Provincial netball team aims for gold at national netball championship

The provincial u.19 netball team is aiming to return with a gold medal from the national netball championship which started on Saturday at Cape Town.
The championship is expected to finish on Saturday and the provincial team will battle for silverware against eight teams from the other provinces.
Captain of the squad, Dora Maloba said they have prepared well for the championship and they are certain that they will emerge as victors of the prestigious event. “I was in high school last year and I decided to take a gap year to focus on netball. We want the title, we have a good team that is determined to achieve greatness. We have been working hard throughout the preparations and I don’t see anything standing in our way. We are told that selectors for the national u.19 netball team will be present at the event and that on its own is a motivation,” Maloba said.
Her sentiments were also echoed by Sport, Arts and Culture MEC, Thandi Moraka who encouraged the squad to bring back home the gold medal.
Speaking at the team’s send-off ceremony in Polokwane last Thursday, Moraka urged players to do the province proud at the event. “You were chosen out many talented netball players in the province who took part in the talent identification programme in all the districts this year. You have proven that it is possible to go beyond this province and even abroad from other provinces. We are proud of you and we wish you all the best at the tournament and we are adamant that you will come back home with gold medal,” Moraka told the players.
MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Thabo Mokone who announced that Limpopo Gambling Board contributed R250 000 to the team also wished the girls well in the championship. “We are here to bear testimony that netball needs to claim its prestigious place in sporting codes. We need to play an influential role in fast-tracking netball as a preferred activity within our schools. The contribution of R250 000 aims to ensure that we all play our part in unearthing of talent, especially within our disavantaged communities,” Mokone said at the send-off ceremony.
He added that as the department responsible for developing Limpopo’s economy, preserving the environment and attracting tourism, they strongly believe that each provincial sport team, plays a vital role in placing the province at a pedestal from which are able to market Limpopo, to attract tourism as well as attract investments.“
We continue to take pride in many great men and women of the soil, who makes us proud of our birth-roots within the province. Each time we support, invest and nominate our own people, we are indirectly playing a vital role in boosting tourism to the province which directly strenthens our provincial fiscus,” concluded Mokone.

Story and photos: Herbert Rachuene
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