Schools battle it out at netball festival
"The festival was an incredible four days of netball."
A total of 32 schools descended on St Andrew’s School for Girls to attend the annual national netball festival.
With approximately 450 first team players from government and private schools from across SA, the festival was abuzz with activity.
Held from April 4 to April 7, the 17th consecutive festival was hosted by St Andrew’s.
“The festival was an incredible four days of netball,” said St Andrew’s School for Girls head of sport Tara Nooy.
St Dunstan’s College took the championship final when they beat Eunice High School with a score of 33-19.
The plate final was won by Collegiate Girls’ High School, beating Krugersdorp High School with a score of 21-19.
Our Lady of Fatima School won the bowl final, beating Brescia House School 18-10.
Also read: Saheti Rugby Sevens and Netball Festival
Lastly, the trophy final went to Kingsridge High School for Girls after they beat Roedean Senior School 13-6.
“We received many compliments for the efficiency of the festival, the delicious meals provided to the standard of play and umpiring,” said Nooy.
This year St Andrew’s piloted a live streaming project where they streamed all games on court one on the final day through the school’s social media platforms.
Nooy said the atmosphere of this year’s festival was excellent.
Also read: St Dunstan’s takes first at St Andrew’s Netball Festival
She said the spirit and camaraderie of the girls and coaches were remarkable.
“We had many supporters during the festival, which created a really amazing atmosphere for the girls to enjoy their games and to play their best.”
Because of the unpredictable weather during the festival, St Andrew’s had arranged for Edenvale Action Sports Arena to be a backup location.
“Luckily only Friday was affected and we had to move to the indoor arena.”
Nooy said the location change went smoothly and had no major impact on the festival.
Next year St Andrew’s hopes the festival will continue to be the sought-after and reputable festival that it is.
“We are looking forward to hosting our 18th festival in 2020 and hope it remains competitive and filled with excellent netball.”
