Paarl Gimnasium and Leifo Iziko Combined School will represent SA in Singapore in the International Youth Netball Challenge in November in an all-expense paid trip. This after they won the Kay Motsepe Schools Netball Championship Finals at KONKA Adventurous Resort in Rustenburg on Saturday.
The competition, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, saw 36 schools representing all nine provinces in the u-15 tournament and it started on Friday with a round-robin group. Paarl Gimnasium (Western Cape) beat Pietersburg Hoerskool (Limpopo) 14-6 in the final, while Leifo Iziko Combined School (Free State) won 14-11 against Bokamoso Secondary (Gauteng) in the other final.
The schools were split into two groups, Botho Stream and Ubuntu Stream, Paarl Gimnasium coach Juline van der Merwe said they are excited to have an opportunity to represent the country in Singapore and thanked the sponsors Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam for the opportunity.
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“It means a lot, you know we come from a competitive school and we are very grateful for the opportunity that Paarl Gimnasium gives our girls to compete against the best,” Van der Merwe said after the final. “We came from the Western Cape, we are thankful that we can be in such a prestigious event. It is an event where you get an opportunity to play against the best in the country and to just grow as players and as a coach, so it means a lot to us.”
Leifo Iziko Combined School coach Molebatsi Mofokeng said this is the result of the hard work they put in after they finished second last year.
“We worked hard from the district levels because firstly, we played in the districts and we got position one. That’s where we said we should go to Provincial and play harder because we needed something,” Mofokeng said.
“Last year, we got position two and we said, now we must come for position one. In the province, we also got position one, so we came here prepared. Remember we come from a township, so it means a lot. These are the small kids, the talent is there you can see and it means a lot.”
Meanwhile, Pietersburg Hoerskool and Bokamoso Secondary walked away with R150 000 cheque each for finishing as runners-up in both streams, while Monument High School from Gauteng and Chiawelo High School from Limpopo received R100 000 after they finished third and will all use the money to upgrade netball facilities in their schools.
Sanlam CEO Bongani Madikiza said they are pleased to give opportunities to young children.
“Sanlam believes that sport provides opportunities for the kids, provides equal opportunity to have a livelihood into the future and that’s what we are trying to build, a society that we can all be proud of. We start one step at a time, we start by giving opportunities to young children and if we can continue to do that, that’s what we do. I am happy to be here and excited that we are seeing talent growing into the future, our people need to know that their children have opportunities and we must participate as companies to build those opportunities.”
Chairperson of SA Schools Netball Di Wooley was also excited about the outcome.
“The tournament went incredibly well. The weather was great and the spirits were high. You heard them shouting for one another. So, I think the tournament has gone incredibly well and it is important that we have the whole country here because this is the national championship and it is important that everybody is represented.”
For more information on the Kay Motsepe Schools Championships, netball loving fans, teachers or parents can go to
Website: www.kaymotsepe.com or Facebook: Kay Motsepe Schools Championship / Instagram: @kaymotsepeschoolschampionship
Hashtag: #SanlamSport #KMSC #KayMotsepeSchoolsChampionship
