Hlabi Secondary School and Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria have been crowned the new champions of the DStv Schools Netball Challenge.
These national champions will head to Cape Town where they will experience the first Netball World Cup on African soil.
They will watch the Spar Proteas’ second Pool C match of the World Cup when they face Sri Lanka. The players will also get to see the Pool B encounter between England and Malawi.
A cherry on top for the players will be meeting the Proteas stars after.
The 2023 DStv Schools Netball Challenge winners are Hlabi Secondary School and Afrikaanse Hoer Meisieskool.
— DStv Netball (@DStvNetball) July 23, 2023
As part of their prize, the girls will be jetting off ?? to Cape Town this Friday to catch some World Cup action.#DStvNetballChallenge pic.twitter.com/woByInNZrG
The DSNC, which is in its third year, saw 48 teams from across the country battle for the top honours of schools netball.
Affies fought a fight to qualify for the finals. They came from behind to beat last year’s silver medallists, Paarl Girls High School 29-28 in the last seconds of the second half of extra time, after the match had ended 26-26 in regulation time.
The Tshwane side continued with this form in the finals. They made lightwork of Paarl Gimnasium and took the gold medal with 25-18 to win their first DSNC title.
We have a winner!
— DStv Netball (@DStvNetball) July 23, 2023
Affies grab first place in the Botho Stream of the DStv Schools Netball Challenge! ?????????? They’ve also won themselves a trip to Cape Town to watch the Netball World Cup ????#DStvNetballChallenge pic.twitter.com/DRaU9h6x5E
Affies coach, Amanda Mynhardt is happy that her side is back at the top of the game.
“I think the win is so incredible. It’s been a great final and I have to say congratulations to Paarl Gim as well as all the teams on the journey that have brought out the best in us today. Every opponent we played against really challenged us. This trip helped kids bring the best out of them because now they have a reward. At the end of the day, it’s a weekend they can enjoy together as a team. I want to thank DSTV for making it possible and MultiChoice for investing in our youth, it’s fantastic,” she says.
Paarl Girls ended the tournament with a podium finish, taking the bronze medal after beating Hoërskool Menlo Park 23-16 in the third-place playoff match.
Hlabi showed hunger to return to the top from the first whistle against Mpumalanga’s Lambalati Secondary. They led the game from the first quarter but Lambalati closed down the gap to one goal in the third quarter, this revived the Limpopo’s side desire to stretch the gap.
The 2021 winners took the game with a 25-17 scoreline. An emotional captain, Nokuthula Phetla says although they won with a good score, the match was tough.
All hail the champions…
— DStv Netball (@DStvNetball) July 23, 2023
Hlabi return to the winners podium of the DStv Schools Netball Challenge in the Ubuntu Stream, having won the inaugural competition back in 2021
Flights booked…Cape Town here we come ??#DStvNetballChallenge pic.twitter.com/uBxod3nGao
“It was very hard but we made it. We lacked communication but in the third quarter, we improved. I am so happy, I don’t even know what to say. I know we have made our friends and families proud. I am excited that we will be going to Cape Town,” says Phetla.
Their coach, Sibusiso Masina says their preparation for the competition relied a lot on matches and tournaments that Limpopo Netball organised. He says this helped them become sharper for the nationals.
“I am proud of my girls, they worked hard for this. They deserve it. The federation (in Limpopo) has helped us a lot because we play in the federation games. I’m excited for Cape Town, this is an experience of a lifetime,” he says.
Free State’s Ikaheng Zakheni Secondary School took the third position after beating Tsosolotso Special School 17-23 in the Ubuntu division.
'HIGH CALIBRE NETBALL'
SA Schools Netball (SASN) president Di Woolley says she’s grateful for a successful tournament and hopes that the competition will grow in the number of schools taking part.
“I think the netball has gone and jumped in leaps and bounds. The fact that we had four degrees weather on Friday to 23 degrees on Sunday, I think it was synonymous with how the children escalated in enthusiasm and their games. It was successful and everything was wonderful. I think it was great that we had more entries and next year we are hoping to have more entries,” says Woolley.
MultiChoice’s CSI Manager for Sports Programmes Sandile Luthuli says the company is proud to contribute to the growth of the sport in the country and inspire girls from around the country to dream big.
“A big congratulations to all 48 schools that made it to the national finals. It was three days of high calibre netball which is what we would like to see. The sport of netball in South Africa continues to grow at an exponential rate and we as MultiChoice are thrilled to be part of this growth of this sport. As our motto says Enriching Lives, our aim is to assist these girls and enrich their lives so that they can take up netball as a career. This tournament is key in terms of the transition from high school netball to varsity netball to ultimately becoming a professional player. I think all the girls from different backgrounds who were gathered here this weekend can proudly go back home knowing they played their hearts out and knowing they can have a career in netball,” says Luthuli.
The DSNC is a partnership between MultiChoice and SASN and offers a platform for players from all schools (urban and rural areas) to get to experience the sport on the same level. 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.