Category Archives: Our Sons

Build me a son Home Olympics 2016 Rio Sports Swimming

Olympic Moms: Jean Brown – A message to Myles our son

July 24, 2016 Published by: Cresi Heslop

Jean Brown, mom of Olympic Swimmer Myles Brown shares with compassion the wonderful principles that they as a family have always believed in and provided as a basis for Myles. This just shows again that nurturing the deep treasures within our children of respect, self worth, faith, hard work and dedication are the cornerstones for success.

The achievement of an Olympic dream is not just an isolated event. It is a journey that is so seeped in love and support by family, that when it actually happens one can clearly look back and say oh yes, the signs of greatness and preparation for the world stage was there all along.

Jean writes:

“To Myles our Son,

To say that you have made us proud would be too small a way of recognizing such great achievement. You work ethos and your dedication astounds us. Your humility and respect for your fellows leaves us in awe. Your love and your loyalty overwhelm us and your success amazes us.

After all these years of training, sacrifice, trials and tribulations, you set upon the path to realize your lifelong dream. But as you embark on this phase of your particular journey, we want you to take cognizance of a few things:

• We recognize that you have grown into such a fine young man, who would make any parent’s heart swell with pride.

• This is your journey and whilst we have always helped your steer the bus, this final part is for you to enjoy. We will be there to support from the stands.

• Whatever you achieve, bear in mind the lessons you have learned along the way and continue to value them for the parts they are in the person you have become.

• Never lose sight of your star and remember if you do not reach for it you have no hope of grasping it.

• Stay true to who and what you are and remember the wisdom you have attained as you have grown to this point.

• Believe in yourself always. Human beings are incredible animals capable of the most outstanding achievements – only the non-believers do not achieve. You can so you will.

• Remember that we love you more than you could ever imagine and we wish you all the gold at the end of your rainbow and regardless, we will be there to celebrate with you.

• Travel safe Big Guy and enjoy this for all the joy you can get out of it. Stay happy, stay focused and good luck from the very bottom of our hearts”.

SEE YOU IN RIO!!

Love

Dad and Mom

Frank Our Sons Proudly South African Soccer Sports

Catching up with footballer – Frank Heslop

June 1, 2016 Published by: Cresi Heslop

Frank Heslop, aged 19 is a young and brilliant footballer, ex-swimming champs medalist and dedicated academic and blogger, who is currently doing his B.Com Marketing degree – first year.

Frank has had an extremely challenging start to his football year this 2016 up to now. What I love about him is his positive attitude, his positive speech, and his deep faith and belief that he will be the great footballer that he has dreamed about since a little boy, despite what life throws at him!

In a previous interview he said “I have been playing soccer since I was about 7 years old and I have never looked back since. It started off small but as I grew older and got to know the game more, my desire to become a professional player grew. At the age of 14 I started at a soccer academy where I grew a lot as a player and in character”.

He says – “My aspirations are high and my dream is to be one of the best in the world, playing in the best leagues and representing my country in top competitions”.

When asked about his faith – he said “I am a born again Christian and believe GOD has great plans for my life. It might not be exactly how I plan it, but I know that it is big because I serve a Big GOD”.

Last week, on 21 May 2016, Frank Heslop and his team mates competed at the ultimate university soccer tournament of the year – the Campus Champions League. The battle for the cup was between TUKS, UJ, and WITS. This exciting event took place at Urban 5occer. Congratulation to all the winning team members, well done and brilliantly played and your victory on the soccer field is much deserved.

Urban 5occer is Pretoria’s first 5-a-side football facility. They aim to provide a much needed cutting edge 5-a-side facility and offer “one of the world’s fastest growing sports” to the residents of Pretoria. Their 4 pitches adhere to all specifications laid out by FIFA for 5-a-side football, be it safety, dimensions, drainage, surface or lighting.

All 4 pitches are flood-lit with football specific rebound walls which maximize the playing experience of the high paced game. All their pitches use an “all-weather” FIFA accredited synthetic turf and infill system and are the first 5-a-side pitches in South Africa to offer a two tone colouration much like the 11-a-side football pitches seen at most stadiums worldwide.

