Knysna Primary crowned Aloe Cup champions

KNYSNA NEWS - Knysna Primary School's U13A netball team produced a championship-winning performance at the prestigious ninth annual Aloe Cup Netball Tournament in Jeffreys Bay, fighting back from their only defeat of the competition to be crowned the champions.

The four-day tournament, held from 24 to 27 June, attracted 24 of the top U12 and U13 school teams from across the Western and Eastern Cape, making Knysna Primary's title-winning campaign an outstanding achievement.

For a small-town school to overcome some of the strongest netball school teams in the Western and Eastern Cape made the victory even more remarkable.

The girls enjoyed an impressive run through the pool stages, finishing second after suffering their only loss of the tournament - a narrow 19-16 defeat to George South.

That result set up a semi-final clash against Eikestad Primary, during which Knysna Primary delivered a dominant performance to win 23-9 and book their place in the final.

In a fitting finale, they faced George South once again. Having learnt from their earlier defeat, the Knysna side showed tremendous composure and determination to reverse the result, claiming a well-deserved 16-11 victory to lift the Aloe Cup.

Knysna Primary won six of their seven matches, scoring an impressive 169 goals during the tournament.

Adding to the celebrations, Knysna's Khanya Tike was selected for the prestigious Aloe Cup Dream Team in recognition of her outstanding performances throughout the competition.

Coach Evelyn White praised her team's resilience and character. "It was an incredible journey. To lose once, learn from it, and then come back to beat the same team in the final shows real character and growth. We are so proud of every player."

The title caps an outstanding season for the team and reflects the hard work, commitment and teamwork shown by the players and coaching staff throughout the year.

Knysna Primary's U13A netball team was crowned the Aloe Cup champions.