Friday February 26 from 6pm to 9pm - St Paul's Collegiate Gym - Hukanui Road, Hamilton
Wai Taumaunu and Yvonne Willering will host this clinic which will cover one on one and zone defence. 3 hours for $30 for more information go to
NNZCoachForcepersonnel@mynetball.co.nz and then click on Coach and then click on Coach Force or call the NBOP Office.
The Netball Whakatane AGM was an emotion charged evening with the resignation of Becky Tukukino from the role as President. Becky has not only been heavily involved with the centtre for 40 years but has also given her heart and soul to Waiariki Netball as well. "It is the time for me do this and I will still be there for all of you. I am happy to have small jobs,"said a very teary Becky. "You have created a strong platform for us all to grow from Rebecaa and for that we are most grateful," said Rangi Ehu.
Umpire President Diane Waititi has taken up the challenge of leading the Centre and she has a huge group to support her going forward.
"There were some very hard decisions made to narrow the squad further and there was quite a lot of disappointment among those who missed out," said Lead Coach Mary-Jane Araroa. "We will select 12 players each week from this group. Some of these players have trained really hard and have put their hands up. They may not have made it but they will be better prepared for their up coming season. The squad will be quite challenging in the sense that we will have limited use of 3 defenders - Amy Christophers is just getting back into the game following her surgery and Billy Pritchard & Erena Mikaere have both had babies."
Mary-Jane will be joined by coaches Carol Holt and Kimiora Insley for the event. "We have decided to run this team without a Manager have one of the coaches carry out the Manager role so that we have more coaches learning from each other and the competition that they are in',"said CEO Sheryl Dawson.
The Squad
Arahi Wall GS/GA
Harley Smith GA/GS
Denise Tamatea GA/WA/GS
Sharmaine Bunting WA/C/GA
Lyddia Moke WA/C/WD
Nadine Stone C/WA
Shannon O'Donnell C/WA
Toia Tiwha WD/WA
Laura McDonald WD/C
Libby Drake WD/GD/C
Billy Pritchard GD/GK
Erena Mikaere GK
Amy Christopher GK/GD
Michelle Tenbrooke GD/WD/GK
Sonia Donnelly GD/GK
Candice Edwards GK/GD
Kimberley Maisey has continued to look for opportunities to progress her netball career after 5 years of rep netball in the Bay of Plenty. Off to Victoria University this year she has made the Cook Strait Lois Muir Challenge team to follow on from her PFNC Bay of Plenty Blue experience and her time in the Bay of Plenty Lois Muir Squad last year. "We are really excited for Kimberley," said Player Development Officer Arahi Wall,"she has always worked hard on the programmes that we have given her and in the game situation always does her best for her team."
44 players enjoyed some fun in the very hot sun at Mount Maunganui at the annual Summer Camp. The heat while a challenge did not deter the enthusiasm of the youngsters who did their utmost to learn as much as they could over the three days. Lucy Whale was at her 5th Summer Camp, her second as a coach which is really quite impressive. (Lucy appears second from the left in the Coaches photo at the prizegiving.) Christie Yule who also had attended as a player and coached at Summer Camps previously returned to run the surf life saving component which set some pretty tough assignments for the 13 to 15 year olds.
The one thing that was obvious on the final day was all had enjoyed themselves even if they were totally exhausted.
The Western Region Academy from Bathurst, NSW arrived in Rotorua on Saturday and were welcomed onto the Owhata Marae as part of the annual exchange with Netball Bay of Plenty. This exchange programme for talented netballers has been running from January 2004 when the first ever Bay of Plenty Team went to Bathurst and struggled with the heat.
The value of the exchange for talented Secondary School players is evident in both groups who have seen playing standards rise among their youth players over the past seven years. Traditionally the Bay of Plenty have held the Camp in Tauranga over a week when players are exposed to coaching and games along with tourist visits while the Bathurst visit for the Bay of Plenty players has been at the Charles Sturt University. Nancy Haslop thought that it would be nice to bring the 2010 group to Rotorua for a change given the relationship she had developed with Lorraine Pukepuke in Bathurst last year. Owhata is Lorraine's marae.
The warmth of the welcome in the beautiful setting on the edge of Lake Rotorua was completed with the story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai and of course for many of the Australian players and coaches their first ever hongi!
Pam Clayton has headed the NBOP Umpires Testing Panel for the past few years and overseen the increase in the number of umpires achieveing higher awards and honours along with training others in the Region to be panel members. Pam has completed her first term on the New Zealand Umpires Panel and has been re appointed for another term. Her New Zealand work sees her providing support for the Bay of Plenty and the Waikato and this has earned her a first class reputation.
"Netball Bay of Plenty is very pleased to have Pam join Beryl Harvey (Bench Official Appointment for Commonwealth Games), Kelsey Carter (NZTID Youth Umpire Squad)and Lyddia Moke (NNZ Secondary School Triallist)on the list of personnel from the Region who have gained national recognition. Our aims are very much focussed around having people in all areas of the game recognized beyond the Bay and if you look at this group it does just that. This is just fantastic for the Region as others know that they can aspire to be at the same level. That is is possible,"said Board Chair, Shirley Baker.
Netball New Zealand has had 7 New Zealand Bench Officials/ Statisticians offered Technical official roles at the Netball during the Commonwealth Games in India this year. The appointments made by the International Netball Federation have seen Beryl Harvey a Deputy Principal at Mount Maunganui Intermediate appointed. Beryl has successfully coordinated Bench Officials as well as being one herself for the past five or so years for Netball Bay of Plenty & the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.
