Varsity Netball to be played in bio-bubble at Stellenbosch University

The eighth edition of the Varsity Netball competition gets underway on Saturday, 21 August 2021 after a year of no Varsity Sports action due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

All 36 matches of the 10-day tournament will be broadcast live on SuperSport, including the final on Monday, 30 August at 18:30.

Varsity Netball Tournament Manager Xhanti-Lomzi Nesi expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders who helped get everything in place while adhering to the South African government’s Covid-19 regulations for sporting tournaments.

Sponsored by FNB, the competition is set to take place at the Coetzenburg Indoor Centre at Maties, with all eight university squads heading into a bio-bubble to complete the fixtures, including the semifinals and final.

‘It’s such an exciting time for all of the netball players, administrators and coaches, as the 2021 Varsity Netball tournament will soon get underway,’ said Nesi. ‘The amount of work done behind the scenes has been nothing short of phenomenal, and it’s something we’re extremely proud to be part of, even if we aren’t allowed to host spectators. We wish to express our gratitude to our main sponsor, FNB, and broadcast partner, SuperSport, for making it all possible. For the first time, all 36 matches of Varsity Netball will be broadcast live on SuperSport.’

Each team will play seven round-robin matches over eight days, with a rest day on day six. All of the teams will also be involved on days nine and 10, which will feature the semifinals and the final.

‘We had to find the right balance to make sure the athletes, referees and coaches aren’t burnt out, seeing as we are completing the entire tournament in less than two weeks,’ Nesi added. ‘The break after round five gives the tournament somewhat of a second-half feel and we believe this will reignite the passion of those watching the games live on SuperSport.’

The opening round of Varsity Netball gets going on 21 August when UJ take on TUT followed by a match between UWC and the Madibaz and a rematch of the 2019 semifinal between Maties and Kovsies. The final match on day one starts at 18:30 when defending champions Tuks and NWU go head-to-head in a rematch of the dramatic 2017 Varsity Netball final, which Tuks won 43-41 with less than a minute remaining.

UWC and NWU will compete in the opening match of day two, followed by Madibaz v Tuks, Kovsies v UJ and Maties v TUT.