Following the announcement by the Victorian Government today, Netball Victoria has decided to reschedule the Central West and Central East Origin Association Championships to Sunday, 8 August.
As a result of the rescheduled qualifying tournaments, Netball Victoria has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Association Championships Finals Day, scheduled for 1 August.
The Association Championships is a crucial step in the pathway and ensuring all athletes and umpires are given the opportunity to be talent identified (TID) is a key priority for Netball Victoria. Hosting the remainder of the qualifying days will ensure the TID process is completed right across Victoria. With more than 150 athletes identified across the four qualifying days held throughout regional Victoria held to date, it is promising to see so much talent following a disrupted 18 months of netball.
Netball Victoria’s General Manager – Netball Participation, Mel Taylor congratulates all associations and leagues who have qualified for Finals Day and understands this will be disappointing news. ‘It was not an easy decision to make, cancelling Finals Day. After very little competition in 2020, it was pleasing to see the high number of teams competing in 2021 and the spirit in which everyone participated.’
Taylor emphasised, ‘ensuring all zones can compete in their respective qualifying days is our key priority for 2021.’
The Open competition scheduled to play on Finals Day will no longer go ahead, however these players will have an opportunity to trial to represent their region at State Titles, scheduled at the State Netball Centre on 1 – 3 October. For further information, please contact the State Titles Officer in your region, details are available here.
The venues for the upcoming tournaments, are now confirmed as follows:
- Central East – 13&Under and All Abilities – Waverley District Netball Association
- Central East – 15&Under and 17&Under – Springvale & District Netball Association
- Central West – 13&Under – Hoppers Crossing Netball Association
- Central West – 15&Under, 17&Under – Female and Male – TBC
Further communication will be provided to each of the competing associations and leagues in the next week.
