Altogether 53 teams across ten divisions are participating in the 2022 Males National Netball Championship.
This tournament, hosted in Upington, started on Sunday (06/02) and concludes on Saturday (12/02).
According to Conrad Fortune, spokesperson for the Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, the games are played at the Upington High School and Primary School. The tournament is held in collaboration with Netball South Africa (NSA).
A team consists of 18 members: 12 players and six management staff.
“Most teams, including the defending champions, could not participate last year due to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Fortune says.
Cecilia Molokwane, president of the NSA, says the event is an integral part of their vision to make netball more fashionable.
“It is important for us as a federation to support males on the same level as females. In 2019 we committed that males should get as much game time as possible. Thanks to the Male National Championship hosted in March and the Males International Championship later the same year, this became a reality.”
Due to the heatwave in Upington, games start early in the morning with a midday break before action resumes late in the afternoon.
According to Desery Fienies, MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, the tournament is a catalyst of opportunities for the players.
She describes it as a platform where social cohesion and nation building can be promoted and enhanced.
“The tournament provides players with an opportunity to showcase their talent. It is indeed a great honour and privilege for the Northern Cape to host a sports bonanza of such magnitude. What is even more pleasing to us is that the province is represented by five district teams in the tournament,” she says.
“There is a global desire to see netball becoming an Olympic sport by 2032. For this to become a reality, more people – whether male or female – must participate. More people need to have access to the sport and more infrastructure should be built.”
As the tournament brings together netball players from all nine provinces, social cohesion is promoted.
“This championship affords you the opportunity to interact with one another at a social level where there are no constraints related to work or protocol. These players have the kind of discipline and determination one needs to play a competitive sport,” Fienies says.
“But you also have men who are here pursuing their dreams. As it is still highly regarded as a female-dominated sport, the tournament will build the brand of men’s netball.”
