Johannesburg - Members of the SPAR South African women's elite netball squad will gather in Potchefstroom this weekend for an intensive training camp. The camp will be led by national coach Carin Strauss, with Cecilia Molokwane making her first appearance in her new position of assistant coach.

"This will really be a process of taking stock," said Strauss. "The players will undergo various tests, which will show us how seriously they have been following the training programme laid out for them after the national championships last August. We want the players to commit themselves to the programme, and if we find that they aren't committed, we can kick them out of the programme and bring in players who are committed.

"Among the things we will be testing are agility, physical fitness and lung capacity," she added. "One of the reasons we couldn't beat Jamaica last ear was that we did not play to our full capacity in the last quarter. You have to play at the highest level for four quarters to win matches. We have the Tri-nations against Fiji and Botswana coming up and Fiji is probably one of the most physical teams in the world. We have to be at the top of our game to deal with them."

In addition to the training camp for players, there will be a workshop for selectors, under the leadership of Netball South Africa (NSA) executive committee members Mpumi Javu and Bennie Saayman.

"We'll have two sets of trials during the training camp, to help those attending the workshop," said Strauss. "We won't be announcing the team then - we will do that at the next training camp, towards the end of April. But it will be good experience for the selectors."

Strauss said the scientific testing of the players was an important part of the selection of teams. "You can't just select a team on the basis of what you see inside the court," she said.

She said NSA was keen to arrange some form of financial support for the players. "They have to go to gyms and they need to eat properly if they are going to follow the training programmes we have set out for them. They really need some financial backing to be able to commit themselves."

Three members of the elite squad selected after the national championships last year - Annemarie Frost, Kgomotso Itlhabanyeng and Bongiwe Msomi - have not been included in the training camp because they are involved in preparations for the Under21 World Cup in the Cook Islands in August.

SPAR Proteas Squad:

Liezel Wium (Boland), Precious Mthembu (Ethekwini), Maryka Holtzhausen (Free State), Doretha Joubert (Free State), Adele Niemand (Free State), Zanele Mdodana (NMMU) Dumisani Chauke (NMMU), Mampho Tsotetsi (NMMU), Claudia Basson (Griqualand), Chrisna Botha (NW South), Tsakane Mbewe (Gauteng Central), Mary Ngwenya (Gauteng Central), Refiloe Mochaka (Gauteng Central), Elzet Engelbrecht (Free State), Zukelwa Cwaba (Amathole) Nosiphiwo Goda (Amathole), Erin Burger (Gauteng North), Simone van Heerden (Gauteng North), Kotze Heike (Gauteng North), Amanda Mynhardt (Gauteng North) and Annaret Viljoen (Gauteng West).