On Friday, 4 June 2021, Overstrand Municipality received R600 000 from the Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais, to improve, amongst others, the surface of the Kleinmond Netball facility.
According to Ward 9 Councillor, Grant Cohen, the municipality has been in desperate need of replacing the surface of its courts, and through this funding, upgrades to the existing courts is expected to start in the new financial year (from July 2021 onwards).
There is also an additional amount of funding in the Ward 9 Ward Specific project list which will also be used for an upgrade of the current clubhouse/changeroom facility.
Cllr Cohen said the municipality is thrilled to have received funding that would mean upgrades to the facilities, which will be carried out in time for the 2023 Netball World Cup, as this funding forms part of the Provincial Legacy project that is underway in the Western Cape. He emphasised that this also would not have been possible without the hard work of the Overberg Netball Federation as well as the Kleinmond Netball club themselves.
At the ceremonial cheque handover, Minister Marais said, “As we safely move forward in the sector, the provisioning and upgrading of key facilities are critical components of sports development in the Western Cape, the greater South Africa and the world at large. Sport facility provisioning and upgrades create an enabling environment for local, district, regional, provincial, national and even international sports events to take place with the aim of developing sporting talent at different levels as we now navigate to and through our new norm in the sector.
We wholeheartedly thank our valued stakeholders in WP Netball, Netball South Africa and various municipalities for collaboratively assisting us in realising our mission to encourage excellence and inclusiveness in sport through the effective, efficient and sustainable use of our resources. Together, I look forward to promoting accessible participation in sport and recreational activities for all, while optimizing on the legacy projects that the 2023 Netball World Cup will afford. In this way, the code of netball can flourish in terms of safe mass participation, skills development and talent identification to perform at higher levels of excellence”.
