Hoërskool Duineveld took full advantage of their home ground to gain an edge over their competitors. As hosts of the provincial finals this past weekend, Duineveld is one of four schools that will represent the Northern Cape at the national finals of the DStv Schools Netball Challenge, powered by Bestmed.
The DSCN is divided into two streams, Botho and Ubuntu, which offer the same platform for schools in both urban and rural areas to experience the sport on the same level.
Hoërskool Upington join Duineveld in the Botho division while Hoërskool Veritas De Aar and Friersdale Combined School will compete in the Ubuntu stream of the competition.
This comes after the four teams reached the finals of their respective streams, and they automatically qualified for Netball Challenge national final which will take place at Hoërskool Dr. E.G. Jansen in Boksburg, Johannesburg on 25-27 July.
To book their final spot and ticket to Johannesburg, Friersdale defeated Hoërskool Nababeep 32-21 in the Ubuntu semifinal, while Veritas De Aar got better of Saul Damon, beating them 27-13 in the Botho semifinal. In the Botho stream semifinals, Upington defeated Kalahari 38-21 and Duineveld brushed aside Diamantveld 45-23.
Northern Cape schools’ High School Convener Christine Esterhuizen has commended the schools in her province for committing to the competition.
“There were a lot of teams that drove far. We had the provincials in Upington because it is in the centre of the Northern Cape. It is about a 400km drive for teams from Kimberly and those from Namakwa, so there are a lot of expenses for this weekend for teams to participate in the tournament.
"In the economic situation we are in, we are privileged for the teams that came to play. It was a good tournament, everything was on time and the empires were good. The results speak for themselves,” said Esterhuizen.
Esterhuizen has expressed confidence in the Northern Cape’s potential to excel at this year’s national finals.
“I think all four teams are really strong. I feel all four teams have a good chance of going far in the national competition this year. Duineveld had a tough competition at Menlo Park (Netball Tournament) and they received really good results.
"Upington played in the Paarl (Girls' High Netball Festival) and they beat teams like (Hoërskool) Waterkloof. I think throughout the season, there have been good results from our teams. I am really looking forward to the national playoffs,” she says.
Qualified schools
Botho
Hoërskool Duineveld
Hoërskool Upington
Ubuntu
Hoërskool Veritas De Aar
Friersdale Combined School