Kingsway High School take top honours in SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge

Southcity Christian School: Saturday 20 August

Kingsway High School took top honours in the KZN South Coast Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge at Southcity Christian School on Saturday 20 August.

They met local team, Port Shepstone High School in an exciting conclusion to the regional that had eight teams participate. In their earlier meeting, Kingsway won 7-3 in both teams' second game of the day. At the end of the round robin, Sheppie High was level on points with KwaMakhutha High School but qualified for the podium game having netted 48 goals in their seven games compared to KwaMakhuta’s 41.

In the final, Sheppie came out firing with their first attempt just 18 seconds into the game, their opening shot sadly missing the net. Kingsway snaffled the ball, quickly pushing play down to the other end and 30 seconds later landed their first goal with Elrika Laubscher opening her impressive account. 40 seconds later, Sheppie leveled the scoreline with their only goal in the first half, by Asemahle Ndabezitha.

Heading to half time, a tiring Sheppie team, who had just played the last round-robin game of the day, revealed a few cracks in their armour with a couple of simple mistakes. Pouncing on these opportunities, Kingsway quietly built on their lead giving them a comfortable 6 - 1 score at half time. Kingsway’s Laubscher added another three goals to her tally, and team-mate Dedré Gravett

netted two.

Fifteen seconds into the second half, Laubscher moved the score up to 7 – 1 with her fifth goal of the final. The tech table had a quiet patch, with both teams not able to find the middle of the ring for three minutes, with Laubscher breaking the dry spell by earning her sixth goal, and her team's 8th with 2.42 minutes left on the clock. Port Shepstone also shook off their goal drought and Ndabezitha popped in two more magnificent goals for her team, taking the score to 8-3. 

On the final whistle, Laubscher launched the game's last attempt, sending the ball through the hoop and taking the end result to 9-3.

Captain for Kingsway, Aneliswa Maphumulo enthused after the game, “The tournament was really fun. We came in thinking we weren’t going to make it this far, so we were excited. Heading into the final, we thought we would be facing a different team, so had to change our game plan a bit. It was quite challenging facing the local team as the crowd was vocal in their support, but my team coped well with this and I am so happy that we won.”

Coach for the winning team, Ruan Engelbrecht shared, “The tournament was excellent. We came in today playing fast 5s for the first time this year, so we were going into it with open hearts and open minds, not expecting the result that we did today. I said to the girls each half was a new start, we take it as it comes. And the results showed how committed and focused the girls were.”

The fourth tournament heads to Ferrum Hoërskool for the KZN Northern Regional on Saturday 27 August. All games will be live-streamed on SuperSport Schools mobile app or their website.

Gold Silver Results

1 Kingsway High School, 2 Port Shepstone High School

Round Robin Results

1 Kingsway High School 21 points, 2 Port Shepstone High School 15 points, 3 KwaMakhutha High School 15 points, 4 Hoërskool Suid Natal 12 points, 5 Kuswag Hoërskool 12 points, 6 Southcity Christian School 6 points, 7 Amanzimtoti High School 3 points, 8 Creston College 0 points.

ENDS

Durban Girls’ College claim Durban North Regional title in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge

SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5s Netball Challenge

Durban North College: Saturday 13 August

Durban Girls’ College claim the inaugural Durban North Regional title in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge that took place at Durban North College on Saturday 13 August. 

In a fast-flowing game, College took on Danville Park Girls’ High School in the regional final. College opened their account with a well-crafted, goal from right under the hoop by XYZ, after a nifty pass by xyz. Danville responded on the other side with a calm shot being netted by XYZ. The game yo-yo’d for a patch as one team progressed by scoring, only for the opposition to level the scoreline shortly after. 

Nearing the end of the first half, College pulled slightly away with two back-to-back goals, giving them an advantage of 6 goals to Danville’s 4 going into half time. 

Danville were first to score in the second half, edging the score up to 6-5 in favour of College, but then College dominated the next ninety seconds of play and took their tally up to 8-5. Danville pushed hard, sending up short, sharp bursts of play into the College circle but were unable to reel in the 3 point deficit. College’s signature long passes were always a decisive response to Danville’s fast attacks, and again the score stepped up with both teams firing in a goal, and then another goal being recorded on the other side. 

With time almost up, College took the game further away from Danville with the last passage of play seeing College basketing three more quick fire goals, taking the score to 14-8 at the full-time whistle. 