Beryl is over the moon about her appointment. "I am just so delighted to have this opportunity."
“Without top level Bench Officials, Netball would be unable to be conducted especially at the elite level, when their work goes well the timing and scoring of the game is seamlessly integrated but without skilled personnel it has potential to become one of the most disruptive and controversial aspects of a match,” said NNZ Operations Director Kate Agnew.
Lyddia Moke has been named as a triallist for the NNZ Secondary Schools Team following other Secondary School players from the Bay of Plenty like Elias Shadrock and Amy Christophers both of whom went on to make the New Zealand side for two years. The young Rotorua Girls High player has caught the eye of coaches in the Region for the past three years and 2009 provided the spring board for the New Zealand opportunity. Like so many of her fellow Bay of Plenty players Lyddia has been a member of the Perry Foundation Squads' and then was selected into the team that went to Western Region Academy in Bathurst, Australia last January as part of annual exchange.
Playing in the Bay of Plenty Lois Muir Challenge side, the Under 19's and finally the Open Blue at the Perry Foundation National Netball Champs in her preferred WA position the youngster showed a strength beyond her years. Lyddia also plays WD, Centre and GD. "She is a player with great vision particularly when it comes to feeding the circle players,"said her Under 19 Coach Theresa Dobbs.
Kelsey Carter has set her sights on being an umpire at the international level and has worked hard to reach the Netball New Zealand Regional award level while still at school. She attended the NZ Under 23 Umpires Camp in 2009 and returned with information to help her perform even more strongly as an umpire. The selection into the New Zealand Talent Group of 6 chosen from the the Umpire Talent Identification Days held throughout New Zealand in November for umpires under 17 is not only exciting for Kelsey but the Region and the Harbourside Netball Centre.
Tauranga Girls College Sports Leader Kimberley Maisey has played representative netball for the region all through her high school years. She has also had played in the Bay of Plenty's Lois Muir Challenge Team and the Open Blue side for the last two years. The scholarship at Victoria University will see her given the opportunity to continue to develop as a player in the Wellington Region.
As a member of the Mount Intermediate Year 8 Team that won the first ever NZ AIMS Tournament Kimberley played Goal Defence but now has established herself as a very strong midcourter and gained selection as the midcourter of A Grade at UNISS last year. She is admired as a player for her fitness and tenacity.
Alice Mc Fall is completing her Year 9 year at Aquinas College where she is a top scholar and sportswoman. Her appointment to be the Netball Bay of Plenty representative on the Netball New Zealand Youth Council has generated excitement for not only the talented young woman but her school netball coordinator Hikitia Gallagher and the school Principal Brendon Schollum. "I am very excited, very proud to be the Rep for the Bay of Plenty and hope I can impress in the role because I have some very big shoes to fill," she said. "Alice is a top scholar and is absolutely ideal for the role. She one of those young people who stands out," Mr Schollum said.
Alice played for the NBOP Under 15 Development Team this year and was selected into the first NZTID Umpires group for the Region. She is a qualified Centre Umpire along with being 4th in the National Under 14 Triathlon and Duathlon. A second in the 3000 metres at the North Island athletics adds to her sporting prowess. She also does speech and drama and has just given her modern jazz dancing away.
Alice will spend time with Christie Yule to prepare for her upcoming role for the Bay of Plenty in January.
Amy Christophers has always underestimated her playing ability in netball and yet her dogged determination as a defender has seen her win accolades from unlikely quarters in the game. Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Coach Noeline Taurua is impressed with the Otumoetai College Year 13 student's athleticism and training ethic. "There is something about her being so raw and yet so capable that makes her an exciting prospect to coach. It will be good to see how she comes on in this mix."
For Amy that smile is just so wide and she still pinches herself every time someone asks her how she feels about making the side and playing along side the worlds best. "I still cannot believe it but I am excited and keen to learn as much as I can from the likes of Casey (Williams)."
Following strong performances in the Perry Foundation Championships Tanya Lund has made her way back into the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. The gutsy Goal Attack who can also play WA played strongly for the reasonably successful Bay of Plenty Gold. Now living in Kawerau and teaching at Whakatane Intermediate the former Bay of Plenty staff member will have quite some distance to cover to get to trainings and matches. Jodi Tod is the other player from the Bay of Plenty Gold team in the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Team for 2010. (The photo shows Tanya in action against Wellington.)
The Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Team will commence training in January and will be faced with working around the three Silver Ferns in the side - Laura Langman, Irene van Dyk and Casey Williams.
The New World Netball Bay of Plenty Awards were attended by 360 people at the BayPark venue where the exciting night was held. The evening began with Leilani Taula singing 'Walking on Sunshine' and finished with her rendition of ' I'm A Beliver'. The large gathering stood, danced and sang for each song. Over the night there were loud rounds of applause and cheering as the winners were announced. The New World Centre Award which saw a volunteer in each of the netball communities recognized set the tone for the event. The 7 volunteers were presented with their award by a New World Staff member form around the Bay of Plenty.
The winners were
Katikati - Jill Jack
Harbourside - Celina Teao
Te Puke - Teei Fairburn
Whakatane - Myra Bains
Opotiki - Molly Wright
Kawerau - Beverly Southee
Rotorua - Gail Wenmoth
The NBOP Spring Camp has seen high energy levels from the Year 8 students selected from around the Bay of Plenty as they have worked on skills, played alternative games and were challenged by brain teasers. Joined by a group of 30 Australians the youngsters have enjoyed learning about the points of difference in approach to the game form the Australian coaches. Both groups revealed their national pride by singing their national anthems to each other prior to dessert on the first night. Solo artists Bronte (Australian) & Leilani (New Zealand) won the admiration of others with their performances following the anthems.
