Get ready for three bumper weekends of stellar netball when the 2022 Varsity Netball competition gets underway on 17 September when NWU-Potchefstroom and UJ take to the court at UP-Tuks in Pretoria for the first match.
The other teams competing are defending champions UFS-Kovsies, UWC, TUT, Madibaz, UP-Tuks and Maties.
Things are back to normal this year after the Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 competition and the 2021 edition was crammed into a 10-day tournament, played in a bio-bubble in Stellenbosch.
The eight teams will play each other over seven rounds on three consecutive weekends. The first bumper weekend packs three days of action (17-19 September) at UP-Tuks in Pretoria. The second weekend (25-26 September) sees the squads traveling to NWU in Potchefstroom with UFS playing host for the last two rounds (2-3 October). The semi-finals take place on 10 October and the final a week later, on 17 October, with the venues to be determined.
All 31 matches of the 2022 Varsity Netball competition will be broadcast live on SuperSport, including the final on Monday, 17 October, at 19:00.
Kovsies beat Maties‘ home turf in last year’s final (55-39) and are on the hunt for the fifth Varsity Netball crown since the inception of the competition in 2013.
Kovsies coach Burta de Kock says her team is ready to rock and roll in the defense of their title.
“Our preparations have been going really well and I’m extremely proud of all the hard work the players have been putting in. We know it’s not going to be an easy task, and in the end, it is going to come down to who executes the basics the best.”
Off the court, De Kock has surrounded herself with a vastly experienced support team. Protea squad member Khanyisa Chawane, last year’s player of the final, is no longer eligible for Varsity Netball (she’s older than 25) but has been roped in as attacking coach. Kovsies have also had sessions with two other Protea players, Karla Pretorius and Maryke Holtzhausen.
De Kock says her team is blessed to be surrounded with such experience.
“We are truly blessed here in the Free State to have access to former and current Protea players who are able to apply their knowledge and skills. It is very important to develop players holistically and this is achieved by working hard right from the beginning. Competitions like Varsity Netball are where we start by giving players the wings to progress to district, then provincial and ultimately the national set-up.”
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