Although land has recently been earmarked for the construction of a netball arena in Buffalo City Metro, players are having to move from one venue to the next to play.
Netball – the most popular sport among girls and young women in the province – is played and accommodated at most schools – but there are no venues for post-school players.
Eastern Cape Aloes captain Nosiphiwo Goda, who represents the province in the premier Brutal Fruit Netball League, said the only suitable venue in the Buffalo City Metro was at Selborne Park tennis courts. “We have had a tournament hosted there once or twice, but that was on a once-a-year basis.
“Selborne Park has 17 tennis courts which are utilised by various teams and clubs, but there is no way that all those teams play at the same time,” Goda added.
The provincial goalkeeper said more sports clubs needed to accommodate netball players who were spread across suburbs, townships and rural areas.
Zukelwa Cwabe from Mdantsane, who also plays in the Brutal Fruit Netball League, the Eastern Cape Aloes and her club team – the Spiders – said the netball court at the Sisa Dukashe stadium was not well-maintained.
“As a club, we have people living in Mdantsane and Baysville, so we try to accommodate both.
“In a week we all practice at Sisa Dukashe on one day and at Grens Hoërskool on another day, but there is only one court at Sisa and it is not in a good condition. We make use of it. There is also so much space there. A second court could easily be erected.”
Cwabe said there was a massive gap between sponsored premier league and unsponsored junior league players. Goda however said sponsors were “not consistent”.
“We have Netball South Africa, Brutal Fruit, Dsrac (department of sport, recreation, arts and culture) and Canterbury supporting us with gear, transport and accommodation when we are out playing, but there is nothing for those players at development level.”
She commended Khaya Majeke, co-owner of Fitness Joint for allowing some players to make use of his Mdantsane gym.
Eastern Cape Netball president, Mpumi Javu, said there had been successful engagements with the municipality to allocate land for the development of a netball arena. “After appealing to the municipality to grant us land to erect our own netball courts in 2014, we were allocated land behind Philip Kahts stadium and the badminton arena in Bunkers Hill.
“We are currently still looking of sponsors to help us build the state-of-the-art netball arena that can consist of indoor and outdoor courts where we will be able to host international games. That is all in our five-year plan.
“Buffalo City Metro is the first municipality to come on board and allocate land for netball courts.”
Metro spokesman Thandy Matebese said: “The use of Selborne Park tennis courts may not be a sustainable option due to logistical and equipment related issues.” — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
Netball hit hard by venue crisis
Netball – the most popular sport among girls and young women in the province – is played and accommodated at most schools – but there are no venues for post-school players.
Eastern Cape Aloes captain Nosiphiwo Goda, who represents the province in the premier Brutal Fruit Netball League, said the only suitable venue in the Buffalo City Metro was at Selborne Park tennis courts. “We have had a tournament hosted there once or twice, but that was on a once-a-year basis.
“Selborne Park has 17 tennis courts which are utilised by various teams and clubs, but there is no way that all those teams play at the same time,” Goda added.
The provincial goalkeeper said more sports clubs needed to accommodate netball players who were spread across suburbs, townships and rural areas.
Zukelwa Cwabe from Mdantsane, who also plays in the Brutal Fruit Netball League, the Eastern Cape Aloes and her club team – the Spiders – said the netball court at the Sisa Dukashe stadium was not well-maintained.
“As a club, we have people living in Mdantsane and Baysville, so we try to accommodate both.
“In a week we all practice at Sisa Dukashe on one day and at Grens Hoërskool on another day, but there is only one court at Sisa and it is not in a good condition. We make use of it. There is also so much space there. A second court could easily be erected.”
Cwabe said there was a massive gap between sponsored premier league and unsponsored junior league players. Goda however said sponsors were “not consistent”.
“We have Netball South Africa, Brutal Fruit, Dsrac (department of sport, recreation, arts and culture) and Canterbury supporting us with gear, transport and accommodation when we are out playing, but there is nothing for those players at development level.”
She commended Khaya Majeke, co-owner of Fitness Joint for allowing some players to make use of his Mdantsane gym.
Eastern Cape Netball president, Mpumi Javu, said there had been successful engagements with the municipality to allocate land for the development of a netball arena. “After appealing to the municipality to grant us land to erect our own netball courts in 2014, we were allocated land behind Philip Kahts stadium and the badminton arena in Bunkers Hill.
“We are currently still looking of sponsors to help us build the state-of-the-art netball arena that can consist of indoor and outdoor courts where we will be able to host international games. That is all in our five-year plan.
“Buffalo City Metro is the first municipality to come on board and allocate land for netball courts.”
Metro spokesman Thandy Matebese said: “The use of Selborne Park tennis courts may not be a sustainable option due to logistical and equipment related issues.” — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
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