The clubhouse has recently undergone a complete revamp, which includes the installation of a contemporary sports bar, lounge area, casual dining facility and pool table. The change rooms and ablution facilities have been completely upgraded with the addition of a modernized locker system and shower facilities.

Find them at this address:

471 Grosvenor Road, Hatfield, Pretoria East Sarah: 084 099 4289 Will: 079 191 3858

Web:

http://www.urban5occer.co.za/urban5occer-home.html

Biathle Frank Home Interviews Jonathan Our Sons Proudly South African Soccer Sports Swimming

Youth Sports Blog South Africa – 6 Month Milestone

May 30, 2015 Published by: Cresi Heslop

With this post we want to celebrate our 6 month milestone (bornday officially 3 December 2014). We want to say thank you to the wonderful YOUTH SPORTS COMMUNITY comprising of each athlete, parent, coach, friendie, supporter, liker, sharer, commenter, and follower of Heslop Sports!

With the hectic rush of life – we do not make enough time to celebrate the little things. We let them run buy un-noticed. Hitting the pause button, in the spirit of gratefulness and celebration is indeed a necessary ritual needed for consistent progress.

Heslop Sports

This is exactly what I want to do with this post.

FIRSTLY – A SHOUT-OUT TO ANY ATHLETE, PARENT OF AN ATHLETE, COACH, ETC, WE WOULD BE HONOURED TO FEATURE YOU ON THE BLOG. Please make contact with us: howzit@heslopsports.co.za

Secondly I want to remind myself of the touchstone and vision for this Youth Sports Blog:

Heslop Sports is a vibrant, real time Youth Sports Blog aimed specifically at UP-AND-COMING YOUNG ATHLETES within various sports disciplines. The aim is to:

Give a voice to young athletes.
Publish the stories, aspirations, plans, progress, footage, images of up-and-coming young athletes.
Gather and share motivational material for young athletes.
Connect young athletes to each other.
Promote young athletes.
Celebrate and honour young athletes.
Encourage parents and coaches of young athletes to share their experiences in the sports arena.

Ultimately to create a valuable hub of the above information that can be used by athletes, coaches, parents, schools, scouts, sponsors, teams, communities and anybody with a keen interest in YOUTH SPORTS. Let’s remember “not to despise the days of small beginnings”.

We are super excited to be following the progress, plans and exciting journey of the following young athletes, partners and coaches etc. Watch this space for many more athletes who will soon join this Youth Sports Community.

Cayde de Waal (Biathlete)

Cayde

Chloe Preston (Swimmer)

Chloe

Hendrik van der Merwe (Coach)

Hendrik

Frank Heslop (Footballer)

Frank

Jonathan Heslop (Swimmer)

Jonathan

Karin Prinsloo (Olympic Swimmer)

Karin

Ruan Breytenbach (Swimmer)

Ruan

Zander Landman (Swimmer)

Zander

Academics Africa Build me a son Faith Frank Home Interviews Our Sons Proudly South African Sharks Soccer Sports

Fresh & Hungry: Frank Heslop

May 9, 2015 Published by: Cresi Heslop

Introduction

I have decided to do a series of interviews with our young athletes called “Fresh & hungry”. These interviews will feature the “older” young athletes. I will be asking a few more in depth questions compared to the questions asked to the younger athletes in the “Meet the Young Athletes” series. The Fresh & hungry questions will hopefully give some insight into the minds of these young athletes and maybe even reveal a few secrets for us to learn from.

First up in our Fresh & Hungry Series, I speak to Frank Heslop born 26 March 1996, up-and-coming young footballer, ex-swimming champs medallist and dedicated academic, blogger, who currently attends the Sharks Soccer Academy in Durban. He is a Cambridge University matric graduate – class of 2013, currently first year Varsity College student, studying B.Com and Jesus follower.

Read on to see what stirs this young man and what his plans hold for the future……

Interview:

So Frank, you just turned 18, how does that make you feel?

I am not going to lie, I am starting to feel quite old and that time is slowly running away.