The second day saw matches played between Australian and New Zealand sides with an additional group of players coming in from around the Bay to benefit from the experience of playing the older students on tour. "We are already talking about coming back next year," said tour organiser Robyn Rowland. "We would also be keen to stay on the marae as your group have done because we think it would be a fantastic experience for our young players."
Camp organiser Raewyn Harvey was pleased with the way the event had come together.
Bay of Plenty Blue are to be admired for the way they remained positive with every game that they played. Every player in the side took a step up over the week and their Coaches Carol Holt and Rangi Ward are to be congratulated for the way in which they provided the players with more valuable insights into themselves as individual players. "We have all learned a great deal about how to be a better player this week and to think we never won a game and yet we felt we had some wins like the 6 goal loss to Canterbury 2," echoed the young players. "We are keen to build on 2009 and be even better for 2010'."
Coach Carol Holt felt that many would not understand the value of the week given the game results but from a Netball Bay of Plenty viewpoint another crop of young players have seen what it is like competing on a much bigger stage.
Finishing in eighth place was not what the Bay of Plenty Gold Team wanted but it is the highest finish that they have ever had. "We closed the gap from 17 to 10 when we played Wellington for the second time which was good but we did so want that win," said coach Mary Jane Araroa. "We would have liked to have played North to go up but it was not to be and we just did not get our game right when we played Western and so we have to be satisfied with being 8th. The good thing is that it sets us up for next year and we will be better prepared for the challenges that come with this style of draw."
The Bay of Plenty Gold team has traditionally ranked 9th out of the twelve with the occasional drop to 10th. Last year the side had a close encounter with Canterbury and the year prior to that they defeated Southland but neither of those years saw the shift from 9th. The defeat of 4 of the 5 teams in Division Two this year has seen the step up.
Bay of Plenty Gold defeated Tasman 78 to 37 in the final match of the pool play round for their First Grade division. This result sees the Bay side finish second to Wellington after their historic win against Waikato. The match gave coach Mary Jane Araroa the chance to play 11 of her 12 players and while the team did not maintain the momentum she wanted there were moments of superb play. "We did not nail some of the plays in the way we had wanted but when I looked around and saw other teams playing it was clear that Thursday was the day for lack lustre moments in every game."
The side now goes on to play Wellington again to determine who will play North and Western on Saturday. This is the new style draw that sees top two teams from Division Two in First Grade play the two bottom teams in Division One.
The young and inexperienced Bay of Plenty Blue Team have grown with each of their matches in Invercargill at the Perry Foundation National Netball Champs. Their first outing against Waikato who look likely contenders in Second Grade saw a 78 to 35 loss. The score was not the strongest indicator of the match with Bay shooters not having the most accurate day, The next match against Wellington saw the Bay side put a better game out on court and the 73 to 30 score again did not reflect the hard work and excellent play that occurred in each quarter. Melissa Niao (GK) had a great game despite her lack of height in this game. Next came Otago and again the young Bay side worked hard to keep lowering the gap betweeen themselves and their opposition with a 43 to 62 loss. This match saw shooters Hailey Ratima, Pani Taipeti and Maureen Malcolm achieve 81% accuracy.
While the 42 to 60 loss to North was a better result the team did not play as strongly as they had in some of the other matches. Each player has had a stand out performance at some stage over the week but the most consistent players have been Hailey Ratima (GA) and Lyddia Moke (WA).
Bay of Plenty Gold went to Te Awamutu to play their fourth round in the Perry Foundation National Netball Champs and came home with a histotic win - 56 to 43. This was a huge achievement for the side that has grown with every match and worked hard to reduce errors and produced the standard set by Coach Mary Jane Araroa. Shooters Arahi Wall (GS) and Tanya Lund (GA) worked well together in the circle using the speed of the ball between each other and with midcourters Melissa Ruru (WA) and Sharmaine Bunting (C) on the edge against he Waikato defence. The shooting accuracy of the second quarter was 100% for both and this was a bonus for the side who won that quarter 20 to 9. Defensively the team were extremely strong all through the court and the defensive trio of Jodi Tod (GD), Rachel Donnelly (GK) and Charlene Wolfgramm (WD)have developed a strong team and individual approach which at times flustered the Waikato attack.
Eastern have often been the nemesis for BOP Gold but this year the Gold side got off to a flyer in the first quarter and never looked back. The 62 to 38 win to Bay of Plenty saw Sharmaine Bunting have her best game to date in the midcourt and the defense trio of Jodi Tod(GD), Rachel Donnelly(GK) and Charlene Wolfgramm(WD) worked so well together they forced a number of held balls. The shooters continued their excellent work putting up 70 shots and scoring 62 of them. Arahi Wall (90%), Tanya Lund (89%) and Harley Smith (82%)keeps all three shooters averaging above the 85% mark overall.
"There were a lot more positives in this game with players doing the basics very well. We are getting the ball to our shooters who are all taking responsibility for their roles and the midcourt are beginning to achieve far more consistency,"said coach Mary Jane Araroa.
"Defensively Rachel Donnelly would have been the player of the match,"said Assistant Coach Billy Prtichard.
The Bay of Plenty Gold team will face an Eastern side hungry for a win on Saturday 19 in Gisborne having lost by one goal to Tasman and then followed this with a 12 goal loss against Waikato.