In the semi-finals, Durban Girls’ College met host school, Durban North College and dominated the game with an 18-2 victory. Durban Girls’ College’s players towered over their opponents, not giving Durban North College a lot of space under the net. Danville took on Crawford La Lucia in their semi-final and in a very even matched game, took the win 10-8, with both teams only scoring three goals each in the second half. 

Captain for Durban Girls’ College, Tanna de Freitas stated, “It was a great tournament with some amazing competition. I am very proud of everyone here today, especially my team.” 

Durban Girls’ College were invited to play in the week leading up to the tournament as one of the confirmed local teams, sadly had to withdraw. 

De Freitas continued, “We were a late entry for this tournament so winning today was a bit of a surprise but the whole experience was very enjoyable.”

Coach for Durban Girls’ College, Annie Nurcombe said, “The tournament was very professionally run. It was really refreshing to play a fast 5s tournament, we haven’t played for a long time and the competition was brilliant and the umpires were amazing and I thank you all for your contribution and this opportunity.”

Coach for Danville Park Girls’ High School, former Protea’s netball player, Precious Mthembu said, “I think the girls improved as the games went on. It was the first time for them playing fast 5s. Thank you to SPAR and the team that put this event together, it was an opportunity for the girls to play again as a team. This tournament was a good measure to see how Danville have been doing. We played College earlier in the season and the difference was huge, and now to get a 14-8 loss against them shows that our team has improved a lot. Some wonderful netball was played today by all the teams, especially after the long CoViD break. Well done to everyone here today.”

The next tournament takes place at Southcity Christian School on Saturday 20 August where teams will participate in the KZN South Coast Regional. All games will be live-streamed by SuperSport Schools on their mobile app or on their website. 

END

SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5’s Netball Midlands Tournament Voortrekker High School: Saturday 5 October

SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5’s Netball

Midlands Tournament

Voortrekker High School: Saturday 5 October

Wrapping up the inaugural SPAR KZN Schoolgirls' Fast 5’s Netball tournament, St Anne’s College claimed the Midlands title at Voortrekker High School on Saturday 5 October.

In a low scoring, high action final, St Anne’s met The Wykeham Collegiate. Wykeham got the game underway, but St Anne’s intercepted their first charge upfield. Basketing the first goal, after two attempts on both ends, Jamie Rowe from Wykeham Collegiate nailed her shot after a floated pass from the wily centre, 3 minutes and 7 seconds had ticked away of the first half.

The Wykeham Collegiate dominated the first half with the scoreline, just after 6 minutes, being in their favour 4 - 1. St Anne’s clawed their way back with Jodi Lee and Shannon Armstrong both getting their names on the scoreboard as half time approached. The score sat at 4 – 3 as the girls took a breather midway through the game.

After their half time chat, St Anne’s levelled the score shortly after the second half started. Armstrong was on song in the second half finding the middle of the hoop for her team, edging the score up to 4 a piece, and then after two unsuccessful attempts on both ends, she earned her team the lead for the first time in the game.

Julie Trodd from TWC then landed the equaliser on the opposite end, following up on a shot that agonisingly spun around the hoop and popped out. Three more attempts on either end didn’t budge the scoreline, including a 2 point that glanced the lip of the hoop by St Anne’s.

Rowe reclaimed the lead for her team with another 1 point but the lead was short lived as Armstrong was allowed some space and with her eye in, levelled the score for St Anne’s again. With time running out, Armstrong calmly fired in another 1 point, with the score being 7 in favour to Wykeham’s 6. In the dying second, The Wykeham Collegiate quickly responded as they ran the ball up in their last gasp attempt with the ball flying tantalising goal-wards but the pressure shot fell short as St Anne’s celebrated.

A visibly ecstatic Coach for St Anne’s, Londeka Zuma stated, “Look I am shaking, what a game. So exciting! Wykeham Collegiate was an amazing team to play in the final, but our defence won us the game!”

Their day started on a winning streak where they took on Epworth in their first pool game, bagging their first win 10 – 2. At the conclusion of the pool games, St Anne’s had netted 62 goals, and topped the leaderboard with 15 points, Epworth finishing in second spot and earning themselves a place in the semi - finals.

