RECORD NUMBERS EXPECTED TO TAKE PART IN SPAR NETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Potchefstroom, North West Province, South Africa: With Covid-19 restrictions lifted, Netball South Africa (NSA) is looking forward to hosting the biggest SPAR national championships in history, with 1800 players converging on the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds at the North West University (NWU) campus in Potchefstroom on Sunday.
The SPAR championships have also returned to their traditional dates to coincide with National Women’s Day on August 9. The first matches will be played on Monday August 8 and the finals will be played on Saturday August 13. In 2020 and 2021, the championships were played in December, because of Level 3 Covid restrictions in August of both years.
The Under-21 championships will be played at the same time as the senior championships, and teams will be divided into three divisions in both tournaments. The championships will be played on a district basis, as this provides opportunities for more players to take part than a provincial tournament.
NWU is renowned for its outstanding sports facilities and it has attracted international sports stars to the High Performance Institute (HPI) on the banks of the Mooi River. Potchefstroom also claims to be the home of World Cup winners. In 2003 Australia used Potchefstroom as their training base before winning the Cricket World Cup. In 2010, Spain followed their example, basing themselves in Potchefstroom before winning their inaugural FIFA World Cup title.
There are nine all-weather courts at the Fanie du Toit sports centre, as well as international standard hockey fields, rugby fields, soccer fields and a well-equipped indoor sports centre.
After two years in which spectators were banned because of the Covid-19 restrictions, NSA can once again welcome enthusiastic onlookers to cheer the various teams on.
The battle for the senior title is expected to be fierce. In 2021, Tshwane, the defending champions had to withdraw from the championships because they were affected by Covid and Mangaung withdrew because too many of their players were involved in end of year exams. Cape Winelands beat Nelson Mandela Bay to win the title.
This year, Tshwane and Mangaung will be back and can be expected to put up a good fight.
Selected matches will be broadcast on SuperSport OTT3/Channel 247 on the DSTV App (8-11 August 2022) and Variety 4/Channel 209 (12 August 2022). Finals LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3 Channel 208 (13 August 2022). Selected matches will be streaming on the SuperSport Schools App
