cola-schools-t20.html

Time for franchises to shine at the Coca-Cola® Schools T20 Challenge National Finals

The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge Finals are finally upon us. After a long and challenging road, over 72 cricketers from six schools will be in action this weekend at the University of Stellenbosch to determine who will take victory for their respective province in the Schools Challenge.

In its third year running, Coca-Cola® continues to sponsor the T20 Schools Challenge with over 11 000 players from 700 schools getting active on the cricket field. The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge has cemented itself as one of South Africa’s key talent identification chains and has created a platform where “Heroes are made”.

The Coca-Cola® “Hero of the Day” accolade was introduced in the 2013/14 tournament where a player who did something that turned the tide of a game had an opportunity to be recognized for their contribution in front of their peers. This accolade also represents recognising individuals who was able to showcase something extraordinary and may not necessarily be the man of the match or the top performer of the day.

In the 2013/14 tournament finals held at the University of Pretoria, we saw the Lions, represented by St Stithians, win against Waterkloof, who had strongly dominated the finals for the past three years.

St Stithians had four players that played in the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket week and three of the players that had already played for the Coca-Cola® SA U19 team namely; Ryan Rickleton, Marques Ackerman and Brandon Glover. Waterkloof was represented by the

Coca-Cola® SA U19 cricketer, Janneman Malan and had three players that were also part of the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket week.

“Coca-Cola® South Africa is immensely proud of the role that it continues to play in the development of Cricket at a national school level. The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge, has grown into a reputable platform for youngsters to really showcase what they are truly made of and inspiring their peers to live an active healthy lifestyle through sports participation,” said Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola® South Africa Marketing Assets Manager.

Players unearthed at this year’s T20 Schools Challenge and in the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket week will possibly be our future national team players and will add to the players that have already gone on to compete at a provincial level and ultimately played for the Proteas. Cricket players such as Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock started their journey in both of the Coca-Cola® sponsored tournaments.

The format sees each of the 16 Cricket South Africa (CSA) unions stage their own tournaments to identify their provincial champions. A play off between the various provincial champions within their regions will determine which school will represent each of the six franchises in the national finals tournament.

The National Finals will take place at the University of Stellenbosch from 20 – 22 February 2015.

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Schools that are representing their franchises include:

1.    Volkskool Potchefstroom –Lions

2.    St. Andrews Grahamstown – Warriors

3.    Grey College – Knights

4.    Hilton College – Dolphins

5.    Paarl Boys High – Cobras

6.    Menlopark – Titans

	Coca-Cola®  Schools T20 Finals fixtures
Date	Session	Playing times	Team	Team	Venue
20-Feb	Friday	9:30 - 12:30	Lions	Warriors	Coetzenburg
20-Feb	Friday	9:30 - 12:30	Titans	Cobras	Tassies
20-Feb	Friday	9:30 - 12:30	Knights	Dolphins	Maties 3
20-Feb	Friday	14:00 - 17:00	Cobras	Knights	Coetzenburg
20-Feb	Friday	14:00 - 17:00	Dolphins	Lions	Tassies
20-Feb	Friday	14:00 - 17:00	Warriors	Titans	Maties 3
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Lions	Knights	Coetzenburg
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Titans	Dolphins	Tassies
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Cobras	Warriors	Maties 3
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Dolphins	Cobras	Coetzenburg
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Knights	Warriors	Tassies
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Lions	Titans	Maties 3
22-Feb	Sunday	9:30 - 12:30	Titans	Knights	Coetzenburg
22-Feb	Sunday	9:30 - 12:30	Dolphins	Warriors	Tassies
22-Feb	Sunday	9:30 - 12:30	Cobras	Lions	Maties 3
22-Feb	Sunday	14.00-17:00	1	2	Coetzenburg

For more information, please contact Shawn at Intune Communications on (011) 023-9401

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands.  Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company's portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle.  Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks.  Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day.  With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate.  Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates.  For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

Gauteng school gets ready to compete in the 2015 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup

The cluster level matches in the 2015 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup under-19 soccer tournament will be starting soon, and one school that is looking forward to participating again is Waterstone College.

The school is located in Kibler Park in the Johannesburg South district of Gauteng, and this will be the third time they are playing in the competition.

Team manager, Kerry Bailey, explains that, although they always make it through to the provincial finals, they never go further than that. “Last year our toughest game was against Clapham, which was daunting and challenging. We held our own but finally lost 2-0,” she said. “We were in a very tough group alongside Clapham (the 2013 winners) and Holy Trinity, who went on to take the national title last year.”

