Netball in the Western Cape gets shot in the arm

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The District Netball Live (DNL) tournament, proudly sponsored by ClemenGold, will be staged in Cape Town later this month.

The event which spans age groups from Under 8 to Under 19, aims to unearth high performance players within the Western Cape and aid inm their development.

Shot in the arm

The ClemenGold District Netball League will take place from 16 – 18 February 2024.

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Netball is a wildly popular participation sport at school level but numbers drop off significantly into adulthood.

Identifying talent within the Western Cape competitions is the name of the game, extending the reach of the sport through community involvement.

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Hundreds of players and administrators from both established and smaller clubs will be encouraged to participate and no doubt are hungry for competition, so says Suzette Visser, coaching convener from the Western Cape Netball Federation.

“This tournament has gone from strength to strength, with players, coaches, administrators, support staff and so many more growing exponentially.

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“Throughout the competition we witness new combinations by coaches; technical staff understanding procedures and the unearthing of tremendous talent – and of that we take great pride.”

Netball coaching symposium

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DNL founder, Dr Freda Kemp, who recently completed her PhD on Creating Activity Profiles for elite netball players in competition and during training; says that the addition of a netball coaching symposium will further boost the tournament offering.

“Having partnered with the department of Sport Science of Stellenbosch University, we will delve into science and technology to further educate the coaches and players on how to train in order to be more effective during game time. Outsmarting your opponents begins long before you take to the court, and studying their play via video footage is one such method that we will address. We have collated a powerful panel of professionals to talk all things netball and know that the players will be grateful for and benefit from these sessions.”

Once again, the tournament will partner with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation South Africa as a Social Impact Partner. Globally, Laureus supports programmes that utilize sport as a tool for social change. The theme this year in partnership together is breast cancer awareness.
A gala fundraiser event will take place on the eve of the tournament. Proceeds raised will aid the Telkom Netball League players to attend the Spar National Championships.

Players will not pay to play the District Netball League thanks to the ClemenGold sponsorship. The round robin format will take place for the A, B and C divisions with a relegation match set for the winners of the B division versus the losers of the A division.