Bay of Plenty Gold will be looking to add to their growth as a team with each weekend. "This is our first weekend away as a team and so it will give us the chance strenghtening those team bonds further and tidying up some of those errors that creep into our game," said Coach Mary Jane Araroa.
Mary Thompson won the New World Volunteer Administrator and Christie Yule won the New World Youth Volunteer. "We are extremely proud of both of them," said Board Chair Shirley Baker.
"Mary has volunteered in administration for Rotorua Netball Centre for over 30 years.She has played a huge role in the organization of the Kurangaituku Tournament for 29 years. She is an amazing administrator who leaves no stone unturned and is willing to help with anything that needs to be done to ensure netball is a success. Her commitment, enthusiasm and energy for netball are reflected in the way the community holds netball in Rotorua in such high regard,” said Shirley Baker.
Youth volunteer winner Christie Yule is a Year 13 student at Mt Maunganui College. "Her contribution has been nothing short of outstanding. She has huge respect among her peers and all those she has worked with, whether younger or older. Her willingness to get things done and help out when and where needed is unique and she has set the benchmark for youth leaders within the Region. She has coached a netball team since 2005 when she was in Year 9 and played rep netball for Bay of Plenty since 2006. She also umpires and often volunteers to umpire when there are “no shows”. As NBOP's rep on the NNZ Youth Council from 2006 to 2009 she won praise from the NNZ staff for her presentation “It’s all about heart”, said Baker.
Netball Bay of Plenty is renown for its strong and hard working team of volunteers. "We have very large numbers of people who are always eager to help the Region in what ever way they can and these are the very people giving hours in their schools, clubs and centres,"said a very proud Board Chair.
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The Bay of Plenty Gold side had their first win of the Perry Foundation National Netball Champs against Counties Manukau in a game that saw 11 of the 12 all have court time. Coach Mary Jane Araroa is fearless when it comes to testing people during the match knowing that there is still a long way to go. She also bravely swapped Exia Shelford on for Kelly Coe at centre during the second injury break of the final quarter when the Bay side had some real momentum.
The 33 to 25 half time lead to Bay of Plenty was the result of strong defense work and good shooting. The number of turnovers from the previous week along with basic errors had been reduced which was a positive for the coach.
The pairing of Jodi Tod GD and Rachel Donnelly GK is growing with each quarter and Charlene Wolfgramm played a much stronger WD role than the previous week to support the circle defence. In general the team worked well together to win the opposition centre pass and turnovers in the opposition goal third.
Trident High School shooter Harley Smith was given the chance to play half a match at GS and rewarded her coach with strong rebounding and an 80% shooting average. Having replaced the very accurate Arahi Wall who had shot at 87% in the first half was a big ask for the youngster. Tanya Lund put in another strong performance at GA and shot 78%.
The ten goal win 62 to 52 was a positive for the team very shy on game time who now travel to Gisborne to play Eastern.
The Bay of Plenty Gold side took a great deal away from their match up against Wellington and will be looking to step up for the match against the Ana Noovao coached Counties Manukau side. The Bay side will be working on through court movement of the ball along with scoring off invaluable interceptions earned through hard work on defence. The match is at QEYC at 10:30am on Sunday September 13th.
Bay of Plenty Gold were in the match until half time against the Wellington side that contained a number of Pulse players. The 28 to 23 half time score was an accurate indicator of the game. Arahi Wall's back injury was clearly troubling her and so with a loss inevitable Coach Mary Jane Araroa took the accurate shooter (90%) from the court. "Tanya Lund was our player of the match shooting with 80% accuracy and doing a lot of work on attack," said coach Mary Jane Araroa. "We just need to reduce those basic errors from our game and achieve greater passing accuracy and we will get closer to the results that we want. The 57 to 40 final score was not what we wanted but it shows us what we need to do."
Harley Smith was selected as shooter of B Grade and Amy Christophers defender of the same grade. Both players have played well this season for their teams. Trident High School side that Harley is a leader in did well to finish in the top 8 of the B Grade following their promotion from C Grade in 2008. Her netball playing will continue as she now joins the Bay of Plenty Open Gold Team competing in the Perry Foundation National Netball Champs. Amy Christophers played strongly in defense with Kylie Tiejtens for Otumoetai College who were unlucky not to make the final of the B Grade. "We are very proud of these young women and look forward to their continued grqoth and development in the game,"said Jodi Tod NBOP Coach Development Manager with the oversight of talent identification.
The Bay of Plenty Gold Team is keen to get their Perry Foundation Netball Champs underway and their first up match against Wellington will be a challenging assignment given the number of this years Pulse players in the side. "It is just so good playing our first two matches at home at QEYC and this first one is a biggie for us," said Captain Jodi Tod. "Our focus has to be on our game and what we can do as a team if we are to achieve the top two finish that we want."
In the shooting circle are Vice Captain Tanya Lund and Arahi Wall who played well together for Baywide Champions Cornerstone. They will be joined by youngsters Harley Smith from Trident High School and former Bay of Plenty Age Group representative Keiha Pukepuke. The midcourt sees Sharmaine Bunting, former Black Fern Exia Edward, Kelly Coe & Melissa Ruru. The defenders see Captain Jodi Tod joined by Sharlene Wolfgramm, Rachel Donnelly and Ashley Clark.
The Baywide Year 7 & 8 Event is thoroughly enjoyed by players, coaches, and parents despite the testing conditions. The Year 8 Division was closely contested not only in the pool play round but also in the semis and finals. The Rotorua Intermediate side pushed hard to become Champions for 2009 and create history for the school. With the scores level at half and three quarter time with Te Puke Intermediate it was anticipated that the goal for goal match would go into extra time. However, the Rotorua side secured a two goal win in the final quarter. The Bronze medal went to Otumoetai Intermediate who defeated the promising looking Whakatane side.
