The 2024 edition of Varsity Netball starts on Sunday, 1 September and once again all eyes will be on the future stars of South African netball to see who will be crowned champions. Considering that all 15 players in the Protea national squad and five of the seven training partners are current or former Varsity Netball stars, great action can be expected until Monday 7 October when the final will be contested between the top two teams.
The teams who will be vying for bragging rights are defending champions UP-Tuks, 2023 runners-up UJ, Wits, UFS-Kovsies, Maties, NWU, Madibaz and TUT who is the new team, replacing UWC.
The venues for the bumper weekends are the Wits Multi-Purpose Sports Hall (Johannesburg), Madibaz Indoor Sports Centre (Gqeberha), Rembrandt Hall (Pretoria), NWU Mafikeng Great Hall (Mahikeng) and Callie Human Hall (Bloemfontein).
Head of Varsity Sports Lisa Roux says she is excited to once again see how the next generation is going to make their mark on the sport.
“Varsity Netball is the ideal foundation on which to build the future of the sport in South Africa. The talent that we have seen through the years is a testament to this. I do not doubt that it will continue, especially if you have a look at the current national squad. It is now up to the players to make use of this wonderful opportunity.”
Last year UP-Tuks, undefeated throughout the 2023 tournament, collected their third title when they beat UJ 63-61 in a pulsating final in a packed Rembrandt Hall. Coach Jenny van Dyk has since moved on to better and bigger things with her appointment earlier this year as Protea head coach. She has been joined by former maties coach Zanele Mdodana who is now the assistant coach of the national team.
New Tuks coach and former national player Erin Burger says her team are ready to continue on their winning ways.
“We are really looking forward to competing. We know that after winning last year, we’re going to have to work even harder now to win again and to fix areas that need improvement. We have new management and new players but that is an exciting challenge, and we can’t wait to start playing. We learnt a lot last season and will take everything that we could use from the knowledge coach Jenny shared with us and will use that as our foundation going forward.”
Tuks will start their title defence on 1 September against newcomers TUT in the first bumper weekend at the Wits Multi-Purpose Sports Hall. The rest of the first-round fixtures are:
Sunday 1 September
Wits vs Kovsies - 13:00
UJ vs Maties - 15:00
UP-Tuks vs TUT - 17:00
NWU vs Madibaz - 19:00
Monday 2 September
Kovsies vs NWU - 13:00
TUT vs Maties - 15:00
UJ vs Madibaz - 17:00
Wits vs UP-Tuks - 19:00
For a full fixture list, click HERE.
As an exciting bonus, fans will have the opportunity to catch the action live as all the matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport. Whether you're in the stands or cheering from home, you won't miss a moment of the intense gameplay and thrilling moments that make Varsity Netball a must-watch event.
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