Support for city netball comp
A junior netball competition in Horsham will occupy Friday evenings for another year, after a lack of volunteer numbers led to organisers calling for more support.
Horsham City Netball Association president Kate Hair said a ‘hugely successful’ special general meeting on Sunday resulted in organisers filling executive positions, boosting the general committee and planning for the season ahead.
“I was very excited when I pulled in to the car park and there were so many cars there,” Hair said.
“It’s too good of a competi- tion to lose. We had already filled the president and secretary roles, but we now have a vice-president, vice-secretary and treasurer.
“And we have about eight general committee members to support us throughout the season and provide input at meetings.”
Mrs Hair said boosted volunteer numbers allowed organisers to plan for the season ahead, including picking a start date, end date and discussions of sponsorship.
“It’s an April 19 start date, which coincides with Horsham District and Wimmera league seasons,” she said. “Undernines will run for the entirety of term two. The under-11s and under-13s will run until the end of July, with two weeks of finals and grand finals on August 9.”
Mrs Hair said the competition had been running for many years to provide Horsham and district juniors with an opportunity to experience competitive netball away from a typical club setting.
“It creates an avenue for kids to get some match play before they get to a club situation,” she said.
“Not everyone wants to do the travel or be affiliated with a club. It’s an option that is local to Horsham – you don’t have to travel for an hour or have an early Saturday morning start.
“If it wasn’t to exist for a bit it would decrease the numbers of young netballers coming through.”
Mrs Hair said registrations for the coming season would again be capped at 19 teams, due to light and court availability.
People wanting more information can visit the Horsham City Netball Association Facebook page.