Training on a dusty patch in a rural Limpopo village did not deter the Hlabi Secondary School netball team from taking the honours at the SA Sports Awards.
The team from Mogaung village, near Groblersdal, shared the winners’ spotlight with the likes of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and Bok coach Jacques Nienaber at the coveted awards ceremony two weeks ago.
The Hlabi Secondary School under-19 team scooped the Developing School Team of the Year award at the glamorous ceremony held in Sun City on May 5. The quintile-two school’s under-19 team is also two-time champions of the DStv Schools Netball Challenge.
They first won the challenge in 2021 and again last year.
The only time the girls get to play on a proper netball court is when they advance to the district and provincial stages of the netball league.
Teacher Dimakatso Mkwanazi said some of the new members of the team have not set foot on a netball court because the league is still at the circuit-level stage.
“We get used to playing in courts at the district and provincial levels. Some under-14 team members have not yet experienced playing on a court,” Mkwanazi said.
The possibility of injuries is even more real when playing on a dirt court.
“It is by God’s grace that we have not had any injuries while playing in our dusty court,” Mkwanazi said.
The DStv Schools Netball Challenge is a collaboration between MultiChoice, the owners of DStv, and South African Schools Netball.
The partnership provides an opportunity for schools in rural and urban areas to compete in the sport on level playing fields.
The challenge is divided into two streams, Ubuntu and Botho, to ensure that all schools have an equal shot at glory.
Ubuntu, which caters to schools in the lower quintiles, which are predominately black, and the Botho division for the predominately white schools in the higher quintiles or in the private education space.
The Hlabi team, which has demonstrated superb netball prowess, has now been promoted to play in the Botho league with schools that have up to eight courts.
The promotion has not only made Hlabi’s lack of netball facilities a desperate situation, but they are also under pressure to train hard as they have registered three teams. The under-14, under-16 and under-17 teams will be competing in the league for the first time.
Hlabi Secondary School’s principal, Emily Mochaki, is hopeful that their recent win at the SA Sports Awards will give them the attention they need to attract sponsors to assist with a court.
