NETBALL FRIDAY FIRE SPREADS

NETBALL FRIDAY FIRE SPREADS

By Vusi Kama

North West Netball President, Helene Botha (middle) with netball players and netball fanatics from Setlagole and Madibogo at the official launch of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Netball Friday in Setlagole Cover Ground. Photo credit : Kabelo Selebogo

The Netball Friday fire last week advanced to Ngaka Modiri Molema District, with Madibogo and Setlagole hosting the province’s netball fraternity.

The district is the latest and penultimate to host the Netball Friday campaign, with the Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati Districts having already launched theirs. Next is Bojanala on May 20 in Brits.

Netball Friday North West is part of the nation-wide support for the Proteas Netball side and popularizing the Netball World Cup that South Africa will host in Cape Town mid-2023. SA will be the first on the continent to host the international sporting spectacle.

To create visibility and top-of-mind awareness of the Netball World Cup, people around the country are encouraged to wear their Netball Friday t-shirts every Friday, till the end of the World Cup next year. 

The Ngaka Modiri Molema event was attended by the President of Netball North West, Ms Helene Botha, senior officials of the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation (Acsr) and the local traditional leader, Kgosi Baruti Mokoto.

A few members of the provincial netball team, the NW Flames, joined local netball players in both villages for exhibition games. 

The Netball Friday launch series is a partnership between Acsr, North West Netball and the North West Provincial Sports Confederation. Part of the event is the distribution of Netball Friday t-shirts for players and community members to wear on Fridays. 

During the Dr Kaunda District launch, Acsr MEC Mme Virginia Tlhapi committed her Department to supporting initiatives that boost the North West Flames, netball in the Province and the Netball World Cup.

Last Friday’s event started with youth netball games in Madibogo as a build-up to the launch, followed by a spectacular march by the netballers from the netball court to the local taxi rank – accompanied by traffic officers vehicles and a fire brigade tank. 

In their march, the players were joined by a convoy of cars honking their horns as they attracted the attention of the local folk. 

The convoy, with players in buses, proceeded to Setlagole, where the second and the last part of the event took place.  

Mme Botha and Kgosi Mokoto both addressed the crowd, encouraging them to take the sport of netball seriously and put their support behind the NW Flames, the Proteas and the Netball World Cup.