Shosholoza scoop award

SA Sports Team of the Year title picked up by South African America's Cup challenger

Sailing scored ahead of rugby and cricket for the first time in the history of South African sport last night when South Africa's America's Cup challenge Team Shosholoza scooped the coveted SA Sports Team of the Year title at the premier annual SA Sports Awards ceremony in Johannesburg.

Team Shosholoza, established less than two years ago as the African continent's first ever challenger for the prestigious 154 year old America's Cup, got the vote despite a daunting line-up of finalists representing the country's best teams - the SA Cricket Team (The Proteas), the SA u21 Rugby Team, the SA u19 Rugby Team, and the Free State Cheetahs Rugby Team.

"Our team has come a very long way in such a short space of time. We are competing at the pinnacle of world yachting in our bid for the America's Cup in 2007 but representing our country is our main mission," said crew member Solomon Dipeere when accepting the award on behalf of his team.

The jubilant Dipeere was accompanied by fellow sailor Golden Mgedeza and team managing director Captain Salvatore Sarno.

Organised by SABC Sport in association with SASCOC (The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) and the Department of Sport and Recreation, the awards presenter described Team Shosholoza as a "wonderful ambassador for our country."

It was a proud and humbling moment for Captain Sarno, the mastermind and driving force behind Team Shosholoza, who many labelled as "quite mad" when he announced South Africa's maiden bid for the America's Cup in March last year.

"Deep inside me I knew we would win this award. The America's Cup is rated among the top 10 media events in the world along with the Olympic Games and the Soccer World Cup. In 2007 it will have a cumulative TV audience of 4-billion and I believe our team is breaking new ground for South African sailing and sport in general.

"Just getting a South African team to the America's Cup was like winning gold at the Olympics for me, but now I know we are succeeding in showing the world this country's incredible sporting abilities, human resources, skills, technology and our new democracy in a way that no other team has been able to," said Capt Sarno.

He said the team's successes in Europe in 2004 and 2005 had attracted international sponsors T-Systems, an IT and telecommunications multinational, plus Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the second largest container shipping company in the world, but this only represented 60 percent of the four year campaign budget.

"We are a Proudly South African campaign and our sincere hope is that we will be able to find the balance of our sponsorship from home supporters in South Africa," said Sarno.

Team Shosholoza's crew are largely South African club sailors who have had to make the giant leap to professional yacht racing in just 18 months.

The team competed on the 2005 America's Cup Racing Circuit in Europe in a new all carbon America's Cup class yacht, designed and built with space-age technology in South Africa. As in Formula One motor racing, where designers are always taking advantage of new innovations and technological advances, a second campaign yacht will be built in South Africa and launched in October next year for the final regattas in 2007.

Team Shosholoza has already competed in nine Louis Vuitton Acts or America's Cup precursor regattas in France, Spain, Sweden and Italy.

Despite having the smallest budget and being one of the smallest of the 12 teams representing 10 countries across five continents at the America's Cup, typical African spirit, passion and the will to succeed has brought the team five match race victories so far.

The team went on to finish fifth overall at the Trapani Louis Vuitton Act 9 fleet racing event in Sicily last month - beating more than half of the best teams in the world - ahead of three Italian teams, the French, the Swedish, the Germans and the Chinese - and were labelled the "most improved team" on the 2005 America's Cup circuit.

Most of the team are still based in Valencia, Spain, the host city for the 2007 America's Cup, where sailing tests are being carried out and a new mast is being fitted to yacht Shosholoza. The team will be back in South Africa early in December for two months. They return to Valencia in February next year to train for the next round of Louis Vuitton regattas which start in May .