SPAR KZN uplifts women in Sport 2025

SPAR KZN continues to proudly uplift women in sport in 2025 with their commitment to women’s athletics, schoolgirls’ hockey and netball in the province, celebrating incredible milestones,.

“We are referring to 2025 as our ‘big five’ year at SPAR KZN,” shared Menelisi Luthuli, Marketing Director for SPAR KZN. “The year is 2025 and we are applauding five years for our netball tournament, 15 years for our hockey challenge, and 35 years for our Durban Women’s race.”

Celebrations are in order. SPAR KZN applaud the milestones for their sports events this year. Pictured here are Brad Glasspoole (Race Director for SPAR KZN Women’s Challenge), Nozi Mkhize (SPAR KZN’s Advertising & Sponsorship Manager), and Les Galloway (SchoolGirlsSports Director for both the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey and Netball Challenges). Pic by Val Adamson

Celebrating 35, the renowned Durban SPAR Women’s 10/5km Challenge is diarised for Sunday 22 June. The inaugural race that began in 1990 had a small field of 2,200 participants. With the start on the then-NMR Avenue, outside Kings Park Athletic Stadium, saw Colleen de Reuk historically breaking the tape on the athletic track in an impressive time of 34.16. Currently, Namibian Helalia Johannes holds the fastest 10km time, blitzing her way around the new fast, flat Durban route in 31.18 in 2019. 

Over the 34 years, the women’s race has enjoyed encouraging 369,406 participants to share their morning running around Durban’s scenic spots. The biggest field competing in 2015 had a field of 17,607. Moulding the event into a top tier triumph that everyone looks forward to, Race Director, Brad Glasspoole and his team works tirelessly to create a smooth experience from start to finish. Preparations are well underway to make the 35th race a memorable one. 

Tipping off the sporting year for SPAR KZN, the first of ten hockey tournaments takes place at Curro Hillcrest with the Highway Regional on Saturday 8 March. The tremendously successful SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge began in 2011, a vision of Tournament Director Les Galloway from SchoolGirlSport. 

Fifteen years later, the tournament has had 130 victorious teams hoist their trophies after their regionals. The tournament is split up into ten regionals with a Grand Final rounding off the annual challenge. 32 schools have participated in the Grand Finals with three schools being crowned the overall Grand Finals champions, St Anne’s College, St Mary’s D.S.G. and Durban Girls’ College. 

The newest addition to the KZN sporting stable, leading up to the 2023 Netball World Cup held in Cape Town, SPAR KZN and SchoolGirlSport created the only Fast 5’s tournament in the province for schoolgirls. In 2019 the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5’s Netball Challenge was launched. Beginning with only four tournaments, it quickly grew to seven after its well-received inception. Expanding to eight tournaments in the challenge’s fourth year, the Fast 5’s Challenge is looking forward to continuing growing in its fifth year, and beyond. 

Eighteen teams have conquered their opponents in the 25 different regionals held since 2019 with Hillcrest High School; Durban Girls’ College and Dundee High School earning themselves double victories and Shayamoya Area Secondary School and Kingsway High School earning triple titles. Having wrapped up the 2024 season, Tournament Director, Marguerite Wagner is hard at work creating a memorable fifth year.

Luthuli concludes, ‘We worked out that over the 35 years, SPAR KZN has directly interacted and encouraged being healthier with just under 600,000 people through these three events – everyone from athletes to referees, coaches and managers and spectators. A truly phenomenal figure!’

For more info on all the events, please visit www.spar.co.za or find out more on the individual social media channels. 

ENDS

Luthayi High wins SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge Highway Regional

A sparkling performance by Luthayi High School saw them claim victory in the penultimate netball challenge at the Highway Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge that took place at Hillcrest High School on Saturday 17 September.

In the regional final, Luthayi took on Durban Girls’ High School, where they dominated from the get-go. It took 11 seconds for Luthayi to register their first goal, and with a goal a minute, they concluded the game at 16 – 6.

