Papua New Guinea pair Goloa Ovoa and Shannaz Apelis are set to return to Queensland for this month’s PacificAus Sports Netball Series on the Sunshine Coast after a stint with the Brisbane South Wildcats earlier this year.
Apelis and Ovoa were two of five athletes placed in Queensland earlier this year as part of Athlete Immersion program facilitated by Netball Queensland.
The pair were based in Brisbane and the Wildcats environment from April during the HART Sapphire Series before returning to their homeland in August.
Both players will come back to southeast Queensland however after being named in the Pepes squad which will take part in the second PacificAus Sports Netball Series at the University of the Sunshine Coast from October 16 to 21.
Apelis said the opportunities offered to the players through the Australian Government, Netball Australia, Netball Queensland, the Wildcats and Netball PNG went far beyond the court.
"Training with the Brisbane South Wildcats team and having game time with the Wildcats EPL team, being in the high-performance training environment and learning from both the experienced coaches and players as well as meeting one of my netball icons Jemma Mi Mi and actually assisting her with the Diamond Spirit students is something I will always cherish,” Apelis said.
“I was fortunate enough to have had all the high-performance support I needed provided and accessible to me, especially with my early injury.
“I had excellent support service with physios, sports doctors, a sport psychologist, dietician and some of the most experienced coaches around me.
“I challenged myself by playing other positions apart from my primary position of goal keeper.
“I undertook a First Aid and CPR course. I also did a foundation coaching course and got my Queensland learner driver’s licence.
“All of these I can take back with me and implement in my netball and professional career.”
Tonga’s Renee Vaioleti and daughter Olivia lived with Ovoa and Apelis during their time in south-east Queensland, with the pair returning to New Zealand last month.
"I couldn't have asked for better flat mates,” Apelis said.
“Living with Olivia, Renee and Goloa we had our own little family.
“Renee would do all the driving which left the cooking to me which worked well for us.”
For the other two athletes involved in the program, Fiji’s Unaisi (Una) Rauluni and Ema Mualuvu, their participation helped contribute to World Cup qualification success for their nation.
The pair, who were based in Townsville with the Northern Mendi Rays, returned to Fiji before representing the Pearls at the Oceania World Cup qualifiers in July in Suva.
Both Fiji and Tonga secured spots at next year’s World Cup in South Africa while the duo were also part of Fiji’s squad at the inaugural PacificAus Sports Netball Series in Sydney in March.
All games from this month’s series will be accessible via Netball Australia TV.
Working in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the PacificAus Sports program, Netball Australia is promoting netball excellence and high performance in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga. The aim is to create pathways for emerging Pacific athletes and coaches to benefit from high-performance education, training and leadership development opportunities, as well as participating in high-level Australian competitions. These opportunities will help prepare teams to qualify, compete and perform in key benchmark events, such as the Commonwealth Games and Netball World Cup. The Immersion Program is a key initiative in working towards and achieving the program objectives.
