The future is looking bright for Orange netball with division one set to have its youngest crop of players in years.
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Both the senior and junior Orange Netball Association (ONA) winter competitions get underway at the end of April.
Orange City are the defending division one champions, defeating Vipers 50-30 in an entertaining 2022 grand final.
ONA publicity officer Kate Dooley said 2023 was already shaping up as a big year with several junior representative stars tipped to move up the grades.
"I think it's going to be a really big year in terms of what's going on with our rep teams," she said.
"We've got a lot of players in the Western Region Academy of Sport [WRAS], especially in the Under 15s age group.
"They are on those elite pathways so it's really promising.
"In addition to that in division one we've got a lot of these young players playing in that grade for the first time so having that exposure playing against more experienced netballers is really going to be beneficial for them in their rep experience."
Those players will get their first test at the upcoming representative carnival in Orange on April 23.
With associations from across NSW sending teams in the Under 11 through to Under 17 categories, Ms Dooley said it would provide a stern challenge for Orange sides as they build towards the prestigious state titles.
"We have 43 teams from 12 different associations attending from Under 11s to Under 17s," she said.
"Under 11s are more developmental teams and then the other teams use it as a practice competition in the lead up to state championships in June.
"We tend to host a carnival every year. Most of the teams are from the Central West and near Wagga Wagga. We have Cootamundra, Temora but we've also got a Sydney association which is really significant and also Shoalhaven who are travelling up.
"Sydney-based associations are usually really strong so it's a good skills test for the teams out west."
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