Six influential South African women have been unveiled as the ambassadors for the 2012 SPAR gsport Awards, which will take place on 20 November, at the prestigious Wanderers Club in Illovo.

The aim of the ambassador programme is to encourage greater public participation in the nomination and voting process for South Africa’s only dedicated women’s sports awards.

The inaugural gsport Awards ambassadors, who were unveiled at a media gathering at Mezepoli, Melrose Arch on Wednesday, are media and entertainment personalities Roxy Burger, Mpho Maboi, Anele Mdoda, Shashi Naidoo, Hulisani Ravele, and Liezel van der Westhuizen.

gsport4girls Founder Kass Naidoo said: “gsport encourages South African women to support each other, and we felt it was a great opportunity to practice what we preach.

“These women were hand-picked for standing out as role models in society, and we are excited about tapping into their communities to spread the word about the 2012 SPAR gsport Awards.”

Roxy Burger said: “Having played sports my entire life, I am incredibly excited to be a part of the gsport Awards.

“Playing sports, throughout school and as an adult has definitely contributed to the person I am today, and I hope to inspire many a young girl to get involved! I look forward to the Awards and the campaign ahead,” said Burger.

Hulisani Ravele said: “I once heard someone say: ‘A child in sport is a child out of court.’ I’ve never forgotten that, and I truly believe it.”

Mpho Maboi said: “Being a woman in sport, I am more than honoured to be an ambassador for the gsport Awards.

“I chose to be part of this because I’m all about empowering women, and being able to celebrate women who are excelling in the sporting field,” said Maboi. “It is the perfect initiative to be involved in.”

Anele Mdoda said: “The only way to build SA women’s sport is to generate an audience, as an ambassador I am not only saying Yes I am the audience but I want to bring the audience to support our ladies in action.”

Shashi Naidoo said: “I have supported gsport4girls since it’s inception and to see it’s growth in the last four years under the guidance, commitment and tenacity of Kass is really an inspiration to me.”

Liezel van der Westhuizen said: “I’m excited to be a 2012 gsport awards ambassador, I’ve had an amazing journey with gsport, being nominated twice for an award, and being supported by the team across all the various sporting activities that I’ve taken part in.

“It’s fantastic to be part of a team who are passionate about promoting and actively play a role in supporting women in sport.”

The occasion was also an opportunity for gsport4girls to formally welcome supermarket giant, and pioneer women’s sports sponsor, SPAR, as the naming rights sponsor of the 2012 gsport Awards.

Public nominations for the 2012 SPAR gsport Awards open on 1 October, and closes on 30 October.