Queens trip will not affect Rainbow Paints tourney

The Blantyre and Districts Netball League (BDNL) has said the national netball team’s trip to New Zealand for the Fast5 Tournament early next month will not affect the K1 million Rainbow Paints Top Six Series.

 The Queens leave for New Zealand on November 2 for the tournament which will run between November 9 and 11.

The national team has some players from Tigresses, Escom Sisters and MTL Queens and the teams said they will not play the tournament in the absence of their players.

But BDNL general secretary Anne Hanjahanja said in an interview on Tuesday the top teams will only join the competition after the return of the Queens.

“The week that the Queens return is when we will have the second phase involving the top six teams, so there will be no confusion of programme,” said Hanjahanja.

She also said the league has opened up to other interested regional teams.

“For other regional teams, we know the expenses may be more than the returns, but we just feel that it may help them to get game time as there are no competitions taking place in their regions,” she said.

As of Tuesday, seven of BDNL’s teams had confirmed participation while a Zingwangwa Township side, Tizarelo, was the only non-league side on the list. Registration closes Thursday.