adminEllina Mhlanga, Harare Bureau
HARARE City Queens chairperson Dorothy Mavolwane is upbeat ahead of the 2017 Super League season after the club retained the Zimbabwe Netball Association pre-season tournament title over the weekend at Stodart Hall, in Mbare.
The side beat ZDF 27-7 in the finals to defend the title they won last year following their promotion into the Super League from Division One.
On Saturday they finished tops in Pool B and went on to beat Zimplats Ngezi 14-10 in the semi-finals to reach the finals while ZDF had defeated Platinum Zvishavane 21-7 in the other semi-final.
Mavolwane is confident it will be a fruitful season for them as they get ready for the Super League expected to start before the end of this month.
“As Harare City Queens we are excited because we were able to retain the championship of the Zimbabwe Netball Association pre-season tournament.
“We owe this success to hard work and the adequate preparations before the season.
“We had a boot camp to prepare our players psychologically and physically with the help of a sport consultant. This enabled the team to be strong and united. Secondly, we have several friendly matches as part of the preparations.
“Our target is to be on the top of the log. We were on position three coming straight from Division One league.
“This is our second year in the Super League,” said Mavolwane.
In the third and fourth play-offs Zimplats Ngezi dismissed Platinum Zvishavane 20-5.
The tournament featured mostly Super League clubs as some of the teams that had confirmed their participation failed to turn up.
ZINA fixtures secretary, Agnes Chiroodza, said the attendance was below their expectations with 12 teams taking part. However, they are happy with the quality of play they witnessed on Saturday.
“The teams were very competitive, they were prepared for this tournament.
“However, the turnout was not as we expected because most of the teams that had confirmed their participation did not come.
“Maybe it was because of the weather, there were heavy rains and matches were delayed. But we managed to finish on time,” said Chiroodza.
For individual awards, Paidamoyo Pedzisai of Zimplats was voted the best shooter while Harare City’s pair of Stembile Chitova and Estela Ndlovu came out as the best defender and player of the tournament respectively.
The national association is expected to finalise on the number of clubs to make up the Super League this week and also announce the exact dates for the commencement of the league.
Online Reporter