Luthayi gave no room to Girls’ High in the first half, not letting them settle at all. An alert Luthayi defence and midfield were on the ball, intercepting countless times and sending play up to Miss Consistent, the power house Goal Shooter and captain AphiweThusini , who was camped out directly under the goals and who netted majority of her teams points throughout the day.

After 8 minutes of play, the scoreline was 8 – 3 at half time. Durban Girls’ High School worked valiantly in the second half, battling to get into their stride and try and find some rhythm as they forced their way into the Luthayi circle but were just unable to capitalise on these opportunities. As they tried to claw their way back into the mix, Girls’ High had to navigate around a livewire Luthayi centre, Sisanda Ngubo who drifted all over the court, surprising Girls’ High with some magical pounces as she halted their advances several times.

Luthayi concluded their day with a marvelous 16 – 6 win. After the game, Captain for Luthayi High, Aphiwe Thusini said, “It was a really great tournament, the other teams gave us a lot of pressure throughout the day. We are delighted that we managed to win the nail-biter against Curro. They were a hard team to beat.”

Former Luthayi High School graduate, and captain for the SPAR Proteas Netball team, Bongiwe Msomie, was announced as the Telkom Woman of the Year at the recent Momentum G-Sports Awards ceremony. Inspired by her hero Msomie, a young Thusini shared, “We are so proud of her and her ongoing achievements. We are raising this trophy up today in her honour.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the eventual winners, in their semi-final, Luthayi had to grind their way to victory against Curro Hillcrest in an action-packed game that flowed rapidly from side to side. The score was level on 13 each at full time, so the game went to one minute decider in extra time. Luthayi earned two 1 pointers, while Curro Hillcrest Goal Attack, Taylor Adlam floated in a fantastic 2 point equaliser. After 60 seconds of play, the game was still all tied up at 15 all. Another minute of play gave Luthayi the edge and saw them score the all-important 1 point allowing them the golden ticket to the regional final.

In the bronze medal game, Curro Hillcrest who had left everything on the court in their semi, met Gelofte High School who were firing on all cylinders. Gelofte opened up the scoring and for majority of the game, had the advantage but a late surge by the local team saw Curro come back to a 15 – 14 victory, taking a well-deserved third place.

Rounding off the 2022 challenge is the midlands’ schools meeting at Voortrekker Hoërskool for the Pietermaritzburg Regional on Saturday 15 October.

All games will be livestreamed on the SuperSport Schools mobile app or website. For more info like the challenges Facebook page or follow on Instagram.

Medal Games

1 Luthayi High School; 2 Durban Girls’ High School; 3 Curro Hillcrest; 4 Gelofte High School

Pool A Results

1 Durban Girls High School 12 points; 2 Curro Hillcrest 9 points; 3 Westville Girls High School 6 points; 4 Indlovukazi Invitational; 5 Ridge Park College 3 points

Pool B Results

1 Luthayi High School 12 points; 2 Gelofte High School 9 points; 3 St Henry’s Marist College 6 points; 4 Hillcrest High School 3 points

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball North Coast Regional Empangeni High School: Saturday 31 August

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball

North Coast Regional

Empangeni High School: Saturday 31 August

After a vibrant day of netball, the Nseleni’s compact team from Tholokuhle High School took the top honours in the first North Coast Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball hosted by Empangeni High School.

The excitement rippled around the court during the finals as Tholokuhle took on hosts, Empangeni High School in an action packed, fast flowing game that ended on 15 for the visitors and 11 for the home school, Empangeni.

In total 38 attempts were shot at goal, with 26 of them successfully finding the middle of the net. On-song Goal Shooter, Magubane Ntokojo netted all but four of her team’s 15 points while her hard working opponent on the opposite side of the court, Zethembiso Buthelezi was the only name to feature on the Empangeni’s scorecard.

Empangeni started the game, firing the ball out of the middle and straight away took the play up into Tholokuhle’s circle. After two ‘freshies’ floated beyond the net, the local team settled their nerves when Buthelezi opened up their team’s account with just over 90 seconds on the clock. Buthelezi put the second point on the board soon after, while Tholokuhle had two near misses on the other end.

