Following a successful first season of the DStv Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC), the call to enter this year’s competition is now open.
Schools can now register to be part of this year’s tournament scheduled to start in May and conclude with the national finals on National Women’s Day (August 9).
DSNC is a partnership between Multichoice and SA Schools Netball that aims to unearth the next generation of SPAR Proteas.
It aims to give girls across the country equal opportunity to showcase their skills and get to contest the national finals, which is a national event broadcast live on SuperSport.
To ensure all schools have an equal opportunity to reach the national finals and contest for top honours, the competition is divided into two streams: Botho (urban schools) and Ubuntu (rural schools).
In last year’s tournament, North West’s Potchefstroom Gimnasium were the winners of the Botho finals, beating Gauteng’s Hoërskool Menlopark, while in the Ubuntu finals, Hlabi Secondary School overcame provincial rivals Makgofe High School.
However, both streams get to play against each other in the earlier rounds of the finals.
SA Schools Netball president Di Woolley said: “Last year’s tournament was heavily disrupted by the pandemic, but we could still put together a tournament with a participation rate of over 1 450 secondary schools and 16 000 girls from district level right up to the finals. Hopefully, the pandemic is now behind us and all provinces and more schools will be part of this year’s tournament.”
Meanwhile, the 2021 edition also served as a scouting ground for universities and national teams’ scouts, including the u-21 Baby Proteas, as the country prepares to host the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town.
According to MultiChoice group executive for corporate affairs Collen Dlamini, world cup fever is slowly gathering momentum in the country. Through DSNC, they want the fever to spread across the entire country and reach areas that normally feel left out from the major happenings in the country.
“Girls from anywhere in South Africa who dream of one day representing the country in netball must know they have DSNC as a springboard to achieving their dreams,” said Dlamini.
How to enter: visit the www.saschoolsnetball.co.za, find the League Registration tab on the top right-hand side, click on it to access the DSNC page. Click on register to access the Google Doc form, which must be filled in to register your school.
Registration closes on March 31.
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