The Netball South Africa Challenge (previously known as the Diamond Challenge and currently known as the SPAR Challenge) is an international
netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
tournament held close to biannually in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and organised by the country's governing body for the sport,
Netball South Africa
Netball South Africa is the peak governing body for the sport of netball in South Africa, with the head office is located in Pretoria. The body rules the practice of the sport in the country and also oversees the National Netball Team.
The execu ...
. The challenge is contested by the
South African national team and up to five other African nations. The inaugural tournament was held in 2012 and it has been contested in most subsequent years.
History
The tournament has been held in different South African cities since it began in 2012. The South African team has won each of the tournaments on offer. The tournament did not take place in 2014 and 2017.
Despite South Africa's dominance at the tournament, head coach
Norma Plummer
Norma Margaret Plummer AM (born 24 November 1944) is a former Australian national player who also served as netball coach for both Australia and South Africa. She was coach of Australia from 2003 to 2011, ending her coaching career with the D ...
has stated "we respect all teams we play in the Diamond Challenge and we
ork
Ork or ORK may refer to:
* Ork (folklore), a mountain demon of Tyrol folklore
* ''Ork'' (video game), a 1991 game for the Amiga and Atari ST systems
* Ork (''Warhammer 40,000''), a fictional species in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' universe
* ''Ork!'' ...
hard to win these games confidently".
In the 2016 and 2018 editions, an invitational second-tier side, known as the South African Presidents XII, has participated with a view to developing the "next tier" of South African netballers with international experience.
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Results
See also
* Netball in Africa
Netball is a popular women's sport in parts of Africa. Several African nations are ranked amongst the top thirty in the world. As of August 2016, South Africa was ranked number Five, Malawi was ranked number Six, Uganda was ranked Seven, Zambia w ...
* Netball in South Africa
Netball is one of the most popular women's participation sports in South Africa. The sport is also played by a large number of men. It exists in a culture where sport plays an important public and social part of life. The history of South Africa' ...
Notes
References
External links
2018 Tournament
– Overview of the 2018 Challenge
{{Netball in Africa
Netball competitions in Africa
International netball competitions hosted by South Africa
2012 establishments in South Africa