Department hosts successful Provincial Schools Athletics championships
Young athletes from the Province showcased their talent on the track when KwaZulu-Natal hosted the primary and secondary schools Provincial Track and Field Championships over the past two weekends.
The two events were hosted by the KZN Department of Sport and Recreation in conjunction with the provincial Education Department as part of the School Sport Programme.
The Primary schools programme took place on 2nd March and the seniors event which also included athletes affiliated to running clubs followed on the 9th and 10th March.
In addition to the mainstream categories, the secondary schools programme also featured Leaners with Special Needs (LSN).
They competed at high pace in all track events, including 100 m sprint, 400 m, 1500 m, relay, long jump, high jump, shot put, javelin, discuss, hammer throw, triple jump as well as 5 & 10 km walks.
Amajuba and Umlazi districts dominated the medal tally at both the junior and senior schools event respectively. These districts are expected to field most of the athletes in the team that will proceed to represent the province in the national championships.
The results of the Secondary schools competition are as follows:
| District | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Umlazi | 18 | 12 | 11 | 41 |
| Amajuba | 17 | 21 | 10 | 48 |
| Umgungundlovu | 14 | 8 | 12 | 34 |
| Harry Gwala | 6 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Pinetown | 6 | 9 | 8 | 23 |
| Zululand | 5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| Umzinyathi | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 |
| Ilembe | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| uThukela | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| King Cetshwayo | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ugu | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Umkhanyakude | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Results/medal count for Primary Schools Competition:
|
Place |
Team as per Districts | Gold | silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | AMAJUBA | 20 | 13 | 10 | 43 |
| 2 | PINETOWN | 13 | 12 | 7 | 32 |
| 3 | UMLAZI | 11 | 5 | 5 | 21 |
| 4 | UMGUNGUNDLOVU | 7 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
| 5 | UMZINYATHI | 4 | 14 | 5 | 23 |
| 6 | KING CETSHWAYO | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 7 | UTHUKELA | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 8 | UGU | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 9 | UMKHANYAKUDE | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 10 | ZULULAND | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 11 | HARRY GWALA | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 12 | ILEMBE | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |