Dilkusha Girls School (DGS) was crowned the overall winners of the Tailevu South Primary Schools Netball Association zone meet, which concluded yesterday at the National Netball Centre in Suva.
The school competed strongly over the three-day tournament fielding two teams in each grade from under 9 to under 14, thanks to their large student population and strong netball culture.
Assistant head teacher Tarusila Tawake expressed pride in the students’ achievements, highlighting the school’s depth and skill across age groups.
“Over the three days, we have been competing well against all the 16 schools in Tailevu South. We managed to come up with two titles, which are U11 and U12, and runners-up for U10 and U11. So that is basically our achievement for these three days,” she said.
Looking ahead to the next stage of competition, Tawake shared that several students have progressed to the trials to represent Tailevu South at the national meet in Labasa on week 14 of term 1.
“When they called out the names, we have an average of five to six girls for each grade that will attend the trials. They have picked 20 to 25 students for each grades to attend the trials, and they will cut that list down to 12 for the national meet,” she said.
DGS has long been recognised as a dominant force in the zone..
“We always live by the motto of our school. The motto is ‘Jesus as the centre’.
“So, everything we do, we always put Jesus first. We also have very good students with abilities and capabilities in netball,” she said.
“Some learn these skills from an early age, others join clubs, and when they come to our school, being an all-girls school, netball is the dominant sport we play.”
Beyond the court, Tawake emphasised the holistic benefits of sport for the girls.
“When we teach them about sports, we’re not only teaching physical abilities. Sports come with discipline, time management, and balancing extracurricular activities with schoolwork,” she explained
“We have seen girls who leave school achieving well academically because we give them the chance to play. When we give them the freedom and space to showcase their skills, they also become disciplined academically.”
The school’s strong performance at the Tailevu South Netball competition underscores their dedication to fostering both sporting excellence and academic achievement among their students.
