Drum – 15 August 2019

http://www.drum.co.za 15 AUGUST 2019 | (^73)
If wewanttoseemore black girls
a national level they need to be
operly trained from a young age.
Forexample, we need to have the
htequipment in our primary
ools and we need to invest in
alified coaches. We cannot expect
gicwhen we are failing at grass-
tslevel.”
ongi, who will be 35 when the
t NetballWorld Cup comes to
e Townin2023, says she has no
ntionofretiring from the sport
shelovesandfully intends taking part in
anotherWorldCup.
“There’snothing unusual about play-
ingatthatage.One of our players now is
34 or 35 andthere are players who play
untilthey’re40.I honestly think it de-
pendsonyourstrength and fitness.”
Bongihasputher personal life on hold
untilshe’ssatisfied she has left a lasting
legacyinsport.
“I’mnotretiringanytime soon and I’ve
shelvedmypersonal life until I fulfil my
goals.BythatI mean I’m not starting a
family anytime soon.
I’m also not talking
about boyfriends or
partners until I’m
comfortable doing
so. But I can say I’ll
get married one day.”
Untilthen,herfocus is on winning the
2023 WorldCupwith Mzansi’s support.
“It’shumblingto know South Africans
arerallyingbehind us. We don’t take
theirsupportforgranted. Our victories
aren’tforus,butfor the entire country.
“Weplaytogive hope to young girls
whowanttobeinour position. We know
we’vedonea good job in this World Cup
andwearereadyfor2023.”
EXTRASOURCES:BBC.COM,CITIZEN.CO.ZA, SOWETAN.CO.ZA,
TIMESLIVE.CO.ZA
now
etoffthe
heteam.
me.“My
rnament
ncwabe,
players.
wepro-
ssthat’s
al.Since
etball.”
adeit all
champi-
d Bongi
oach for
otential.
ghtI had
y coach
anebe-
e really
eto the
e scepti-
g a living
, and af-
005 she
calengi-
College.
witched
diploma
ersity of
towork
herand
primary
k onher
thepro-
she was
asfor a
y for the
ryinthe
enplay-
months
ckhome
ngclinic,
e started
rinBell.
AdelaideThunderbirdsinAustralia,but
soonreturnedtotheWasps.
Sohowdoherparents,Busisiweand
Sakhephi, feel about their little girl mak-
ing sport her career? “They’re my biggest
supporters now,” Bongi says proudly.
“They take me seriously and they
watched all the World Cup games.”

T

HE Proteas’ success at the

World Cup earned them

headlines around the world

but netball is still an amateur

sport in

South Af-

rica and doesn’t get

nearly the same lev-

el of support as soc-

cer or rugby.

“We don’t even

have a professional league in South Afri-

ca,” Bongi points out. “We aren’t treated

equally but we always do our best. In fact,

women’s sport in general doesn’t get the

same recognition [as men’s sport] and it’s

unfair.”

Bongi is one of the four black women

in the national side. But, she says, “the

real issue isn’t the colour of anyone’s skin

but the lack of development at primary

schools, particularly in the townships

and rural areas.

‘Our victories aren’t

for us but for the

entire country’

layed

BOVE

T: The

l.

“I

ata

pro

“F

righ

sch

qua

mag

root

Bo

nex

Cap

inte

hl

wany

ffh

Bongihada one-seasonstintwiththe

Ad l id Th d bi d i A li b

dd

E:

ee

Bongi

with her

family, (from

left) sister

Snenhlanhla,

brother Sfundo,

mom Busisiwe

and brother

Sphamandla

Msomi.

SchoolinHammarsdale,didn’t k
of thiswhenhecalledhertoge
benchonthesidelinesandjointh
ShewasinGrade 11 atthetim
schoolwashostinga netballtour
andtheywereshortofplayers.
“Thecoach,SthembisoMn
askedmetoreplaceoneofthe
We wonthattournamentand
ceededtothenextlevel.I gues
whentheyrealisedmypotenti
thatdayI’vebeenplayingn
Theschool’steamma
thewaytothenationalc
onshipsthatyearan
stillcreditstheco
recognisingherpo
“I neverthoug
it inmebutmy
did.MrMncw
lievedinme,h
introduced me
worldofnetball.”
Herparentswere
calabouthermaking
outofplayingnetball
termatriculatingin 2
enrolledforanelectric
neeringcourseatUmlazi
The followingyearshesw
toa sportsmanagementd
courseattheDurbanUnive
Te c h n o l ogy, andthenwenton
asa physicaleducationteac
netballcoachata Durbanp
school.Shecontinuedtowork
ownnetballcareer,climbingup
vincialandnationalranksuntil
selectedtocaptaintheProte
tournamentinSingapore.
In 2017shewasinvitedtoplay
WaspsNetballsideinCoventr
UK.Shedivideshertimebetwe
ingintheUKforthefirstsix
oftheyearandthencomingbac
betweenJuly toDecember.
In SAshealsorunshercoachin
BongiMsomiNetball, whichshe
with former Australian playerEr

LEFT:DuringtheWorldCupBongi p

her100thgameforSouthAfrica.AB

Headcoach NormaPlummer.RIGHT

team before a big game in Liverpool

NEWS