Four ringball clubs played friendly games against each other on Saturday at Toti High in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban.

These men's and women's teams from Veld en Vlei (Richards Bay), Jaguars (Northern KZN), eThekwini (Durban) and South Coast (Amanzimtoti) ringball clubs competed in the tournament.

Ringball is a non-contact sport played by both men and women teams in separate games. It is similar to netball and korfbal and can be played on an all-weather, grass or in-door courts. The Natal Korfbal Union was formed in 1969 with four women's teams. The teams competed in the SA Championships and later switched in 2007 to ringball to be able to compete on an international platform.

President of KZN Ringball Ockie van Schalkwyk said they were thrilled that in July 2022 at the SA Championships four men and three ladies received their SA Ringball colours and went on to participate in the exhibition games.

“The challenges that KZN Ringball presently faces is that our courts at Hoy Park Durban and the ablution blocks are not up to standard and we are therefore unable to host any national or international competitions. The present condition of our courts and facilities also makes it difficult for us to host local league matches,” he said.

“While KwaZulu-Natal Ringball is a growing sport it is a non-priority sport and therefore we find it difficult to obtain any sponsorships.

“KZN Ringball are affiliated with Sascoc and we have a letter of good standing and are affiliated with the KZN Sport Confederation as well as with KZN department of sport, arts and culture (DesacC) .We are an also a non-profit organisation, and though we have everything in place for sponsorship, we are having difficulties due to the fact ringball is a non-priority sport.

“Our vision and goal for the KZN ringball team is to grow and develop the Jaguars team and we believe that we can achieve this through hard work, diligence and financial contributions, donations and support from the local businesses and the community,” said Van Schalkwyk.