Midway through the game, there was nothing separating the two teams with the scoreline level on 5 a piece. Nonjabulo Nhlengethwa fired in her first goal of the second half for Tholokuhle. The second half was a phenomenal adventure as play swiftly bounced between the two nets, with only 3 attempts going awry, as the shooters fired off goal after goal. 16 goals were scored in the 8 minute second half, with a whole lot of action in between. As the sands of time drained away, Ntokojo floated her final shot of the day, as the action paused with all eyes watching the ball neatly enter the goals as the whistle blew as the players erupted into joyous celebrations.

Leading up to the two semi-finals, Empangeni High School were victorious over Richards Bay High School with a 9-4 victory, while Tholokuhle dominated their game against Khombindlela High School with a 14-4 win.

Pool A was abuzz with goals, with 164 goals being netted. Empangeni finished on top of the log with 61 goals scored, Khombindlela High finished second with 51 goals, St Catherine’s were third with 28 goals, Sunnydale Secondary School fourth with 19 goals and Izibuko Secondary School with only 5 goals. Pool B had Tholokuhle in first with a total of 43 goals scored, Richards Bay High School second with 38 goals scored, Felixton College managed an impressive 30 for their third place in the pool, followed by Aquadene Secondary School in fourth and Richem Secondary School with only 8 goals.

The day started off with a refreshing light drizzle after the wonderful rains on Friday. The weather warmed up as did the action on the courts. Heading into the finals, the players had to contend with the wind that picked up and whipped across the court.

This is the third tournament in the inaugural SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball, with the final game tipping off in Pietermaritzburg at Voortrekker High School on Saturday 5 October.

For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram.

Results

1 Tholokuhle High School, 2 Empangeni High School, 3 Khombindlela High School, 4 Richards Bay High School, 5= St Catherine’s, 5= Felixton College, 7= Sunnydale Secondary School, 7= Aquadene Secondary School, 9= Izibuko Secondary School, 9= Richem Secondary School.

ENDS

Creston College wins Southern Regional of SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball

Southcity Christian College: Saturday 24 August

Creston College claimed the first Southern Regional title in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball that took place at Southcity Christian College on Saturday 24 August.

Creston stormed into the final where they met Suid Natal for the second time, having both played in the opening game of the tournament, the score went 6 to 4 in favour of the local team. The two teams then closed the tournament after two feisty semi-finals, where they took each other on in two 8 minute action packed halves.

Goal Shooter for the winning team, Joanelle Herman had fantastic stats in the crowning game with a higher success rate than her counter part on the opposite side, netting 6 of her team’s 7 goals. Majority of Suid Natal’s attempts agonisingly skirted along or bounced off the rim with only 3 finding the centre.

At half time, Creston completely dominated the scoreline with the scoreboard showing 5 – 1 to Creston. For the first 4 minutes and 19 seconds of the second half, the hard working scorer on the sidelines didn’t have any work to do as the game flowed between the two goals with no one able to float the ball into the net.

Creston broke the goal drought with two quick fire goals, taking the scoreline up to 7 - 1. As the clock wound down, Suidies finally managed to penetrate the strong defence and net two goals with the final whistle blowing at 7 - 3 to Creston.

Leading up to the finals, explosive and impressive Ixopo met their match in the first semi final where they took on Creston. In their first run on the court, Ixopo managed a fantastic win against Creston earlier in the day, with the score favouring the travelling team 6 – 5. In the semi, the towering frame of Raine van Tichelen in the Goal Keeper’s spot would have none of the sneaky low passes and bulls-eye perfect goal attempts as she swiftly moved in the circle blocking most of Ixopo’s attempts. Creston’s Herman again did her job, netting 4 of the 6 goals scored for her team. The pocket rockets from Ixopo were only able to sneak 1 shot in with the goal line ending on 6 – 1 in favour of Creston.

In the second semi-final, Suid Natal came up against host school, Southcity. From the first whistle the game ping-ponged between the two posts, with both teams moving the ball rapidly up to their attacking players, and then quickly finding themselves in defense mode. At half time there was nothing in it with Suid Natal slightly ahead on 8 – 6.

