The 2025 edition of Varsity Netball starts on Sunday 24 August and once again all eyes will be on the future stars of South African netball to see who will be crowned champions.
Intense action can be expected over five weeks until the final is contested between the top two teams on Monday 29 September.
The eight teams that will be vying for bragging rights this year are defending champions UFS-Kovsies, 2024 runners-up UJ, Maties, NWU, UP-Tuks, Madibaz, Wits and Varsity College which replaces TUT.
The venues where all the action will take place are the Coetzenburg Centre (Stellenbosch), the Callie Human Hall (Bloemfontein), NWU Mafikeng Great Hall (Mahikeng), Rembrandt Hall (Pretoria) and the Wits Multi-Purpose Sports Hall (Johannesburg).
With Varsity Netball playing such a huge role in developing players for the national team, the stage is set for a new wave of talent to make their impact according to Varsity Sports netball code manager Anouschka Swart.
“This competition is the perfect springboard for the future of netball in South Africa. The calibre of talent we’ve witnessed over the years is proof of that. I believe it will only grow from here, especially when you consider the strength of today’s national squad. Now, it’s up to the players to seize the chance before them.”
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
Last year, Kovsies collected their fifth Varsity Netball title when they defeated UJ 58-55 in extra time in one of the most exciting finals the competition had seen. The team’s Refiloe Nketsa was named FNB Player of the Match while shooter Rolene Streutker walked away with the FNB Player of the Tournament accolade.
This year, Nketsa is back as team manager alongside head coach Burta de Kock and assistant coach Karla Pretorius. Streutker, meanwhile, will take her place under the posts again after a stellar season in the Super League in England, where she was named player of the season and best shooter.
De Kock says the Kovsies team have been working hard to get their bodies and minds ready for this year’s Varsity Netball.
“The commitment they have shown is simply unbelievable, they are fearless. They know something very special is on the way. The unity in the team is very good, and we are blessed with the quality of players we have gathered together.
“We have a certain expectation that we will play each game so solid as a unit that nobody will be able to disrupt us. We also expect that we have developed so many holistic players that all our combinations that we practised can work to such an extent that they can put up their hands for the gold medal.
SHEDDING LIGHT
Head coach, De Kock emphasised the importance of strong backing from the university in the team’s success and shed some light on the return of Streutker and squad depth.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from Kovsies Sport and Janine de Kock. The players relish the opportunity to represent the university because they know that off the court, the support is also there, and that makes things on the court so much easier.”
“We have Rolene who played overseas the whole year and we are incredibly happy to have her back. Then there are the players who competed at the TNL, you can’t buy that kind of experience. The handful of first years that have come in are slotting in very nicely and not shying away from the competition.“
Kovsies will start their title defence against Wits on 24 August (19:00) in the first bumper weekend at the Coetzenburg Centre. The rest of the first-round fixtures are:
Sunday 24 August:
Maties v UJ - 13:00
NWU v Varsity College - 15:00
UP-Tuks v Madibaz - 17:00
UFS-Kovsies v Wits – 19:00
Monday 25 August:
Kovsies v UJ - 13:00
Varsity College v UP-Tuks - 15:00
NWU v Madibaz - 17:00
Maties v Wits - 19:00
Catch all the action live on SuperSport.