Over 300 netball players from Broken Hill to Lismore descended on Orange over the long weekend for the Netball NSW Academy Challenge.
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Twelve academies from all over the state attended the challenge for girls aged 14 to 16, which was hosted by the Western Region Academy of Sport for 2018.
The three-day event was split into two days of academies splitting their squads and playing competitive games against one another, while Sunday involved splitting players and coaches into separate teams.
The tournament was held just three weeks out from state trials.
Netball NSW’s regional development pathway manager with Western NSW Mardi Aplin, who is from Orange, said selectors would use the tournament to identify players heading into the trials.
She said the splitting up of teams on Sunday was designed to see how players and coaches responded to a completely different side with no familiarity with teammates.
A full roster of 24 players from the Western region took to the court and held their own, with two teams formed from the squad to compete in two divisions, which themselves were divided into tiers for finals.
The side in first division won the final of the second tier, while the second division side came third in the top tier.
Aplin said both sides “did really well” to hold their own against the other academy sides.
She said the carnival was a “fantastic success” for Netball NSW, and cited plenty of umpires and coaches receiving training and accreditation over the weekend.
“It was very high quality, these were the best netballers in that age group in the state,” she said.
It was a great effort and a great result for Netball NSW and we’re pleased with how it went.
- Mardi Aplin
“It was a great effort and a great result for Netball NSW and we’re pleased with how it went.”
She said Orange had coped well with the strains of 300 plus netball players and coaching staff at the PCYC.
“It was at full capacity and the people up at the PCYC were pulling their hair out but they got it all working in the end,” she said.
She said the Western Region had applied to host the tournament for the next two years – with the location almost as central as possible when players come from as far as Broken Hill, Lismore and Albury – but it was “something for the committee to figure out”.
The state trials kick off later this month, with stage one of trials for the under-17 side to be held in Orange on October 21 at Kinross Wolaroi School.
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Max Stainkamph
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
