Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria will have the opportunity to defend their DStv Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC) title. Affies had a clean record to the finals of the Gauteng round of the competition to win the gold medal and qualify for the national finals set for 12-13 July at Hoërskool Florida in Roodepoort, Joburg.
The defending champions will be joined by Hoërskool Menlopark, Hoërskool Garsfontein, and Hoërskool Waterkloof, playing in the Botho division of the competition while Sikhululekile School of Specialisation and Moshate Secondary School will take part in the Ubuntu stream.
Tshwane dominates the Gauteng representatives for the nationals, with Moshate being the only odd one out as they are based in Sebokeng.
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. The tournament is in its fourth year running and it is a partnership between Multichoice, South African Schools Netball, and the Department of Basic Education aimed at unearthing and nurturing future stars.
'ECSTATIC'
Affies captain Amia Roux says the team is happy that they will be able to defend their title, even though there will be a lot of pressure on them.
“We feel very ecstatic. It is a pleasure to play and we are happy to play together as a team. There’s always a lot of pressure but we are going with a good mindset and enjoy it,” says Roux.
Sikhululekile captain Reneilwe says although the weather conditions added to the challenge at hand, and they were determined to win the Ubuntu title.
“Today has really been a hard day because of the weather. We had to adjust fast to the weather because it was really cold and it was really hard to play in cold conditions. We didn’t want to play with tights on because it was going to slow our pace down. We were quite hopeful and we thank God that we made it this far. We are very thankful to our coaches and I am thankful for my team that we made it this far. I am very proud of us,” says Tisane.
SA Schools Netball secretary, Ronelle Nell says the province hosted a successful tournament, and they
“It was an excellent day, with hard matches which were quite contentious. There were excellent matches and all the teams came to play their hearts out,” says Nell.
Meanwhile, last year’s Ubuntu silver medallists, Lambalati Secondary School will be hoping to make it all the way in 2024. They will be joined by KI Twala Secondary School to represent Mpumalanga together with Hoërskool Secunda and Hoërskool Nelspruit.