Netball players put their best foot forward despite new rules at the start of the East London zone league season at Hams Sports Club at the weekend.
The league, which until last year played at Correctional Services facilities in Westbank, has attracted new clubs since they started relocating to Hams.
The president of the East London Netball Zone, Wendy Higson, said the league had grown extensively this year with the addition of six new teams.
“The additional teams have put on interesting performances for their first game in the league, while the long-serving teams seem a bit rusty after the long break. But it’s still early season and they will get into the game.”
Higson attributed the growth of the league to the new central venue where the neglected sport is now playing.
“Nine players from teams are away representing the Eastern Cape Aloes at the prestigious Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League in Pretoria,” she said.
Higson’s son, referee Travis Higson, only the second male to officiate in netball in the region, said he was impressed with the performance of the new teams like the Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) team who had a confidence-boosting victory against the Cascades.
“MBSA, who only joined the league this year, playing in the B league, put up an impressive showing during the match, which they won 27 – 15.
“The Cascades joined the league last year and they held the third position in the B division of the league. But they could quite easily catch up very fast because of their strong defence and their quick ball skills.”
It was a tight game between the Aloes and the University of Fort Hare (UFH) Alice Campus as the Aloes held their nerve to beat the varsity team 22-19 despite a three-minute delay after the game was suddenly interrupted when strong winds blew a gazebo onto the court. Nobody was injured.
UFH Alice centre Oyamo Ntsapho, who was quick to retrieve the ball for her team, said she was content with the first game.
“It’s not about the score; it’s more about our game and I think that our level of fitness has also helped us get around the court effectively. But we will be more in tune as the season unfolds.
Meanwhile the UFH East London Campus team lost dismally to the Aliens, another addition to the league, who made a statement with a 38-16 win in their introductory game.
Buffaloes, formerly known as the Buffalo City Metro showed poor defence, while the Burning Bush Ministries took full advantage ending the game with a victory of 26-15.
Ravens peaked the score of the day at 51 after a entertaining win against the Spiders who crawled off the court with 41 after a nail-biting game.
New United won 35-30 against the Romans, who also premiered in the league B- division.
Umpire Irene Baling commended the women for the brilliant start to the season which saw the first implementation of the newly modified rules by the International Netball Federation.
“The umpire no longer blows the whistle to signal when a goal is scored or when the ball goes out of court and, to save time, injury time is now kept to a minimum of only 30 seconds per injury.
“The match consists of four quarters of 15 minutes each, with a four-minute interval after the first and third quarter and an eight-minute interval at half time.
Baling said a few hand signals have also changed with the new rules. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
Local netball honing new rules
The league, which until last year played at Correctional Services facilities in Westbank, has attracted new clubs since they started relocating to Hams.
The president of the East London Netball Zone, Wendy Higson, said the league had grown extensively this year with the addition of six new teams.
“The additional teams have put on interesting performances for their first game in the league, while the long-serving teams seem a bit rusty after the long break. But it’s still early season and they will get into the game.”
Higson attributed the growth of the league to the new central venue where the neglected sport is now playing.
“Nine players from teams are away representing the Eastern Cape Aloes at the prestigious Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League in Pretoria,” she said.
Higson’s son, referee Travis Higson, only the second male to officiate in netball in the region, said he was impressed with the performance of the new teams like the Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) team who had a confidence-boosting victory against the Cascades.
“MBSA, who only joined the league this year, playing in the B league, put up an impressive showing during the match, which they won 27 – 15.
“The Cascades joined the league last year and they held the third position in the B division of the league. But they could quite easily catch up very fast because of their strong defence and their quick ball skills.”
It was a tight game between the Aloes and the University of Fort Hare (UFH) Alice Campus as the Aloes held their nerve to beat the varsity team 22-19 despite a three-minute delay after the game was suddenly interrupted when strong winds blew a gazebo onto the court. Nobody was injured.
UFH Alice centre Oyamo Ntsapho, who was quick to retrieve the ball for her team, said she was content with the first game.
“It’s not about the score; it’s more about our game and I think that our level of fitness has also helped us get around the court effectively. But we will be more in tune as the season unfolds.
Meanwhile the UFH East London Campus team lost dismally to the Aliens, another addition to the league, who made a statement with a 38-16 win in their introductory game.
Buffaloes, formerly known as the Buffalo City Metro showed poor defence, while the Burning Bush Ministries took full advantage ending the game with a victory of 26-15.
Ravens peaked the score of the day at 51 after a entertaining win against the Spiders who crawled off the court with 41 after a nail-biting game.
New United won 35-30 against the Romans, who also premiered in the league B- division.
Umpire Irene Baling commended the women for the brilliant start to the season which saw the first implementation of the newly modified rules by the International Netball Federation.
“The umpire no longer blows the whistle to signal when a goal is scored or when the ball goes out of court and, to save time, injury time is now kept to a minimum of only 30 seconds per injury.
“The match consists of four quarters of 15 minutes each, with a four-minute interval after the first and third quarter and an eight-minute interval at half time.
Baling said a few hand signals have also changed with the new rules. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
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