Gauteng excels at national netball championships

Although none of the Gauteng schools have secured top spots at the U15 Kay Motsepe National Netball Championships (KMNC), the province was well represented having obtained positions two and three during the finals at Konka Adventurous Resort in Rustenburg on August 17.

Western Cape-based Paarl Gymnasium and Leifo Iziko Combined School from the Free State concluded the highly contested KMNC on top.

The two schools will represent South Africa in Singapore at the International Youth Netball Challenge in November on an all-expenses-paid trip.

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The tourney was spliced into two pools, namely, the Botho stream for affluent schools and the Ubuntu stream for rural and township schools.

In the Botho stream, Paarl Gymnasium won 14–6 against Pietersburg Hoerskool from Limpopo.

The Free State champions concluded the game with a 14–11 lead against Bokamoso Secondary School from Gauteng in the Ubutu stream.

The competition, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam saw 36 schools representing all nine provinces in the U-15 tournament and it started on Friday with a round-robin group.

Paarl Gimnasium Coach, Juline van der Merwe said they are excited to have an opportunity to represent the country in Singapore and thanked the sponsors, Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam for the opportunity.

“It means a lot you know. We come from a competitive school and we are very grateful for the opportunity that Paarl Gimnasium gives our girls to compete against the best,” Van der Merwe said after the final.

“We came from the Western Cape, and we are thankful that we can be in such a prestigious event.

“It is an event where you get an opportunity to play against the best in the country and to just grow as players and as a coach, so it means a lot to us.”

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Leifo Iziko Combined School Coach, Molebatsi Mofokeng said this is the result of the hard work they put in after they finished second last year.

“We worked hard from the district levels because, firstly, we played in the districts and we got position one. That’s where we said we should go to Provincial and play harder because we needed something,” Mofokeng said.

“Last year we got position two and we said we must come for position one. In the province, we also got position one, so we came here prepared. Remember, we come from a township, so it means a lot. These are small kids; the talent is there you can see, and it means a lot.”

Sanlam CEO Bongani Madikiza said they are pleased to give opportunities to young children.

He said Sanlam advocates for sport as a means to provide equal opportunities for children aiming to build a society that is proud, one step at a time.

“I am happy to be here and excited that we are seeing talent grow into the future. Our people need to know that their children have opportunities and we must participate as companies to build those opportunities.”

Chairperson of SA Schools Netball, Di Wooley said the tournament went incredibly well, adding that the weather was great and spirits were high.

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“I think the tournament has gone incredibly well, and it is important that we have the whole country here because this is the national championship and it is important that everybody is represented.”

Runner-up prizes

Pietersburg Hoerskool and Bokamoso Secondary School received a R150 000 cash prize for the second position.
Monument High School and Chiawelo High School won R100,000 for the third position.