DSNC champions enjoy Netball World Cup

The DStv Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC) champions got to experience a chance of a lifetime as they got to watch their heroines take onto the court.

Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria and Hlabi Secondary School were crowned as the best teams in the 2023 edition of the DSNC. These teams got treated to a trip to Cape Town for the Netball World Cup where they watched the Spar Proteas as they defeated Sri Lanka in their second match of Pool C. They also got to witness the England Roses take on a defiant Malawi.

The competition is in its third year and it gives teams from around the country, from both urban and rural areas, a platform to compete on the same level. Almost 50 schools qualified for the national finals.

This year’s tournament saw over 30 048 players from around the country compete for the coveted title of being the best school netball team in the country. The competition started at district, regional, and provincial levels and ended in the national finals. The competition is divided into two streams, Botho and Ubuntu, which offers an opportunity for the haves and have-nots to go to the top of the competition.

Before the team headed down to cape town, they got to take a tour of MultiChoice City where they also got to watch their final matches of the DSNC. Affies’ wing attack Anouk Janse van Rensburg says they were received as heroes at their school after coming with the trophy and gold medals. She says watching their final against Paarl Gimnasium was a surprise.

“It was so nice. They were standing in a lane (guard of honour) and they were singing for us. We got a great standing ovation at school. There were celebrations from everywhere. It was so cool. We never expected this prize, it was so cool when we found out. We enjoyed visiting MultiChoice. It was an incredible experience for us to see how each player puts their body on the line for every single plan and every single ball. It was incredible for us to see that,” she says.

Although Janse van Rensburg had watched the national team play, she had never seen them live and this trip made it possible that she does.

“The Spar Proteas game was incredible, I had never watched them live before so it was pretty cool for me to see them. I really just wanted to do that. I think they put up a great game and they kept their place, they didn’t back down. They kept going. The Malawi and England game was really tough. It was a physical game but we enjoyed looking at their plays and how Malawi just kept on going. I am definitely a fan of Malawi centre (Takondwa Lwazi) after this game,” says Janse van Rensburg.

Tebogo Rakgalakane, Hlabi goal keeper/ goal shooter, not only got to watch the Proteas live for the first time but she also got to experience her first flight. Although she was nervous about the experience, she soon started enjoying the whole process.

“I was quite scared when we got to the airport but I didn’t want it to show. It was my first time going into an airplane but it was nice. It wasn’t bad. The tour of Cape Town on the Red Bus was great. We went to the (Two Oceans) aquarium and we also got to see Table Mountain. That was also scary but it was nice.

I never thought I would ever be able to attend the World Cup but my mother once told me that I would someday see myself there and we got to see the day. It was amazing, what my mother told me was finally happening. The game was fine but it felt like South Africa was playing by itself. It wasn’t a tough match for South Africa. I have high hopes about my netball, that someday I will see myself playing for the Spar Proteas,” says Rakgalakane.

As if seeing their idols on the court was enough, the players got yet another surprise when they returned to their hotel.

“We had a very nice surprise when we were asked to the dining hall and the two captains of the teams were joking and telling we would get one box of shoes and one ball but when we got to our rooms there were new pairs of Puma takkies and a new Gilbert ball. That was very nice, it was a great surprise,” says Janse van Rensburg.

Rakgalakane says the last surprise was a cherry on top of their trip.

“We were astonished that the whole team would have to wear the same takkies but when they were talking I realised they were pulling our legs then I started screaming. When we got to our rooms to find each of us had our own pair. We were so happy, it was so exciting,” adds Rakgalakane.

The DSNC is a partnership between MultiChoice and SA Schools Netball (SASN) and offers a platform for players from all schools (urban and rural areas) to get to experience the sport on the same level.