The under 19 girls Netball teams of both, Bardale and the Manzomthombo High Schools, based in the suburb of Mfuleni, in Cape Town will carry the hopes of the Western Cape in the Ubuntu section of this year’s DStv Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC) national finals.
The finals will be staged at the Hoërskool Florida in Roodepoort starting on Friday 12 July until Saturday 13 July where 40 school teams from around the country will be competing in both the Ubuntu and Botho sections of the fourth edition of the popular series.
La Rochelle, the Western Cape’s Botho section champions, will be joined by last year’s national finalist Paarl Gymnasium and Paarl Girls at the finals where the Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria (Affies) will be defending their title in this section.
Aviwe Sixaba, Bardale’s coach, says the recent school holidays has presented her players with perfect time to prepare for the event and not having had to contend with the pressure’s academic assignments.
“For most of the girls it will be their first trip to Gauteng, and they are needless to say very excited to travel and compete at the event. We have had some great support from our parents and the greater community. There is indeed a great buzz around with our involvement in the national finals.
“A few netball clubs teams have also offered to play friendlies against us, which was great. So, we are ready,” said Sixaba.
The tournament, which is a partnership between Multichoice, a leading entertainment platform in Africa, South African Schools Netball, and the Department of Basic Education in a bid to provide a stage for players from both urban and rural areas.
It has since its inception four years ago become a highlight on the girls’ sports calendar.