The host venues for this year’s tournament will take place at the Madibaz Indoor Centre (Madibaz), Coetzenburg Indoor Centre (Maties), Callie Human Centre (Kovsies) and Rembrandt Hall (UP-Tuks). The four host varsities will be joined by two-time winners NWU, as well as UJ, UWC and TUT – returning to the competition for the first time since 2013.

Speaking to TUT Netball Manager, Dumisane Chauke about their return to Varsity Netball, she was elated and believes that hard works pays off. “It is a great feeling to be back in Varsity Netball because we have worked extremely hard since I took over the reigns in 2016. All the late nights and early morning sacrifices are worth it,” she said.

#ShowYourColours will once again be the theme of Varsity Netball as it perfectly represents the extraordinary festival of camaraderie and university pride that Varsity Netball's identity has become. #ShowYourColours calls upon all the fans to display their vibrant support for their universities and players taking to the court.

Varsity Netball players have gone on to become regular faces in the Proteas squad, and recently, 10 former Varsity Netball players represented South Africa at the Netball World Cup which saw South Africa finish fourth overall. Even more significantly, the Player of the Tournament was Kovsies’ very own Karla Pretorius, a two-time Varsity Netball Player of the Tournament in 2014 and 2015.

“Netball is in a great position and we are gearing up towards Netball World Cup 2023, which will be held in Cape Town,” said Varsity Netball Manager, Jana Arlow.

“The support for netball has increased over the years and we are continuing to build and strengthen our relationship with Netball South Africa.”

Arlow thanked the sponsors for their ongoing support, and also welcomed Varsity Sports’ new partner, MTN.

“Of course, none of this would’ve been possible without the investment of our partners FNB, Wimpy and MTN. The backing from the universities, USC, USSA and Netball South Africa also makes this tournament the best university netball competition in the country. It caters for all ages which means fun for the whole family.”

Netball South Africa CEO, Blanche de la Guerre, said that through Varsity Netball and other competitions, they are building towards 2023 where Cape Town, South Africa will host the next Netball World Cup. “We are looking at capitalising on our 2019 success in Liverpool, England and we implore the friends, families and fans to see our future Proteas in action.”

Varsity Netball commences on Monday 26 August, with Madibaz vs UJ at Madibaz Indoor Centre and Maties vs NWU at Coetzenburg Indoor Centre. Both matches will start at 18h00.

The two SuperSport 10 broadcast matches will be UWC vs TUT at 17h30 and Kovsies vs Tuks at 19h00. These matches will be played at the Callie Human Centre in Bloemfontein.