After their half time pep talk, the visiting team put their head down and determinedly defended like queens, not allowing the hosts to have any constructive time in the circle. Suid Natal earned themselves another 3 points, while Southcity were unable to shoot any points. The final score was 11 – 6 for Suid Natal, giving them a ticket through to the final.

Umpire for the day was awarded to Bronwin Day-Garden from Southcity.

This is the second of four regionals in the inaugural SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5s challenge. Creston College join Hillcrest High School as the first school to have their name engraved on the brand new glistening regional trophy.

This coming weekend, (Saturday 31 August) the tournament heads up to the north coast where teams from around the Empangeni and Richard’s Bay area take part in the Northern Regional at Empangeni High School.

For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram.

Results

1 Creston College, 2 Suid Natal High School, 3 Southcity Christian College, 4 Ixopo High School, 5 Marburg High School

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5s Netball Kuswag High School: Saturday 3 August

SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5s Netball 

Kuswag High School: Saturday 3 August

The very first name to be engraved on the trophy at the inaugural SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5s Netball Tournament on Saturday 3 August at Kuswag High School is Hillcrest High School.

The first SPAR Fast 5s tournament, hosted by Amanzimtoti High School had ten out of the eleven registered teams take to the two courts, with a total of 55 games of high energy action taking place. The tournament played in a round robin format had two 6 minute halves and a generous 2 minute breather midway.

The on-song team on the day, the victorious Hillcrest High racked up ten out of their ten wins, netting 99 baskets and only allowing 28 points go in against them, including 10 points in the big game against Gelofte High School. Hillcrest were in stealth mode against their fellow Highway team. 

In a game where the action bounced from end to end in lightning quick pace, Gelofte were the first team to score, with Hillcrest levelling shortly thereafter. The dynamic northern team were unphased by the towering frame of Goal Shooter, Nadine Hefer from Gelofte who had a near perfect scoring ration throughout the day. Camping under the net, Hefer calmly floated shot after shot in against Hillcrest, but the wily team hustled the ball up, never letting Gelofte get ahead of them. At the blast of the final whistle after a feisty 14 minutes of play, Hillcrest were up 13 to Gelofte’s 10, earning an impressive victory.

Gelofte met yet another challenge in the team from Durban Girls’ High School. The two schools both finished the day with 8 points, 8 wins and 2 losses. In the game against each other, only 1 point separated the two with the scoreline favouring Gelofte 10-9. DGHS only other loss was to the winning team, Hillcrest while Gelofte’s kryptonite was Durban North College, with College taking that game 12-7. 

Mid-fleet, a tightly bunched pack battled it out for sixth place between Ridge Park College, KwaMakhutha High School, Northlands Girls’ High School and host team Toti. Four round robin points sepearted the four schools as the day concluded. Northlands Girls’ High finished their day in sixth, scooping the place from Toti with a better goal scoring difference. Both teams finished on 12 points, but Northlands netted 43 points to Toti’s 30. They were followed by Ridge Park College on 10 points and the hard working team from KwaMakhutha who earned 9 points. 

A tradition in the SPAR Schoolgirls’ tournaments, the hard working whistle blowers are acknowledged for efforts making the tough decisions throughout the day. Being recognised for her time on the court, Dumo Mthiyane from host school, Toti was awarded the Umpire of the Day at the first tournament.

The next tournament travels to Southcity Christian School in Margate for the southern schools’ regions, before heading to Empangeni High School and Voortrekker High School in Pietermaritzburg.

For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram.

Round Robin Results

1 Hillcrest High School 30pts, 2 Gelofte High School 24pts, 3 Durban Girls’ High School 24pts, 4 Durban North College 21pts, 5 Kingsway High School 19pts, 6 Northlands Girls’ High School 12pts, 7 Amanzimtoti High School 12pts, 8 Ridge Park College, 3pts 10 KwaMakhutha High School 9pts, 10 Rossburgh High School 3pts

ENDS