The 2021 Varsity Netball tournament will officially start on 21 August as the top universities in the country vie for top spot. The tournament will take place in a bio-bubble at Stellenbosch University (Maties) as threats of the Covid-19 pandemic still necessitates this step for the safe hosting of sporting events.

The North-West University will start their campaign with a tough encounter against the defending champions, Tuks on Saturday, 21 August. The following day they will take on UWC in the second round of the opening weekend.

The NWU end their triple header on Monday, 23 August with a titanic clash against home side, Maties. Next up for the NWU is an encounter with UJ before they meet TUT, Kovises and the Madibaz in the span of eight days. The relentless schedule will test all the teams in this compact tournament where only the fittest and most focused will book their place in the semi-final stage. The final will take place on Monday, 30 August at 18:30.

Varsity Netball Tournament Manager Xhanti-Lomzi Nesi, stated in the lead up to the tournament that Varsity Sports are excited to host top quality netball action after the 2020 tournament was cancelled.

“It’s such an exciting time for all of the netball players, administrators and coaches, as the 2021 Varsity Netball tournament will soon get underway,” said Nesi. “The amount of work done behind the scenes has been nothing short of phenomenal, and it’s something we’re extremely proud to be part of, even if we aren’t allowed to host spectators. We wish to express our gratitude to our main sponsor, FNB, and broadcast partner, SuperSport, for making it all possible. For the first time, all 36 matches of Varsity Netball will be broadcast live on SuperSport (204),” he stated.

NWU schedule: 21 August: NWU vs Tuks – 18:30 22 August: NWU vs UWC – 11:00 23 August: NWU vs Maties – 13:30 24 August: NWU vs UJ – 11:00 25 August: NWU vs TUT – 13:30 27 August: NWU vs Kovsies – 11:00 28 August: NWU vs Madibaz – 16:00