The netball team of the Lekhulong Secondary School in Bloemfontein is geared for the DStv Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC). The school will be debuting in this year’s tournament.
Set to commence in April, the competition will culminate in the national finals taking place from 21 to 23 July.
The DSNC was established through a partnership between Multichoice and South African Schools Netball, and is aimed at unearthing future Proteas. The competition will be broadcast live on SuperSport and is divided into two streams for U17 players: Botho for urban schools and Ubuntu for rural schools.
Last year, the Welkom-based Teto Secondary and the Bloemfontein-based Hoër Meisieskool Oranje made the Free State proud by winning a silver and gold medal, respectively. Teto lost to the Eastern Cape’s KwaZakhele High School in the Ubuntu stream final, while Oranje was crowned the champion in the Botho stream.
The sponsors deemed the tournament to be a great success, registering 1 884 high schools and making it possible for over 26 000 girls to participate in the nine provinces.
Last year’s event also attracted talent scouts from universities, national teams, and the U21 Baby Proteas – the feeder team for the senior Proteas, which will compete for the 2023 Netball World Cup trophy.
