On May 19, Netball South Africa, in collaboration with one of its sponsors, Twizza, announced a new club tournament from May to September 2023. Netball South Africa has taken a giant step in making national netball accessible for netball players across South Africa. In partnership with Twizza, one of its sponsors, Netball South Africa, launched a new club tournament, the Twizza Netball Club Championships. The championships will started in May until September.
The tournaments has been broken down into districts, provincial and national levels. The Twizza Netball Club Championship will provide netball players, coaches, umpires and administrators an equal opportunity to display their abilities at a competitive level. This will open the door to unearth new talent and give netball enthusiasts at a local level the opportunity to be selected for the SPAR National Championships, followed by The Telkom Netball League and, ultimately, the SPAR Proteas.
"It is always a pleasure to work with partners who understand our vision as Netball South Africa, partners who see the value in investing towards the sport's growth. We are grateful to Twizza for throwing their weight behind this club netball tournament and helping us begin the journey of giving more players access to the sport. "We believe that this is the start of greater things to come.
I want to urge all players to get involved in this tournament and challenge districts in making sure that we make this possible," said Cecilia Molokwane, Netball South Africa President.
About 52 districts will host local netball tournaments, with roughly 20 netball clubs per district participating. The top two performing teams from every district will go to the next round and compete at an inter-provincial netball competed between July and August. After that, the winners of each provincial tournament will compete in a national netball tournament to determine the best netball club in South Africa.
These finals are scheduled to take place between 23 and 26 September 2023. "Sport is one of the world's greatest unifying forces and one that we can all get behind as a country. As a proudly South African company, we are honoured to sponsor the rising young stars of the netball courts. We'll also see many memories and Twizza moments being made in every match," said Lance Coertzen, Twizza's Group Marketing Manager.
Netball South Africa has a 2025 vision-themed "Magnificent 3M," which aims to have at least three million netball individuals registered, which includes coaches, players umpires and administrators.For more developments on the Twizza Netball Club Championships, watch this space. Netball South Africa's philosophy and vision of "taking netball back to the people" has gained significant momentum since the Twizza Netball Club Championships (TNCC) launch in 2021.
Now in its third year, the championships have provided a platform for netball players to develop their skills in a competitive environment, aiming to be identified and progress to senior competitions. This tournament not only offers development opportunities for players but also allows coaches, umpires, and administrators to highlight their abilities at a competitive level. During its inaugural year, Tuks (ladies) and Brothers (men), both Gauteng-based clubs, dominated the championships and secured gold medals.
In 2022, De Tyger (ladies) from the Western Cape and Ocean Predators (men) from KZN emerged as the winners. The Twizza Netball Club Championships have played a vital role in advancing various players. Edward Manyathela from Rising Stars in Limpopo (Best Overall Male Player for 2023) has become part of the Men's National Team.
Princess Kanetsi and Ziyeza Mjoji, both from Matat in the Eastern Cape, were recognised as the Best Goal Shooter and Best Defender in 2021, respectively. They currently represent the Eastern Cape's Comets and Aloes in the Telkom Netball League. Kylie van Wyk (Tuks), awarded Best Overall Female Player in 2023, is now a member of the Gauteng Jaguars. Sicelo Gamede, a Men's National Defender, coached the Ocean Predators in the 2022 National Netball Club Championships, leading them to the finals and clinching their first title.
TNCC begins at the district level, with approx20 clubs per district participating in their respective leagues. The winning men's and women's clubs from the District Championships then advance to the Provincial Championships. The winners of each provincial tournament compete in the National Championships to determine the top club in South Africa for both men and women. The Twizza Netball Club District Championships have already been played while the Provincial Championships are scheduled for August and early September.
The National Championships will be held in Gqeberha from 22nd to 25th September. "Netball in South Africa is experiencing a fantastic year as we approach the Vitality Netball World Cup in Cape Town, on July Twizza is an integral part of this journey, and we are immensely grateful to have a partner committed to the sport's growth at all levels.
The opportunities created by the Twizza Netball Club Championships are invaluable, ensuring the continued vitality of our competitive netball and enabling us to identify future national players," said Cecilia Molokwane, Netball South Africa President. The Twizza Netball Club Championships still strive to achieve a few objectives.
These include nurturing grassroots netball at the club level, discovering netball talent nationwide, and providing consistent competition for all players in South Africa. Lance Coertzen, Twizza's Group Marketing Manager, stated, "As a proudly South African company, Twizza started this championship to provide young, local talent with an opportunity to shine and compete in a healthy environment.
We take great pride in the success of this initiative for the past two years and look forward to another great year filled with many Twizza moments." "Growth and professionalisation of the sport take time and require collaborative efforts. We cannot accomplish this task alone; we need partners to reach our goals.
We are delighted with our progress so far and will continue pushing forward. I encourage all our players to seize this opportunity and maximise it. This is for you, and this is your chance," concluded Molokwane. As part of focusing on developing and growing the sport, Netball South Africa ensured that all national, provincial and district players, including all former national players and current one or squad players, are not allowed to participate in this Championships as part of growth.
Clubs interested in participating in the 2024 Twizza Netball Club Championships can contact Netball South Africa for more information.
