NETBALL finally gained some recognition of its status as South Africa's biggest women's sport in 2011.
It was also the year in which the Spar South African team finally vanquished Malawi, and moved to the No 1 position in Africa.
The year started with the resignation of head coach Carin Strauss and her deputy Cecilia Molokwane for personal reasons.
Netball SA (NSA) announced they would be replaced by a panel of coaches, under the leadership of former Protea Elize Kotze, who would plot the way forward to the global championships in Singapore in July.
Part of the strategy involved holding regular training camps for a squad of 30, with each player given an exercise programme to follow in between.
Players were warned that failure to attend training camps would mean they would be dropped and NSA kept their word, dropping one senior player because she did not attend all the camps.
Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, meanwhile, threw his weight behind the team, promising them the support of the government. Before their departure for Singapore, they became the first netball team to be invited to meet President Jacob Zuma at his home in Pretoria Singapore.
Though the Proteas did not make the semifinals, they put together an outstanding performance and centre court star Erin Burger was named player of the tournament.
They were badly beaten by Jamaica in their opening match, but came back strongly against Singapore and Botswana. After finishing second in their pool, they played tournament favourites New Zealand in the quarterfinals.
New Zealand won the match 58-28, but SA led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and fought gallantly.
The Proteas then narrowly beat Northern Ireland 46-41 to win the right to meet Malawi in the play-off for fifth position. The Malawians had long been South Africa's nemesis, beating them at the world championships in New Zealand in 2007, and at the last two Commonwealth Games.
The match, played in front of a packed stadium, was a ding-dong battle, with neither side able to dominate. South Africa forged ahead in the third quarter, and though Malawi came back strongly in the fourth, the Proteas hung on to win 52-50.
The victory ensured their return to the top spot in Africa as the fifth-ranked team in the world.
On the domestic front, the introduction of the Netball Grand Series league meant that top-ranked players were exposed to high-level competition every week over a period of more than three months a year.
Netball finally taking centre stage in SA
NETBALL finally gained some recognition of its status as South Africa's biggest women's sport in 2011.
It was also the year in which the Spar South African team finally vanquished Malawi, and moved to the No 1 position in Africa.
The year started with the resignation of head coach Carin Strauss and her deputy Cecilia Molokwane for personal reasons.
Netball SA (NSA) announced they would be replaced by a panel of coaches, under the leadership of former Protea Elize Kotze, who would plot the way forward to the global championships in Singapore in July.
Part of the strategy involved holding regular training camps for a squad of 30, with each player given an exercise programme to follow in between.
Players were warned that failure to attend training camps would mean they would be dropped and NSA kept their word, dropping one senior player because she did not attend all the camps.
Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, meanwhile, threw his weight behind the team, promising them the support of the government. Before their departure for Singapore, they became the first netball team to be invited to meet President Jacob Zuma at his home in Pretoria Singapore.
Though the Proteas did not make the semifinals, they put together an outstanding performance and centre court star Erin Burger was named player of the tournament.
They were badly beaten by Jamaica in their opening match, but came back strongly against Singapore and Botswana. After finishing second in their pool, they played tournament favourites New Zealand in the quarterfinals.
New Zealand won the match 58-28, but SA led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and fought gallantly.
The Proteas then narrowly beat Northern Ireland 46-41 to win the right to meet Malawi in the play-off for fifth position. The Malawians had long been South Africa's nemesis, beating them at the world championships in New Zealand in 2007, and at the last two Commonwealth Games.
The match, played in front of a packed stadium, was a ding-dong battle, with neither side able to dominate. South Africa forged ahead in the third quarter, and though Malawi came back strongly in the fourth, the Proteas hung on to win 52-50.
The victory ensured their return to the top spot in Africa as the fifth-ranked team in the world.
On the domestic front, the introduction of the Netball Grand Series league meant that top-ranked players were exposed to high-level competition every week over a period of more than three months a year.
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