You are passionate about your football, tell me a little bit about your football journey up to now.

It has been an amazing journey, from starting out in football and developing a passion for the game. I started out playing club football and then I realised that I want a career in football so I joined an academy and I am still in an academy, so thus far I am living the dream as many people would love to have the opportunity that I have. Football has allowed me to travel in the past, I will always treasure my trip to Brazil a few years back, and hopefully it will allow me to travel in the future.

You matriculated at the age of 16, how did that make you feel and how did it affect your football?

At that stage the midnight oil was my best buddy! Finishing school early allowed me to focus on my football and take my time with important decisions to make sure that the decisions I make were the best decisions possible.

What are you currently pursuing or what isn’t happening yet that you’re interested in making happen?

I told you, I am feeling quite old now at 18 so I feel it is time for me to break into some professional teams and move on to bigger things such as playing oversees.

Beside your football, what do you have a passion for?

I have a passion for human performance, I want to know what allows people’s bodies to perform the way it does. I am also always trying to figure out how people become or have become good at what they do, I do not fully believe in natural talent. I believe that is either their environment or their hard work that allows them to become so good.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

My father always says “You have to see yourself there (Overseas)”. My Grandfather says “Never give up”. I love this because this is what will determine whether I make it in football or not. Whether I go through ups or downs these two words of advice will determine if I succeed.

How do you currently manage to balance all the things in your life?

You will hear it all the time and it is no secret “Hard Work and Determination”. If I do not work hard I will not make it.

You have been living away from home since the age of 14 – what life lessons have you learned in this regard?

Firstly I have realised how much I need my family. They are the reason I am where I am. They are my motivation. Secondly life is not fair and if you lack even the slightest bit of confidence you will not succeed. Being away has really helped me put my trust in Jesus to deliver me from all circumstances, and trust me He has come through.

Family time

Fun with my baby-bro!

I see you often post stuff from Eric Thomas – “the hip hop preacher”, do you feel influenced by his life story?

Yeah because he has failed for so long and has never given up. It took him 12 years to get a 4 year degree, so he understands what it feels like to persevere. Many people would not even last 2 years yet he lasted 12. That is not even his full testimony. I love that he uses his testimony to change people’s lives. I love that he stands strong in his faith in Jesus.

Do you think that sports can be a ministry tool by which the lost can be reached?

Yes I do. I believe that sports is a platform to reach out to the lost and preach the Gospel. The whole world watches sports and many people look up to sportsmen and women so therefore they can make an impact on souls.

Tell me one thing about Frank David Heslop that the world does not know?

I enjoy eating bunny chows an Indian dishes.

Down time!

I’m sure you have many things going on right now, what’s to be expected next from Frank Heslop?

I am looking forward to the future, I am seeing some huge things happening and I believe that the right doors will open up. I have huge dreams and I believe soon I will be living out these dreams.

Thank you Frank for speaking to me in this interview. I wish you all the very best blessings for your academic and sports endeavours, and would love to follow your progress and plans for the future.

Blog Posts Written by Frank here:

http://heslopsports.co.za/wp/the-love-language-of-sports/

http://heslopsports.co.za/wp/opportunities-by-frank-heslop/

http://heslopsports.co.za/wp/for-the-love-of-the-game/

Frank in action:

Check out Frank’s Skills on You Tube here

Sea Vacations are the best!

Never found without my footie

Training Time at Sharks

I am looking forward to the future, I am seeing some huge things happening and I believe that the right doors will open up. I have huge dreams and I believe soon I will be living out these dreams. Frank

Home Jonathan Our Sons Proudly South African Sports Swimming

Report back Level 2 Swimming Championships 2015

April 3, 2015 Published by: Cresi Heslop

The SA Level 2 Regional Age group Swimming Championships took place 19 – 22 March 2015 in Germiston at the Delville Swimming Pool.