The Year 7 final was between annual rivals Tauranga & Te Puke Intermediates. Tauranga won gold, Te Puke the Silver, and Mount the Bronze.
The 2009 BOP Polytechnic Baywide Secondary School Final saw a changing of the guard at the top which maintained the trend for the year within the Region. All competitions need to see those top spots change to maintain the sense of desire and to reinforce the thinking that taking a title can be achieved by anyone. For Tauranga Girls College being crowned Champions was a long held desire that finally has come to fruition. The Final between Tauranga Girls & Kawerau College was an excellent match between the largest netball school in the Region and one of the smallest in terms of playing numbers. Rotorua Girls took out the bronze over Otumoetai College.
The Plate was won by Mount Maunganui over Tauranga Girls 2 with Te Puke finishing third.
Western Heights who have won the title most regularly over the past 7 or so year found themselves well down the pecking order finishing third in the Bowl Division which Otunoetai 2 won in a close encounter with Trident 2.
Mary Jane Araroa or 'MJ'as she is affectionately known is excited to be given the opportunity to take on the Head Coach role for Bay of Plenty Gold. From Waimana, a small place in the eastern Bay of Plenty close to Opotiki Mary Jane has a fair distance to travel to trainings each week.
MJ's no nonsense approach has found favour with the players along with what some may call 'old school'things like skipping! Ursula (Billy) Pritchard (Tauranga) has continued in her assistant coach role with the responsibility of working with the defence. Bay of Plenty Polytechnic student Hanna Sharps is the Apprentice Coach for 2009 and will be working with the two coaches to develop training ciruits. Melody Wilson (Rotorua) remains with the Gold side for the second year.
"This team is truly represwentaitve of the Bay of Plenty when you look at the Team Management and the players."
"The team preparations for the 2009 Perry Foundation Netball Champs has not gone quite to plan," said CEO Sheryl Dawson.
"We have really struggled to find an indoor training venue for the Blue Team in Rotorua and added to that we have had to make coaching adjustments for the Gold Team. The lack of indoor facilities in the Region is becoming more of a challenge each year. While the Gold side has traditionally trained at Aquinas College and will be able to do so for 2009, the Blue team is still looking for a mid week indoor training venue in Rotorua. Sadly Andrew Jarvie's ill health has prevented him form carrying on in the head coach role for the Gold Team. The players really enjoyed Andrew as a coach in 2008 and were looking forward to his return this year. Mary Jane Araroa has stepped up as the Coach of the Gold team from her assistant coach role."
Netball Bay of Plenty has always been willing to try different approaches to the selection of its teams and based on the experience of the selection for the Lois Muir Challenge a similar pattern is going to be followed for the Open sides. The players will have two weeks of testing, skill work and trials before the Gold side will be chosen for 2009. The Blue side will then follow.
Andrew Jarvie coach of the Bay of Plenty Gold Team is keen to see what the players have to offer over the two Wednesday nights before making his decision. Baywide Finals Day also provided the chance to see players in action in their own team environment.
Carol Holt and Rangi Ward will co coach the Blue side and both are excited about the young talent that is on offer to be considered for this team. "I was impressed by the way the young players committed themselves on Baywide Finals Day," said Carol Holt.
The NBOP Umpires Panel put in a great deal of effort over the season working with umpires to help them reach the standards set for the national awards. At the baywide Finals Day Hayley Gulliford of Rotorua achieved her Netball New Zealand Regional Practical on a semi final and Diane Waititi of Whakatane had achieved her a few days earlier. Yvonne Teddy of Rotorua was recognized for passing her New Zealand Theory. She is currently a New Zealand Regional Practical Award holder.
The Finals Day for Baywide is a demanding one with the semis for the Championship and Plate played in the morning and the Grand Finals and medals play offs played in the afternoon. There was some excellent netball played over the day and some herculean efforts made by many players for their teams.
The highly rated Wharewarewa Red qualified number one and looked likely to take the title that they wanted so much in 2009. However, newly crowned Harbourside Champions Cornerstone had other ideas and having missed out on the Baywide Champions title by one goal in 2008 against the mens side, the Tauranga side were clearly determined to add another title to their 2009 season. Cornerstone led by two goals at the end of the first quarter and at half time the margin was still the same at 28 to 26. NZ Secondary School player Amy Christophers playing at GK for Cornerstone had her work cut out for her up against the very experienced former representative player Lania Holt but was uncompromising in her defence while at the other end for Wkarewarewa Red Emma Mc George in the same position seized on every wayward pass thrown by the Cornerstone attack.
Cornerstone coach Billy Pritchard introduced Tanya Lund at WA at halftime and she opened up the attacking end of the court feeding Nicole Schraft at GA and Arahi Wall at GS very cleverly. This along with the much more accurate shooting from the Cornerstone pair saw the Tauranga side go into the final quarter ten goals ahead. There was no stopping the dominance or flow of the gold medal performance which saw Cornerstone defeat Whakarewarewa Red 66 to 41.
(Shooting: Cornerstone Nicole Schraft – 93%; Arahi Wall 85% and Whakarewarewa Red: Lania Holt 69%; Annabelle Aston 72%) The MVP for the Championship was Amy Christophers.
