Journalist Kass Naidoo champions the story of women's sport in a field still ruled by men. 'I walked into the cricket commentary box of navy-blue shirts and ties with my bright dresses and heels and realised it was not about sink or swim, but how fast I could swim. Women in sport have this same attitude," said Kass Naidoo.And, when South Africa's first woman cricket commentator launched gsport to promote women's sporting talent 10 years ago, she had a dream but no support, except from her husband."We started by looking for female role models to celebrate," said Naidoo, herself a role model after breaking into the world of sports commentary at 27, when she anchored the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup for SABC.story_article_left1This year, Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya is the face of gsport after winning the athlete of the year award at its annual ceremony last night.Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula endorsed gsport's efforts to boost the profile of women athletes in 2014.The award-winning sports presenter walks like a champion in her heels, turning heads as she enters the coffee shop for our interview.Her husband of 12 years, Ryk Meiring, greets her warmly from another table before returning to his laptop.Gsport4girls is an online initiative that the couple run in their free time, together doing all the updates on its website, Facebook and Twitter platforms. Naidoo said: "Women often do not feel they have a story to tell and we wanted to be telling the story of women's sport. I am a journalist and he is an IT lawyer and the harder it got, the more determined we got."To win national support, they decided to introduce a gsport "hall of fame" for the women who inspire everyone.They approached Olympic swimming gold medallist Penny Heyns to be their athlete of the year for the launch. She was delighted to accept.Naidoo said: "We scraped together the money for our first awards ceremony with 20 athletes to honour her at the Westcliff Hotel."The event made national headlines and Naidoo was fired up to grow the profiles of woman athletes.As a result, gsport has forged close bonds with South Africa's woman sports stars and won their trust during the past decade.block_quotes_start Women's sport is largely unfunded and unsponsored. They buy and clean their own shoes, launder their own kit block_quotes_end"We were the cheerleaders for the women who went to Rio. If we don't do this, who will?" Naidoo asked. "We asked them what they needed and we did the updates in the early hours of the morning."She said: "Women athletes in South Africa do not have agents and managers. Women's sport is largely unfunded and unsponsored. They buy and clean their own shoes, launder their own kit ... we want women's sport to turn pro. If athletes have to treat sport as a hobby because they have no time, how can they compete with professionals?"Women's soccer does not yet have a pro league, only provincial, while netball does have a premier league, and women's hockey starts one this year. Women's cricket has 15 contracted full-time players and golf has the Sunshine Ladies Tour."For me, the success of women in sport will be when every sporting code for women turns pro," said Naidoo.A debate revolves around whether women deserve equal pay if they cannot attract crowds. But last year tickets for the US Open women's tennis final sold quicker than the men's clash, challenging this perception.story_article_right2"During the Olympics #SemenyaSunday was a top trending story in South Africa. Our site saw peaks of over 1.5GB of traffic per hour, there was that much interest in women's sport. We need to find how to sustain that interest 365 days a year," said Naidoo.Her own career as a sports presenter and producer has progressed in leaps following her debut, including hosting SABC Cricket World Cup broadcasts.In 2008 she left media and joined Cricket South Africa, where she promoted the Proteas brand, among others, for four years.Naidoo launched into motherhood during this time with the enthusiasm she shows for her career."I fell so in love with Daniel that we had Ella and then Luke. My life is as grounded as it could be. Children are your biggest mirror," she said.In 2014 she anchored the SABC's coverage of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and last year she made her comeback into test cricket commentary in the series between South Africa and England. She also presented the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand for the SABC.Naidoo was 14 when Barbadian cricket commentator Donna Symmonds inspired her to pursue this dream and she hopes that she and fellow commentator Natalie Germanos will influence the next generation to follow their passions.Catch Naidoo on Radio 2000's sports show "Game On Amplified", Monday to Friday between 6-7pm on 97.2-100FM..