TWO days of non-stop action attracted hundreds of fans to the Raymond Mhlaba Indoor Sports Centre during the Motherwell Netball Association (MOTENA) Women’s Month Celebration Tournament on August 18 and 19.
The age groups that participated were u/16, u/19 and seniors. Also making an appearance were former South African netball player Nontle Gwavu, Nelson Mandela Bay Netball Association president, Dr Noluntu Dyubhele, regional development officer, Nobathembu Majiki and MOTENA president, Lindelwa Notie Dayimani, with her executive committee members.
The three teams from each group hailed from KwaZakhele, Northern Areas, Joe Slovo and Motherwell netball local association.
The tournament commenced with a round robin and ended with the top four teams in each age group in a knockout system.
In the u/16 category Real Rovers became the champions after they handed a 14-4 defeat to Lovers Lane in the finals. Shining Stars ended in third position.
Flying Eagles emerged the winners after they overcame Flamingo 17-10 in their u/19 finals. Flamingo then walloped Siyakhula 33-18 in their one-sided seniors’ final. Flying Eagles beat Diamond Ladies 27-15 in their losers’ final.
The winning teams were awarded a floating trophy, gold medals, bibs and a ball. The runners-up and third place teams also received medals and balls. The umpires and technical officials received miniature shields.
Dayimani thanked Dyubhele for supporting the initiative by buying the trophies, medals, ball and shields and making it possible for MOTENA to stage the tournament at the Raymond Mhlaba Indoor Sports Centre.
Dayimani said, “I want to commend Dr Dyubhele for making this programme a success. Dr Dyubhele has gone the extra mile for us and she deserves an accolade. The technical officials and umpires also made this tournament a success. The parents, supporters and teams all contributed towards the success of this event.”
Nontle Gwavu, who conducted a coaching clinic on Sunday morning, stated that the standard of the games was extremely high.
“The teams gave good account of themselves. It seems that they were well prepared. It was a non-stop action that showed that our region has future stars,” said Gwavu.