Caulfield & District Netball Association marked their 30th birthday in style last weekend with Netball Operations Manager Penny Forrest leading the charge.
“We invited the Mayor, Members of Parliament and all the presidents from our clubs for a morning tea. We had fun games for all the kids, some inflatables and vendors, we created a fun carnival atmosphere on our normal competition day. We just wanted to make it a fun day,” she said.
Established in 1992, the Association is now home to 13 clubs and continues to expand at a rate of knots.
“In 1991-92 there was netball around and there were people that wanted to play, but there was nowhere to go. Originally we were a part of the South Eastern Metropolitan Churches Association, so teams were coming from everywhere to play but we wanted to get more local.
“A bunch of people decided that they wanted their own courts and didn’t want to go so far to play - they spoke to the Council at the time, petitioned them and got eight courts. It was amazing and that’s how our journey began.”
Despite the challenges presented by COVID over the past couple of years, Forrest highlighted the importance of ensuring that the netball community fosters a safe and welcoming environment for all to participate in.
“People’s priorities seemed to shift a little bit after COVID so numbers did drop, but what we saw from the start of this year to now is a jump in 21 teams so obviously people want to come back.
“We work hard to make this an inclusive, welcoming and fun place to be so people want to come here to play and be a part of it. We feel that by being approachable and open with everyone, we can have this great environment that everyone can be a part of.”
With varying age groups and competition levels available, Caulfield DNA is always looking for ways to grow given their recent success.
“We’ve got such an amazing community around that are so keen to play netball in any capacity, whether it’s competitive or just fun. When I first started five years ago, the age groups were slightly different, and we changed it to include an open age session and that started thriving. It’s a great community to be part of.”