The Plate Final saw URC Kruziers who were unlucky not to be in the top four defeat Opotiki Sports 47 to 43. This was a huge step up for the Opotiki side led by former Black Fern Exia Shelford. She led her side with strong movement through the midcourt and kept urging her young players to make themselves available to the ball. The Reporoa URC Kruziers had former Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic player Karla Shaw (Sutton) and Bay of Plenty Rep Ezra Tocker. Both of who had very strong showings. Karla Shaw in particular showed she has not lost her touch as a strog defender. The MVP for the Plate was Simone Howe of Opotiki Sports and a member of the Bay of Plenty Under 17m side that had competed in the National Under 17 event the week previously.
Other Results
Championship Bronze – Maheatataka 60 Ngongotaha 53
MVP - Lyddia Moke
Plate Bronze – Edgecumbe 47 Kawera College 44
MVP - Denise Tamatea
Whakarewarewa Red have found themselves finishing number one going into the Baywide Finals this weekend despite their loss to the Ngongotaha Premiers. Having defeated Cornerstone and Maheatataka they have managed to hold onto the top spot. Cornerstone defeated Maheatataka 66 to to 42 to take the number two ranking. This result will see the two Tauranga sides rematched in the semi on Saturday. Whakarewarewa Red will play old rivals Ngongotaha Premiers in the other semi.
In the Plate URC Kruziers who have been unable to break into the top four have finished number one and will play Trident A in one semi and in the second semi Opotiki Sports will play Edgecumbe.
"The excitement about Baywide Finals is that often results do not go the way that they are expected to and so we are all looking forward to a fantastic day,"said CEO Sheryl Dawson. "There will be some excellent games for the Perry Foundation coaches to observe and the public to watch."
The Draw to be played at Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre Tauranga
10am - Plate Semis
URC Kruziers vs Trident A
Opotiki Sports vs Edgecumbe
11:45am - Championship Semis
Whakarewarewa Red vs Ngongotaha Premiers
Cornerstone vs Maheatataka
1:30pm PLATE FINALS
3:15pm CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
The results of 6 of the 7 Netball Bay of Plenty Age Group Representative Teams over the first week of the school holidays shows that the work that is being put intio the development of the younger players is beginning to raise the bar for players and teams. While the teams were not winners at their respective events they did finish higher than previously and what makes this so exciting is that the teams selected for 2009 were generally at the lower end of the age spectrum.
At the Under 15 Event in Taranaki the The very young and inexperienced Bay of Plenty Development Team finished 12 out 23 in the second division. This in itself is a huge step up on previous years. Rotorua Centre finished at 13 , Opotiki at 20 and Whakatane 23. In the top division the bay of Plenty Blue side finished at 11 and the Gold side at 14. For the first time ever teams generally had more than one win.
Phyllis Savage from Netball Whakatane has much to impress within the Bay of Plenty when it comes to umpiring and it was great for her to gain recognition at the North harbour Under 17 Event by being awarded the final. Phyllis is one of those umpires who quietly and efficiently controls makes the critical decisions.
Renee Whare a shooter from Tauranga Girls College was named in the Tournament Team. Renee played for the Bay of Plenty Under 17 Gold Development Team which was coached by Rangi Ward.
The North Harbour Under 17's proved to be an excellent event for the two Netball Bay of Plenty Development Teams who gained a great deal out of the matches over the three days. The Gold side finished 6th overall and the Blue side 7th out of the 18 sides competing. While the vagaries of sports draws are well documented the old adage is that to win any event you must win every game and this is something coaches want but teams do not always deliver. The competitive benefits of this event for many of theser players will be invaluable.
The Bay of Plenty Development Team finished twelfth out of twenty four teams at the Taranaki Under 15's which is a huge positve for the region given how green this group of players were at the start of the campaign. Coach Hanna Sharps was delighted with the way the young group grasped so many of the techniques given to them over the past few weeks and grew as players.
The Bay of Plenty Blue & Gold Teams playi8ng in the top division recorded some good wins at the annual event but at the same time have learnt about the gap that they need to work on against some of the bigger city teams.
The Bay of Plenty Blue side had two close encounters and this shows that the gap is beginning to close for teams at this level. A three goal loss to the always strong home side Taranaki is a good bench mark to use. While the 14 goal loss to Auckland seems a wide margin for a Bay of Plenty side this is better than it has ever been. The Gold team defeated Manawatu by 5 and then lost to HPNC by 14 and Wellington by 12. The Bay of Plenty Development Team had two big wins, one by 10 goals against HPNC and then an even bigger win against Kerikeri by 18 goals. This young side has some talented players who well nurtured offer a great hope for the future.
On the Centre front Rotorua had a 5 goal win over Wairarapa While Whakatane and Opotiki both had losses.
Two wins was a great way to open the Bay of Plenty Under 19 NNZ Age Group Campaign.First up there was a win against Waitakere and then later in the day over Waikato Black. The team played extremely well for three quarters against the Auckland side and one quarter against the Waikato team. The error rate is still too high for coach Teresa Dobbs liking but the team is putting together some excellent plays.
Day One of the annual Under 15's in Taranaki was a challenging one for the Bay sides who are all at the younger end of the age spectrum as well as being largely first timers in this kind of of competition.
Bay of Plenty Blue playing in Grade One lost by 5 goals to Wellington Black, 8 to Hamilton City and 10 to North Harbour A. The young side need to continue to work hard on going for everything and not losing concentration. Also playing in Grade One but in the other section is the Gold side who faced two toughies first up. Losing to both Waitakere and Hutt Valley by significant margins this team needs to continue to focus on each play they make. The Bay of Plenty Development team playing in Grade Two had a win against HPNC and two losses - one to Kapiti and the other to Hutt Valley. The coach Hanna Sharps and manager Arahi Wall were delighted with their teams performance against Kapiti despite the loss.
