Policewomen shine on netball court
The Gauteng team won silver at the National Championships
The Gauteng Police netball team competed at the annual National Championships during the week from 30 July to 4 August, and did very well. The tournament was hosted by Western Cape.
They managed to top their third place of the previous year, by placing second. The winners of the tournament were last year’s champions, the Eastern Cape.
“The tournament consists of teams from all nine provinces, as well as a team from our Head Office. We only play in one pool, which means that all the teams play against each other. The team with the most wins at the end of the tournament is automatically declared the champions,” said Stiena Morland, who has been the team’s coach for the past 17 years.
But this year, she was not allowed to be a coach and be part of the Gauteng Netball Board, of which she is the vice-chairperson. “So, this year, I started mentoring the team’s new coach, Jane Mbombi, and it was quite difficult for me not to be that involved with them,” she said.
The players who form part of the Gauteng netball team are from police stations from across the West Rand. “Every station has its own team, and once a year we have trials to select the players who will compete in the National Championships. This year, out of the 12 members of the team, there were eight new players, and I am very proud of how they played and what they accomplished,” said Stiena, who is from Roodepoort Police Station.
She added that she is quite excited about next year’s tournament, as it will be hosted by Gauteng.
The Gauteng team walked away from the National Championships with four trophies – for Best Team Spirit, Best Shooter of the Tournament (Milly Baloyi from Moffatview Police Station), Best New Upcomer and Best Centre-Court Player (Phillis Ziba from Langlaagte Police Station).
Both players were selected for the National Squad, and Stiena was selected as the Team Manager. Malati Hlasa from Sebokeng Police Station was selected as its Technical Officer.
The team also participates in the netball league, and will be playing in the finals at the Werna Netball Club in Witpoortjie on 25 August.
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