One of Netball Queensland’s major community-based competitions, Nissan Senior State Age, has again attracted teams from far and wide – including one from Darwin.
In its continued search to find the best possible opportunities for its players to develop, the Darwin Netball Association identified three-day tournament as a perfect fit.
It is hard to question the dedication of the team from the Northern Territory capital, who will travel approximately 3500 kilometres to the Gold Coast to take part.
Sharon Freeman, Junior and Coaching Coordinator of Darwin Netball Association, said the team was willing to go the distance in more ways than one.
“This is a great steppingstone for those wanting to trial or play in the Northern Territory 17 and Under team,” Freeman explained.
“It is a really good opportunity for not only the players but for our coach and umpire as well. Everyone is really excited for this opportunity.
“The experience that the players, coach, manager and umpire will take away will be well worth the travel.”
With no sponsorship from those outside of the Darwin Netball Association, it will be wearing most of the costs itself to make sure the players are able to take part.
Freeman explained that the players representing the association at Nissan Senior State Age were chosen from its academy program and development pathway.
“It is a bit of an unknown as to how the team will go, although I think they will be competitive and the learning experience will be amazing,” the DNA coordinator said.
“We have nominated them in the Challenge Division for this year until we see how our standard is against the rest of the Queensland associations.
“I am hoping if all goes well for us this year that we may increase our teams in the future.”
Luke Asi, Competitions Lead at Netball Queensland, said Darwin’s inclusion was a huge boost for the tournament.
“At Netball Queensland our focus is to provide opportunities for associations to participate in the best environments, and to have a team travel all the way from the Northern Territory suggests we are doing that well,” Asi said.
“We are having separate senior and junior events this year and at this stage there looks to be plenty of upside to doing so, including the amount of interest from such a wide range of teams.”
Nissan Senior State Age will be hosted by Hinterland District Netball Association at Mudgeeraba from Saturday 30 April to Monday 2 May.
More than 4000 attendees are expected across each day of competition which has been made possible by the support of Major Events Gold Coast.