The centre sides all had good games but were unable to find an elusive win against teams from outside the Bay of Plenty. Whakatane Centre played Napier, Thames Valley and the Taranaki Invitation Team. Their best game of the day was against Napier which they lost by 4 goals. Rotorua played Opotiki, Monganui and EWNC. A 7 goal win against Opotiki got them off to a good start and a one goal loss at the end of the day to EWNC made amends for the 13 goal loss to Monganui. Opotiki began by losing to Rotorua and then had two very large losses to EWNC and Wairarapa.
This is a huge tournament for Under 15 players and from a Netball Bay of Plenty perspective it does give players their first taste of playing in an extremely competitive environment and is a great way to prepare for the future.
Who would have believed that long time rivals Ngongotaha Premier and Wharewarewa Red would have had such a close encounter in the push to the Finals. Ngongotaha had been a force some four years or so ago but of recent times had not been able to qualify in the top four. However, they fired a warning shot in their match against Whakarewarewa Red in Round Six. Their relentless pressure upset Whaka and showed the top of the ladder side that they were vulnerable without their long time defender Pauline Craven. The 41 to 40 win to Ngongotaha has primed Baywide for an exciting finish.
The Maheatataka versus URC Kruziers match won rave reviews from New Zealand umpires Wendy Sinclair & Kay Butler. Maheatataka proved too strong for the newcomers to the league winning 51 to 45. The much more skilful Cornerstone dispatched of Opotiki Sports 61 to 39.
The 2009 Baywide may see Whakarewarewa Red achieve the elusive win in the annual competiton among teams from around the Bay of Plenty. Having finished top of their section and defeated Cornerstone in a cross over match and former champions Maheatataka they have two games to go to cement the number one ranking going into Baywide Finals Day. The injury to long serving Whaka defender Pauline Craven may well create problems for the side at the sharp end of the season but the adaptability of Bay of Plenty representative Melissa Ruru does provide some cover in the shooting circle.
Cornerstone & Maheatataka will come to Finals Day with their top line ups to ensure that they have every opportunity in the quest for champion status. The fourth team to make up the Championship Division will likely be Ngongotaha Premiers. The Plate Division on this day will also produce some excitement.
Baywide Finals July 18th at QEYC, Tauranga.
Round Four in the annual Baywide event and the two high school sides competing this season put on a great showing in Whakatane at the Trident High School gym. Kawerau College played the table topping Whakarewarewa Red and held their own until half time when the scores were level. The experienced Whakarewarewa side pushed on to win 53 to 38.
"Kawerau College should take some pride out of this given that they were without their key defender Melissa Niao," said Whakatane Netball President Rebecca Tukukino. "In the other match of the night Trident High School played Opotiki and for some parts of the match Trident were ahead of their older opponents but again the lack of experience saw the older players push on for Opotiki who ran out the winners 67 to 57. Both were excellent games and the high scoring rate in the Tridnet Opotiki match made it a good game to watch."
Over 80 Primary School netballers gathered at the Mount Action Centre to participate in a skills day supported by the ANZ and run by Netball Bay of Plenty. 30 College and Intermediate players were invited specially to listen to Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and Silver Fern Squad member Jodi Tod talk about what it takes to get to the top and overcome obstacles that try to prevent you getting there.
"The Year 5 and Year 6 players enjoyed a half day of netball skills at the ANZ Discovery Day and each received their very own Certificate and goodie bag and ANZ Championship Tattoo and Magazine. There were some very excited kids," said Shane Southby from the ANZ.
"The talk by Jodi Tod was excellent and she had some great engagement with the Netball A Teams from the Secondary and Intermediate players. We have continued to keep the focus of the Championships on our local schools and kids and this has really resulted in some excellent opportunities and relationships through the ANZ Championships. A great day and great profile for ANZ," enthused Business Manager Shane Southby.
Netball Bay of Plenty staff Tanya Lund, Arahi Wall, Jodi Tod, Lyndsay Meads and Hanna Sharps along with local secondary school students planned the day and helped to make the skills sessions such a success.
Netball Centres around the country are having a ball after winning a $5,000 cash prize in a New World competition offering netballers the chance to get sponsored like the Silver Ferns.
The six winning netball centres, including Temuka, Kaikoura, Waiuku, Bay of Islands, Hutt Valley and Rotorua were thrilled to hear they had scored one of the hotly contested sponsorship prizes.
"We are over the moon," said Rotorua Netball Centre Executive Member Mary Thompson, "the teams in the centre have shown their pride and loyalty which is just great. We think that the timing of our Junior Seminar where we could hand out flyers and talk to them all was what really helped. Now we are waiting to see if one of our teams has won as well. It is just great for us."
New World Netball Sponsorship Co-ordinator, Margaret O’Sullivan, says the prize is a fantastic opportunity for centres to continue to support and develop netball in their region.
“The $5,000 sponsorship prize is a great boost to the winning netball centres and will allow them to invest more time and money into netball in their local communities.”
To celebrate its sponsorship of the Silver Ferns and Netball New Zealand, New World offered netball centres nationwide the chance to win one of six $5,000 prizes by having the most teams signed up to its Get Sponsored Like the Silver Ferns competition.
The Get Sponsored Like the Silver Fern competition offers netball teams across the country the chance to win a sponsorship deal by collecting dockets from their local New World store. It is one of New World’s many new initiatives to support grass roots netball in New Zealand.
Most of the matches in this years Baywide Open are seeing two goals a minute scored which is causing concern for the defensive experts in the Region.