In 2013 Waterstone entered the competition for the first time with an under-17 team and they treated it as a foundation year.  This stood them in good stead and last year they improved and Bailey believes they will do even better this year.

“We love competing in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup,” she said. “It’s a well-organised tournament and the players always look forward to it. In fact, they reminded us to enter this year.

“The quality of football is excellent, it is competitive, challenging and there is a lot of talent, which is what we enjoy as it gives the players insight into how they can improve.

“We saw our exit in the provincial finals last year as a chance to go back to the drawing board to see where we went wrong and to make the necessary changes. We definitely have our eye on the national finals this year.”

There were only two grade 12 players in last year’s team that have moved on. Other than that, the team has stayed the same.  And they have a new coach this year in Ryan McConviolle who is from Northern Ireland and has a UEFA A coaching license.

“He will start working with the team at the end of February, and we hope that he will take them to the next level,” Bailey said.

Waterstone competes in a number of tournaments other than the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, and it runs its own 16-school sports festival each year, which includes soccer.

Last year they were runners up in their festival and they also came second at the St David’s Marist soccer tournament, which involves 16 of the top schools in South Africa.

They also play in the Grey College soccer tournament, and came 13^th there last year.

Schools have until 17 March to register and can access the registration form on the following websites:

www.saschoolsfa.co.za

www.education.gov.za

www.motsepefoundation.org

www.thutong.doe.gov.za/schoolenrichment

Or contact your nearest DBE district officer

The call is out for primary schools to register for the 2015 Danone Nations Cup tournament

Primary schools across the country are invited to become part of the biggest football tournament for kids between 10 and 12 years old in the world by entering the 2015 Danone Nations Cup.

32 countries have started the gruelling qualifiers to identifying their team that will compete in the World Finals in Morocco later this year and South Africa is no different.  Registration has opened and all primary schools have until the 27^th February to do so.

The competition is run under the auspices of the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) and the Department of Basic Education. Games will begin at cluster level immediately after registration closes.  The winners will progress to Regional finals culminating in the nine provincial winners playing in the National finals to determine the national champion school.

“Through the Danone Nations Cup we are reaching kids at a crucial age,” said Chantel Ehlers, communications specialist, Danone.  “We are passionate about making a difference to people’s lives and our mission is ‘Bringing health through food to as many people as possible,’ which we are achieving through this tournament.  We are also encouraging kids to believe in their dreams.”

Both the 2014 winners (Siphumelele Primary School from Inanda, KZN) and runners-up (Farrarmere Primary School from Boksburg, Gauteng) will be back in action again this year.

For Siphumelele there are only four positions that need to be filled as the rest of the 2014 winning team will be back in action again this year.  According to team manager, Emmanuel Mkhize, the trip to Brazil last year has had an immeasurable impact on the lives of all the players that went, which will help the team this year.    

“The trip to Brazil to compete in the world finals has opened the eyes of every player.  They know that there are endless opportunities awaiting them and I can see that their confidence and fighting spirit has improved dramatically.  All this helps in their approach to the game this year,” said Mkhize. “They have learnt that you can achieve anything if you put your mind and energy to it and remain focused.”

The specialist coach that took the team to Brazil last year has left and the school coach, Mr Ndwandwe, will take charge. “The kids know him well and are used to his coaching style so it will not make a difference,” Mkhize concluded.

Tebogo Ngakane, manager of the Farrarmere team, is also confident his school can win the tournament this year.  He admits that being part of the Danone Nations Cup last year was an incredible and great learning experience for the kids.

“We were proud of the team to have reached the national finals the first time – and coming second was the cherry on the cake. But that was last year and we have an excellent team again that I know can do the job,” he said. “We have also brought in a new coach, Pride Moeketsi Morosi, who has a UEFA B license, and a load of experience to go with it, to help us.”

Unlike Siphumelele, Ngakane said that the entire 2014 team has progressed to High school so it will be a new team competing this year.  “The under 10 team will be competing this year and although we still have to hold trials to finalise the Danone Nations Cup team, what I can say is that they have all played together for a number of years, which is a help.”

To enter your school in the 2015 Danone Nations Cup contact Themba Tshabalala at SASFA: themba.tshabalala@safa.net or on 084 290 0602.  You can also download the registration form on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DNCSouthAfrica

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About Danone

Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the world.  Danone is present in over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world