Why Netball SA scheduled National Championships in December

The annual tournament, which began on Monday at Ellis Park Arena, will conclude on Saturday with the crowning of the new champions.

In previous years, Potchefstroom and Rustenburg hosted the competition during Women’s Month in August, but NSA opted to move this year’s event to the end of the year, despite the scorching summer heat.

"We tried to adjust, we knew that we were not going to win because of the Olympics and Paralympics, and being affiliates of SASCOC, we thought let's support the Olympians because they are going there to represent the country as a whole," said Molokwane.

"And the other thing is that when you have a big championship like this, you want the media there, and we knew we would not have the media, so we were not going to get the airtime we want, and we wanted this to offer exposure.

"This is aired across Africa and internationally, and as they play, some of these players could be spotted and be playing in other countries, so it's not just about this but it's also about having players present at the tournament.

"If we scheduled this in October, it was not going to happen because the players were writing exams, so December everybody is done and we were hoping they play these championships before they go on holiday."

Polokwane was initially set to host the tournament this year, following Rustenburg's turn last year. However, the Limpopo government failed to complete the court renovations in time for the championships. 

"We wanted 12 or more courts, and Ellis Park Arena has those courts – you saw in 2005, in Polokwane, they changed tennis courts into this," she added,

"We spoke to them and I think they were still doing a revamp of the courts, so they were not sure in August. So we then moved to the City of Johannesburg, but hopefully one day we'll go back there."

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