G-Force Netball Club based in Jeffreys Bay broke the world record for the longest netball match played when they played a total of 75 hours at the Victory Christian School, Jeffreys Bay from October 6-9.
The club was established in 2017 by Anina Vlok and Gaylon Louis and is based in Jeffreys Bay for netball players aged 9 to 65.
Vlok said in May this year the club decided to do something that had never been done before in South Africa, to beat the world record for the longest netball match.
“We did our homework and soon realised that to tackle this monstrous event, we would need all the help we could get,” said Vlok.
The previous title holder is Australian-based netball team Generation Netball Club who played for 72 hours and five minutes in 2015.
To beat the record, G-Force played a grueling 75 hours from October 6 to 9 and scored a total of 3 427 goals.
Vlok said it was not always easy to manage 88 players, to make sure everyone was on time and ensure that the clock continued to run without stopping.
She said they started their 75-hour marathon in the rain and were exposed to the elements each day and the cold weather during night-time.
Despite the challenges they faced she said the players were committed and their junior team aged from 9 to 13 were always on time with the most amazing spirit.
“When it was the junior team’s turn to play you could hear their excitement when they began giggling,” said Vlok.
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She further said it was amazing to see the support they received from the community and to witness how their players used their netball talent to worship God.
“We might not have received a single penny for this, but we were recipients of so much more. We were blessed in abundance by our community with gestures of kindness, and as a club, we could cement relationships with each other, acknowledging the fact that we are better together, with our club’s focus on God and His purposes for us,” said Vlok.
Thanks to the support the club received from Victory Christian School, they were able to practice at the school each night to prepare for the match.
The match was live streamed by Super Sport Schools.
In addition to the world record for the longest netball match played, Vlok said a record was also set for the longest man hour camera crew with 37.5 hours between two camera men and the longest consecutive sport livestream was achieved with a total of 75 hours continuous live streaming.