Jonathan Heslop (Jono), aged 11, had a brilliant Level 2. He really enjoyed the fruit of his labour at this champs and found himself a bit stretched at times, but in very high spirits throughout the 4 days! He saw the benefits of good mental and physical preparation with Coach Hendrik. Jono swam the following events – 50m, 100m, 200m Backstroke; 50m, 100m Butterfly; 50m, 100m, 200m Freestyle, 50m, 100m, 200m Breaststroke and 200m Individual Medley. He was also selected for two relay events. Here, this smallest member on team blasted the water like dynamite and contributed to the relay victory for Team Tuks! As they say: TUKS OF NIKS!

Throughout the 4 days he pushed on bravely and managed to make it to the finals for all the above events. He slashed down a total of 33 seconds collectively across all his events. He proudly brought home 3 medals: 1 gold and 2 bronze. Well done for your courage, bravery and persistence Jonathan!

“THEREFORE, SINCE WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SUCH A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES, LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS AND THE SIN THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES. AND LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE MARKED OUT FOR US”. HEBREWS 12:1

Below is a “visual tour” of Level 2 Swimming Champs 2015!

Delville Swimming Pool: Day 1: clear waters and blue skies

Frank Home Soccer Sports

The Love Language of Sports

February 7, 2015 Published by: Frank

THE LOVE LANGUAGE OF SPORTS – by Frank David Heslop

As you know, this month’s theme is love, because of Valentine’s Day. So what I want to write about is love, but not the love that you are thinking about right now. Not the romantic kind of love between a boy and a girl, but rather the kind of love that I experience playing the beautiful game. Now if you have been reading my previous essays you might have read the essay, “For the Love of the Game”. Today’s essay is a little different.

I remember watching a soccer game before the world cup that took place last year in Brazil and the guy commentating on the game said something like this, “There is something spiritual about soccer in Brazil” and I kind of knew exactly what he meant because I had been to Brazil before and experienced it myself.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I love to make other people smile and that is exactly what I saw in abundance during my trip to Brazil. I saw how the game put a smile on the face of the people of Brazil. How all kinds of kids came together, young and old and just played with such abundant joy. I saw how their faces lit up when they saw a ball, it was just amazing to experience that in real life.

I loved how all the different diversities of people came together because of the game. I loved how they made a plan to play the game in unlikely places, they played in the smallest of spaces and with whatever they could find, whether it was a can or a cramped up piece of paper, it did not even have to be the right shape.

I loved the “connect factor” that the game had, the same way that love brings people together. You did not have to be the right age, height, sex or race. You did not even need to be good at this game. We were in a foreign country but we could speak the only language we needed to speak in order for us to be part of the Brazilian culture, and that was the language spoken with our feet and any circular object we could find.

I am now on the lookout in my own beautiful country for the same opportunities. I want to bring people together and I want to see the love and interactions that football brings in this country.

I believe that sport in general is a privilege and that God created it specifically for these reasons. I believe it’s an honour to be playing sports and to be given the opportunity to make it a profession.

Image courtesy of Naypong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Frank Home Sports

Opportunities

January 25, 2015 Published by: Frank

Opportunities – By Frank Heslop

This year I believe is the year of opportunity. My whole family believes that big things are going to happen this year, so I believe its going to be the year of opportunity. Its not a new year’s resolution. I believe one of the things that is going to stand out for me this year, will be all the opportunities that will come my way.

Now because of this belief I realised that there are a few values or principles I will have to live by to make this year successful. I will give two:

Firstly, “you have an opportunity of a lifetime but you have to take advantage of it in the lifetime of the opportunity”. (E.T.)

This came to me obviously by Eric Thomas but I only fully understood it when I went for trials at a soccer team called SuperSport United Academy where I didn’t get chosen. I looked back at my trial experience, and thought of all the opportunities I was presented with. I realised that life and the game of soccer have something big in common in that they are both all about opportunities and these opportunities unfortunately have a lifespan. Every time you get the ball its an opportunity. While you are running its an opportunity. Before you shoot there’s an opportunity. The person that succeeds is the one that takes his opportunities while it is still alive, not the most talented one or the most hard working one. So I realised that every opportunity I get I have to take if I want to be successful.

