Congratulations to the winners of the DStv Netball Schools Challenge 2023

MultiChoice congratulates the newly crowned DStv Netball Schools Challenge champions: (DSNC) Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria and Hlabi Secondary School – who are winning this prestigious award for the second time!

The two schools will be heading to Cape Town to meet South Africa’s National Women’s Netball team, the SPAR Proteas, and watch the Spar Proteas’ second Pool C match of the Netball World Cup when they face Sri Lanka. The players will also get to see the Pool B encounter between England and Malawi. 

Launched in 2021, the DSNC has become a premier platform that celebrates the talent and dedication of young female athletes aged 16 to 19 years old who participate in netball at secondary schools across South Africa.

This year’s competition witnessed an astounding participation of over 2500 high schools, making it one of the most successful school sports tournaments of the year.

Throughout the tournament, more than 30,000 passionate schoolgirls engaged in weekly matches during the earlier rounds, including the cluster, region, and district playoffs. The tournament is divided into two Streams; Ubuntu, which focuses primarily on teams that are based in the rural and township areas. The Botho  stream g is represented by teams  from the urban areas.  The two streams are paired against each other during the pool stages of tournaments, this way, they learn different styles of netball and our township teams play with teams from a completely different background before branching off at the playoff stages.

Hlabi Secondary School and Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria’s journey to the DStv Netball Schools Challenge throne commenced in March 2023 and culminated in the exhilarating national finals that took place from 21 to 23 July at Hoërskool Florida. Both schools saw off fierce competition in their respective streams enroute to being crowned this year’s champions.

“The DStv Schools Netball Challenge continues to grow at an exceptional rate, showcasing the country’s appetite for the sport, and we remain committed to investing in netball’s growth and development,” said Tumi Masekela, MultiChoice’s Executive Head for Corporate Affairs. 

“This tournament serves as a springboard for girls from all corners of South Africa to pursue their dreams of representing the country in netball. The level of skill we witnessed over the weekend was a testament to the bright future of SA netball.  Congratulations to the winners, I am certain that they are looking forward to meeting their role model, The Spar Proteas in Cape Town”.

The DSNC is a partnership between MultiChoice and SASN and offers a platform for players from all schools (urban and rural areas) to get to experience the sport on the same level. The competition is divided into two streams, Botho and Ubuntu, which offers an opportunity for the haves and have-nots to go to the top of the competition.