A Netball Victoria official has heaped praise on Colac for being just the second city in the state to give youngsters an opportunity to play the sport since the coronavirus pandemic hit.
The Colac Night Netball Association started a junior competition on Monday night, with 11-and-under players showing off their skills at Colac’s Bluewater stadium.
Bendigo juniors were the first to play a Netball Victoria-sanctioned event since COVID-19 after returning to the sport on the weekend.
Netball Victoria participation general manager Mel Taylor
said she was impressed with Colac’s ability to create a full-blown competition during the pandemic.
About 30 junior teams will play across four junior age groups on Monday, Thursday and Friday nights, while a senior competition was also set to start before the State Government halted its decision to allow people over the age of 19 to play competitive sport on the weekend.
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Where To BuyPlayers, officials and umpires had to follow strict guidelines to ensure they could take part in Monday night’s CNNA 2020
debut.
“I think Colac night netball was the second association that got back into competition across the state, which is pretty amazing,” Taylor said.
“I just have to absolutely commend them on their attention to detail, they’ve really embraced the ‘Play for the Love’ catchphrase that Netball Victoria are promoting at the
moment.
“They’ve really filled a gap and offered an opportunity for juniors to play when there aren’t many around.
“The success of their first night came with weeks of planning, they were really well prepared and really well organised.”
Netball Victoria also hosted a clinic in Colac last week and Taylor said the sport’s governing body was thrilled juniors were eager to get back into netball after a lengthy break.
“The feedback we got from the clinic last week was great, not just from the kids, but the parents saying it was great to see their kids back out there,” she said.
“I think they’ve still got teams coming in for night netball and individuals wanting to play.”