DCAS wishes Protea netball coach well

Bennie Saayman, a Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) 2005 Lifetime Achiever and 2013 Sports Legend Award recipient, has been appointed as head coach of the Proteas netball team. This is good news for the national team as it prepares to compete in the 2015 World Netball Cup (WNC) in Australia.

Bennie is well known to the netball sorority. She started playing in 1965 and went on to represent Eastern Province, Boland and South Africa. Bennie has been president of Boland Netball and Western Cape Netball, is widely regarded as a top South African “A” umpire, and was Proteas national coach at the 1999 World Netball Championships in New Zealand. She is also a member of the Coaches Advisory Panel for the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA).

“We are confident that Ms Saayman will be able to guide the team to success at the World Cup,” said Netball South Africa president Mimi Mthethwa. “During her previous tenure as head coach, the team was ranked fifth in the world.”

Saayman is looking forward to the World Cup. “South Africa has enough quality players to do a good job in the WNC and I am looking forward to the challenge,” she said.

Adv. Lyndon Bouah, DCAS Chief Director of Sport and Recreation, wished Ms Saayman well. “She is a stalwart of netball in the Western Cape and South Africa, and we have fullest confidence that she will lead the Proteas to new heights of achievement.”

The Department would like to congratulate Bennie on this notable honour and wish her and her team well as they prepare for the premier world netball event to be held in Sydney from 7 to 16 August.

Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Theuns Botha, congratulated Bennie on her outstanding achievement. “I will certainly follow the Proteas netball team with a keen eye. We are fortunate to have a woman with such talent and determination to lead our national team.”