Over 150 schools are expected to compete in Netball Victoria’s 2025 School Championships, taking place at nine locations across the state in August and September next year.
Bendigo, Frankston, Geelong, Hamilton, Kilsyth, Knox, Melton, Traralgon and the State Netball Centre in Parkville will host the preliminary rounds of competition, featuring four divisions for primary and secondary school students: Primary (years 5 and 6), Junior (years 7 and 8), Intermediate (years 9 and 10) and Senior (years 11 and 12), with all divisions playing off in Finals Days at the State Netball Centre.
The Secondary Boys Gala Day has been moved to Knox Regional Netball Centre, a larger venue to facilitate the increasingly popular division, eliminating the need for a wait list as per the 2024 competition. This is also a trend reflected in Netball Victoria’s membership database from 2023-2024, which has seen an increase of 13% male members, and a 12% increase of 10–18-year-old male members.
The School Championships, presented by Deakin University, is one of the largest netball tournaments conducted in Australia and attracts school teams from around the state. Teams play in a round robin format across multiple preliminary days around Victoria, with the top teams advancing through to the Finals Day at the State Netball Centre, where the state champions are crowned.
A non-competitive division will feature on preliminary days at the State Netball Centre, Geelong and Frankston. This division will provide schools the opportunity to enter teams that will compete against others with similar goals, focusing on participation rather than progressing to finals day.
In 2024, over 450 teams were entered from Moama to Sale to Casterton, seeing over 4,600 players, officials and umpires take part in the event regionally and in metro Melbourne.
The School Championships have attracted many high-profile coaches and former professional players as coaches and officials over the years, including Carol Cathcart (Byers), Jacinta Todd, Jane Searle, Karen Worland, Kate Upton, Kaylia Stanton, Kim Borger, Kristy Keppich-Birrell, Sharni Norder (Layton), Shelley O’Donnell, Susan Meaney and Tegan Philip.
Netball Victoria’s General Manager – Community, Abbey Misso said:
“Netball Victoria’s School Championships is our largest participation event on the calendar with over 4,500 students taking to court across the preliminary days.
“Netball is embedded in so many sport programs in schools across the state and the country, so by coming together for the School Championships, students are able to not only put their skills to practice but strive for being named the best in the state.”
Registrations for the 2025 School Championships are now open. Team registrations are $100, with an early bird discount for the first 200 teams to register.
Teams must provide an umpire for each team they enter or can have one supplied for $140.
For more information, visit netballvic.com.au.
Register here.
2025 SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Preliminary days
Tuesday 5 August – Secondary Girls - State Netball Centre, Parkville
Thursday 7 August – Secondary Girls – State Netball Centre, Parkville
Friday 8 August – Primary and non-competitive – State Netball Centre, Parkville
Tuesday 12 August – Secondary Girls – Cobblebank Stadium, Melton
Thursday 14 August – Primary and Secondary Girls – Agnes Brereton Reserve, Traralgon
Tuesday 19 August – Primary and Secondary Girls – Bendigo
Wednesday 20 August – Primary and Secondary Girls – Pedrina Park, Hamilton
Tuesday 26 August – Primary and Secondary Girls – Pinks Reserve, Kilsyth
Wednesday 27 August – Primary and non-competitive – Kardinia Park, Geelong
Thursday 28 August – Primary and Secondary Girls and non-competitive – Jubilee Park Stadium, Frankston
Wednesday 3 September – Secondary Boys Gala Day – Knox Regional Netball Centre, Knox
Finals Day
Tuesday 9 September – Finals Day – Primary and Junior – State Netball Centre, Parkville
Wednesday 10 September – Finals Day – Intermediate and Senior – State Netball Centre, Parkville