Secondly, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”. (James 2:17) “Knowing is not enough, we have to apply. Being willing is not enough we must do”. (Bruce Lee)

This is very hard. It is so easy to talk, but “doing” is another story. There are some big goals that I want achieve this year so I have a plan. I don’t know if it will work or not, but what I know is that to follow that plan is going to be really difficult. So I don’t know if you’ve realised, but most of us get super excited talking about the plan and how its going to elevate us towards achieving our goals and dreams. Then day one starts and I can tell you now, you will struggle to wake up with the same excitement that you had when you were talking about it. So this year needs to be all about actions and much less talk, because this is how opportunities will turn into stepping stones for greater things to come.

Opportunity

Build me a son Frank Home Our Sons Proudly South African Sharks Soccer Sports

For The Love Of The Game

January 11, 2015 Published by: Frank

For The Love Of The Game by Frank David Heslop

Check out Frank’s Skills on You Tube here

I thought quite hard on how I should start off and what I should write about in my first essay and then it hit me. I thought let me start with how I started off in sport.

I remember as a child why I used to play the beautiful game. It was never about achieving anything great in the beginning, yet I trained so damn hard as if I was trying to achieve something though. On the journey of becoming a sportsman (high school years), I started on a high note but then I suddenly reached a tough patch. I have had some tough fighting, situations that I could not see myself overcoming. The thought of giving up would sometimes find its way into my thoughts, but I always had great people in my life to keep me going.

I would fall down and pick myself up again and again, with the help of my great family. Yet one thing I did not learn was to overcome the disappointment and anger of falling. Falling is the best way to learn and develop. However one needs to learn to fall without hurting oneself so badly that it takes too long to recover. This was the biggest problem with me at the time: that when I fell it would take something valuable away from me and I would either not recover properly or take too long to recover.

So to get back to the point of why I used to play the beautiful game as a child. It was because I loved playing it. I had no one telling me that I should give up because I am not good enough and even if I did I would not even care because I was playing the game for the right reason, because I loved it. I did not care about the coach’s or anyone’s opinion, I just wanted to play because it brought me joy. I could spend hours outside or in the yard kicking the ball around because of the love I had for the game.

Now whenever you in a tough patch in your sports career, remember why you started playing the sport in the first place and try to play it exactly the same way that you did as a child, with joy and happiness. Then when you fall, you will fall with joy and even though you might get hurt falling you will always be able to get back up. Picture a baby trying to transition from crawling to walking, they will fall a thousand times, sometimes they laugh and sometimes they cry but they will always fall just hard enough to pick themselves back up again.

My final words are the most important of all from 1 John 4:7-8. It says; “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love”. At the end of this scripture it says that “God is love” meaning that if you play with love and for love, you are playing with God and for God because He is love and He has created love. So that feeling you get whenever you feel as if you enjoying the sport or game so much that you say you love it, that is God right by you guiding you because you are playing with Him by your side.

Frank Heslop

Frank training at the Sharks

Frank in action for the Sharks

http://youtu.be/qY4L_fOppos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Evi9y74A0s

Home Jonathan Our Sons Sports Swimming

NTS Swimming Championships and SA School Sport Championship 2014 in Review

December 18, 2014 Published by: Cresi Heslop

It has been a hectic past two weeks, with our entire household centering around all things swimming. I have not kept a day by day log of happenings. Thus this is just broad brush stoke reflections of events.

NTS Swimming Championships – 4 to 8 December 2014

A very well organised gala this year with very smooth flowing administration, this made such a difference, despite the daily load shedding! Swimmers were in excellent shape and it was good to see them enjoying the fruit of their year’s labour. Some long standing records came tumbling down, smashed by the likes of Ruan Breytenbach, and others. Well done swimmers!

Jonathan also did very well. He qualified to swim in the finals each evening for all the heats that he swam in during the day. He medaled in 8 out of 12 finals.

Simon and many other diligent parents and supporters paid their dues by offering themselves up as officials to time keep, despite the hot sun and typical Gauteng summer storms.

