Netball Malaysian Tour 2007
Before dawn on the 9th of July 2007, 16 excited girls and two slightly anxious teachers set off for Johannesburg for their flight to Singapore. The amazing, individual in-flight entertainment ensured that we arrived in Singapore, tired and somewhat jet-lagged. We were whisked off to a city tour, during which we had our first taste of STARBUCKS Coffee, which was to be the staple drink for the duration of the tour.

Our first Netball match was played against Singapore’s National U17 teams in an impressive air-conditioned hall with wooden sprung floors. The Singaporean teams were impressive and showed amazing speed and ball skills and our tired girls were outclassed. With each subsequent game as we travelled through Malaysia, however, our girls’ netball skills and teamwork improved considerably. The First Team won five of their seven matches and the Second Team three of their seven. These results are excellent considering that each match was played against the top school netball team of their province.

The most memorable games were against a girls’ school in Ipoh, who are the national champions of Malaysia. Our girls played excellent netball in very hot and humid conditions and the First Team went down 14 -21 and the Seconds 16-28 in tightly contested games. After the game we were invited to a reception held in our honour where we were treated to a delicious lunch, entertained by local Malaysian dancers and we all had an opportunity to interact and learn about each other’s cultures.

In addition to playing netball, we also had a wonderful opportunity to go to the beach, walk through the local towns, try some oriental dishes, shop, taste and enjoy the local fruit, learn about the local culture and enjoy many scenic tours.

We are extremely proud of the way the girls conducted themselves as they were true ambassadors of Uplands College. We were also proud to be part of this tour and all had a wonderful time.