Wykeham Collegiate got their ball rolling with a win in their first pool game where they trounced St John’s D.S.G 17 - 1. At the conclusion of the pool games, TWC had wins throughout, with 15 points alongside their name and an incredible 87 goals scored. Host team, Voortrekker A were second on the log and met St Anne’s in the first semi – final.

St Anne’s dominated their first semi-final with the score at half time sitting on 6 – 4. In the second half they doubled their score, with a drought on the end of the host school, barring a sublime 3 pointer floating in by Tamika Baker taking the score up to 12 - 7. Baker was acknowledged during the prize giving for knocking in three golden 3 pointers during the day.

Umpire for the Day was Ntuthuko Zondi representing TWC.

The foundation has been set for the successful format in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls' Fast 5’s Netball with a total of 46 schools participating in the four regional tournaments. The first four winners that have their names engraved on the trophy are in the first SPAR KZN Schoolgirls' Fast 5’s Netball are Hillcrest High School – Durban Regional; Creston College – Southern KZN Regional; Tholokuhle High School - North Coastal Regional and St Anne’s College – Midlands Regional.

Dates and venues for the second year of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls' Fast 5’s Netball will be announced early in 2020. For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram.

Results: 

1 St Anne’s College, 2 The Wykeham Collegiate, 3= Epworth School, 3= Voortrekker High School A, 5= St Nicholas School, 5= Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High, 7= Voortrekker High School B, 7= St John’s D.S.G., 9 = Maritzburg Christian School, 9= Russel High School, 9= Wartburg Kirchdorf School

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

New Netball Challenge for Schoolgirls - thanks to SPAR

SPAR Schoolgirls’ Fast 5’s Netball Challenge

KwaZulu-Natal

Building on the highly successful hockey tournaments, SPAR KZN are proud to announce, in association with SchoolgirlSport (SGS), the exciting and brand new SPAR Schoolgirls’ Fast 5’s Netball Tournament that tips off this August.

The hockey tournament that got rolling in KZN nine years ago is now a popular highlight on the national schools sporting calendar. Complementing it, this netball challenge will begin with four tournaments this year in four regions, with the intention of twelve teams taking to the courts in each area.

Netting the first tournament, Amanzimtoti will be hosting at the Kuswag High School courts, which will have teams from around Durban on Saturday 3rd August, followed by Southcity Christian School in Margate hosting teams in the Southern KZN areas on Saturday 24th August. Empangeni High School will host Northern Coastal area on Saturday 31 August, and Voortrekker will host the final tournament with the Pietermaritzburg schools on Saturday 5th October.

The running of the programme will differ slightly from region to region, depending on the number of schools and if the hosts will run games in a round robin or pool game format. In the first tournament, Toti’s games will last an action packed 15 minutes each with the 11 teams playing a round robin, the match will have two 6 minute halves with a 2 minute break and 1 minute change over time allocation.

The coaches can give instructions from the sideline during play, and they have an unlimited allowance for substitutions. Ten players can represent each team, with coaches ensuring five players are constantly on the court – Goal Shooter (GS), Goal Attack (GA), Centre (C), Goal Defence (GD) and Goal Keeper (GK).

Schools participating in the inaugural tournament are Hillcrest High School, Kuswag High School, Amanzimtoti High School, Northlands Girls’ High School, Rossburgh High School, Durban North College, Durban Girls’ High School, Kingsway High School, KwaMakhutha High School, Gelofte High School and Ridgepark College.

This new tournament rides the crest of the wave of excitement around netball in SA as after the Proteas finished fourth in the 15th Netball World Cup after a sensational and thrilling world cup campaign. During the World Cup, the Mayor of Liverpool handed over the Netball Federation Flag to the upcoming host for the 2023 Netball World Cup, Cape Town.

Max Oliva, MD of SPAR KZN stated, “Signaling the start of an exciting journey for young netball players around South Africa, tournaments such as our SPAR Schoolgirls’ Fast 5’s Netball Tournament opens up a whole world of potential for so many talented, unearthed players from outlying areas that dream of wearing the green and gold.”

Director of SchoolGirlSport, Les Galloway enthused, “We are so looking forward to getting this tournament up-and-running, it has the opportunity to grow and make a real impact on our future netball stars. Who knows, young women participating in the inaugural Fast 5’s could be representing our country at the 2023 World Cup.”

For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page.

#SPARKZN #CenterPass #ThisIsNetball #MakeYourMove

ENDS