Sitting around a pool for what feels like hundreds of hours makes one reflect on the year of training and preparation that culminates in the pool at a championship. Pause moments like these breeds new ideas, strategies, things to twitch and good insights for the way forward. As Simon keeps reminding me – “we are in this for the long haul”.

Now it is over to the pictures to tell the rest of the story!

Jono’s Coach Hendrick

Quiet moment of contemplation

Ready for take off

Take your marks

Medal time!

Happiness is…

Mission accomplished

National School Sport Championship 2014 – 10 to 15 December 2014

Firstly – congratulations to the Entire Team Gauteng who was the overall winner (there were 14 sports involved) they came in 1st in 2012, 2013 and now 2014! Sweet, sweet victory!

The games were aptly themed: “Today’s athletes, tomorrow’s legends”. Pretoria hosted 10 000 young participants from all over the country.

Team Gauteng was accommodated at the University of Pretoria (TUKS) hostels. After trying our utmost to find out what the experience was of hostel life from Jonathan and peers, two phrases were learned:

What happened in Madelief stays in Madelief. (Female residence at TUKS)
Life is much easier without moms naggings us to bath, brush teeth and go to bed by 8:00!

Below some pictures of the Swimming Side of the Championships

Ready

Steady

Go!

Gone!

Smile for the Paparazzi

Supporting Team Gauteng

Hillcrest – Home of the NTS champs

Officials at work

New friendships forged

Faith Frank Home Jonathan Our Sons Sports Swimming

With a grateful heart

December 9, 2014 Published by: Cresi Heslop

WITH A GRATEFUL HEART – by Cresi Heslop

In order to look to the future meaningfully, I need to start by looking back. Thus when I look at our past journey, the emotion that immensely overwhelms me is an absolute sense of gratefulness.

Also, being conscious of the time of year that we are in, gratefulness ties up well with the American Faith tradition of Thanksgiving that I have always loved. A tradition originally declared by Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the civil war as he called on the American people to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

Thanksgiving so beautifully ushers in the true Spirit of Christmas, as the world prepares to celebrate with gratefulness the birth of our Saviour.

I am grateful for so many things but within the context of this Blog I will only mention a few:
I am grateful for:

our top of the mountain experiences, for it gave us the joy and rich reward that hard work always pays off.
our down in the valley experiences, for it taught us humility. It taught us that we needed to lift our heads up high despite dire circumstances, and live to fight another day. It gave us the determination to carry on and look with hope to the future.
our mundane, day to day experiences, for it taught us to that consistency is a powerful ingredient when mixed into the great pot of success.
our early start, meaning that we were blessed with the insight to expose our sons to many different types of sports and extramural activities. Then we stood back to allow them to make the final choice.
our pastors, mentors, coaches, role models, biological, non-biological and spiritual parents, for they gave us a sense of hope to dream big. (And they still do!).
our books, as they say “a good book finds you, you don’t find it”. Being the librarian that I am, I believe in the power of reading and the power of the written word.
our million moments of joy and fun while on this life journey, for it taught us that in all things we should seek the joy element, because accumulatively it leads to a wonderful sense of having lived in, and experienced the moment fully.
a sense of community, for what would life be without family, friends, coaches, teachers etc, who care and are there for us, even across borders and far away seas. It reminds me of one of our beautiful African proverbs that says “if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far – go together”.
the sons with whom we are blessed with. To sum up how we feel about them “our cup runneth over”.
lastly and definitely not the least – Our Creator – “the Alpha and the Omega” – the One who makes all things possible!

In general, gratefulness for the moment that we are in should become a daily and practiced habit. Living consciously and intentionally in the moment gives us the freedom to take off the shackles of the past and blissfully forget the worries of what the future might hold.

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Category Archives: Our Sons

Olympic Moms: Jean Brown – A message to Myles our son

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Catching up with footballer – Frank Heslop

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Youth Sports Blog South Africa – 6 Month Milestone

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Fresh & Hungry: Frank Heslop

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Report back Level 2 Swimming Championships 2015

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The Love Language of Sports

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Opportunities

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For The Love Of The Game

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NTS Swimming Championships and SA School Sport Championship 2014 in Review

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With a grateful heart

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