| dc.description.abstract | PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to provide a scientific documentation
on South Africa's participation in the British Empire and
Commonwealth Games from 1930 up till 1958. A strongly felt
need is satisfied with this documentation.
METHOD
The historical method has been used. An extensive amount of
information was gathered, irrelevant information was e liminated,
and the appropriate data was then systematized, compared, and
evaluated for reliability. Preference was given to primary
sources. Secondary sources were used to complement the study.
The study was launched by sending a number of circulars to
sportsmen, journalists and sports administrators informing them
of the purpose of this study and the need for information.
Interviews took place, personal scrapbooks were collected and
studied. Relevant magazines were traced through magazine indexes.
The minutes of the South African Olympic Games Association,
as well as the Official reports of the General Team
Managers, divisional managers , and the British Empire Games
Federation, were considered as primary sources. Newspaper
reports were used , particularly those of the Johannesburg Star.
Archives and Museums provided valuable information. Finally,
photographic material helped to gauge the reliability of written
events.
CONTENT
A chapter is devoted to each of the relevant British Empire and
Commonwealth Games . In chapters like these, attention is
focused on the problems and methods of collecting and financing
teams. Secondly, the nominations for team members and officials,
as introduced by the various bodies, are discussed. The Olympic
Association could only compile a team from the lists containing
the nominations. The number of participants largely depended
on the amount of money available, and not always on standard of
excellence. Further, the teams' journey and arrival at the
Games, and some interesting anecdotes concerning their travel
experiences, were outlined. The major emphasis falls on the
participation of the Springboks in the Games, and their results.
Achievements in the heats, semi-finals, and finals are recorded
in detail. Finally, a summary of the results is provided in
each chapter. This is the scope of the present study. | en_US |
