SPAR scooped the Sponsor of the Year Award at the prestigious gsport4girls Awards at the Wanderers Club on September 12.
SPAR has sponsored women’s sports for the past 34 years. Their two main sponsorships are the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge, including the SPAR Grand Prix, and South Africa’s premier women’s sport, netball.
Over the past three decades, SPAR has also sponsored women’s tennis, women’s lawn bowls, and women’s hockey – outdoor and indoor. For 12 years, SPAR was the title sponsor of the national women’s hockey team and is currently the title sponsor of the women’s indoor hockey team.
SPAR sponsored the gsport Awards for several years and last year, were co-sponsors, with Telkom, of the World Netball Championships in Cape Town.
Seventeen years ago, the SPAR Women’s Challenge was expanded to include the SPAR Grand Prix, which gives advanced and elite athletes in all age groups the opportunity to compete for points and prize money over five races each year.
With prize money of more than R2m, it is the richest women-only road running series in Africa. Three-time SPAR Grand Prix winner and series ambassador Rene Kalmer was thrilled to hear that SPAR had been named Sponsor of the Year.
“SPAR has been a part of my life since my early teens. I won my first SPAR race when I was 14 and they have done so much to promote women’s road running in all those years,” said Kalmer.
“I am so happy their dedication to women’s sport has been recognized. We are also all very grateful to SPAR for the lifeline they handed us during the pandemic.”
Cecilia Molokwane, president of Netball South Africa, congratulated SPAR on the award.
“This recognition given to SPAR at the Momentum gsport Awards needs to be celebrated by all women in the country. It is one of the most fulfilling awards to be presented and Netball South Africa is proud to be associated with SPAR.”
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SPAR national PR, communications and sponsorship manager, Mpudi Maubane, said SPAR was humbled by the award.
“SPAR is very honoured to have won this prestigious award. We are thankful to each person who took the time to vote for SPAR, it’s a huge recognition.
“We will continue to promote and support women in sport, standing by our commitment to empower, uplift and develop women both on and off the field. SPAR do this almost every day.
“To all my passionate and dedicated colleagues at the SPAR Group behind this win, I thank you and keep up the good work.”
Maubane also gave praise to Kass Naidoo and Ryk Meiring, the founders of gsport for initiating the Momentum gsport Awards and for their continued dedication to giving South African women the recognition they so deserve.
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