"While we are seeing free flowing and fast paced matches no team has a defense that is effectively stemming the flow. This must be of concern for the Region leading up to the Perry Foundation Championships with the loss of two of last years key defenders to pregnancy. The Cornerstone Whakarewarewa Red encounter saw one of the lower final scores to date with only 87 goals recorded but even this does little to ally fears for those starting to look for players for the provincial encounters later in the year."
Whakarewarewa Red have been searching for a way to the top and found it in their match up against last years runners up Cornerstone in Baywide Pool play. Spectators began to wonder at the end of the first quarter when Cornerstone led 16 to 5. But team work in the end defeated saw Whakarewarewa Red defeat Cornerstone in an exciting game where Whaka's home crowd helped them to a good win 47 to 40.
Trident A and Kawerau College have gone looking for the playing experience that the Baywide Open offers to raise their playing capabilities in preparation for the UNISS Tournament this year. Both sides compete in the Netball Whakatane competition and sit in the top four of the top grade.
These two teams will come up against Cornerstone, Maheatataka, Whakarewarewa Red and Ngongotaha Premiers which will certainly test them. Both sides have talented players many of whom are playing in Bay of Plenty age group represetnative teams. Teresa Dobbs coach of the Bay of Plenty Under 19 Team would like to see all of her players being challenged in this way.
The Finals Day for the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Baywide Under 15 saw each Division Final go to the wire. The quality of some games belied the years of the players.
Division One Final
Trident A caused an upset in the Semi Finals defeating the much vaunted RGHS 1 who were seen as an absolute certainty for the 2009 title. The determination of the young side from Whakatane was seen yet again in their final against Tauranga Girls 10A. After leading the first quarter by 3 they struggled in the second quarter and the Tauranga side achieved a one goal ascendancy at the half. Tauranga 10A gained confidence and pushed this out to a three goal lead to go into the final quarter with a reasonable buffer. However, the game stepped up another level in the final quarter and the Trident defensive effort helped produce more ball for the shooting end who found form at the right end of the match. Scoring 7 goals to 3 in the final 10 minutes saw Trident win 29 to 28 in a first class game of netball for this age group. The large crowd were entertained by some excellent play. RGHS 1 were bronze medallists with Otumoetai Junior A 4th, Opotiki 5th and Aquinas 10A 6th.
Division Two Final
The battle between John Paul and Rotorua Girls High Junior A saw another intense final that could have gone either way. John Paul had the pleasure of leading 4 to 3 at the end of the first quarter and pushed on to an 8 to 5 lead at half time. However, Rotorua Girls Junior A kept working hard on every ball and were able to level the score at 12 all at three quarter time. The final quarter saw both teams doing their best to secure the win and Rotorua Girls found their feet to win 17 to 15 in what was a hard fought match. Mount Maunganui Kiwis won the bronze over Bethlehem Junior A. RGHS Development were fifth and TGC 10B were 6th.
Division Three Final
Trident B in the Year 9 group got off to a great start against Te Puke 9A after defeating them in the pool play rounds. Going into the second quarter with a five goal lead Trident saw Te Puke narrow the gap to three by half time. The third quarter was all Trident and their 26 to 18 lead should have been enough to see them home in the final quarter but the Te Puke youngsters had other ideas and valiantly worked their way back into the game restricting Trident to 4 goals in the final quarter while they stormed home with 14. The 32 to 30 win to Te Puke 9A was an exciting one. Otumoetai 9A won the bronze medal.
The newly launcghed Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Baywide Under 15 played over two weekends has seen some close matches. The one or two goal wins illustrate just how competitive the teams in this group can be. With 12 Year 10 or combination teams in Division One and 5 teams in the Year 9 Divisionm it is apparent that the move to combination Year 9 & 10 junior sides is gaining a momentum in the Region.
In Division One - RGHS Jumior A defeated Bethlehem Junior A by 1 goal; RGHS Development defeated Mount Maunganui Kiwis by 1 Goal; Opotiki beat John Paul by a goal; and Tauranga Girls 10A defeated Otumoetai Junior A by two goals. Rotorua Girls 1, their top Under 15 team looks very hard to topple in Division One while Division Two has a more even feel to it going into Finals Day in Rotorua. The Year 9 Division Three has a very strong team from Te Puke High School coached by Shelley Harawira which will be hard to beat. However, the final for this division in the past has seen the top ranked team dive under pressure.
The Bay of Plenty Polytechnic is a new sponsor for Netball Bay of Plenty becoming involved as the naming rights of the Baywide Under 15's and Baywide Secondary School events. Both events will benefit from this sponsorship with umpires being provided with BOP Polytechnic shirts and helping with the costs of running each of these regional events.
"Netball Bay of Plenty is delighted with the three year partnership which we hope will expand over time," said CEO Sheryl Dawson. "This is an extremely positive relationship for us because we want our young women to see the value in education and from our experience it has often been netball that has given them confidence to continue with their education because it has helped them to see the what learning beyond Secondary School can do for them."
A tiny rural school which has two netball teams saw the opportunity to help the young players upskill when it came to the game and contact Netball Bay of Plenty to see if they could have the NBOP developed programme 'Starting Outin Netball' run within the school each week to save travelling into Rotorua Netball Centre.
Tanya Lund was impressed with the enthusiasm of the youngsters and the way that the different ages and abilities worked together to improve their playing skills. "Some of these players were very skilled, quick to learn and showed that their country lifestyles definitely contributed to their general physical awareness," said Tanya. "These players have as much chance of moving on through the levels of the game as anyone else and being from a very tiny school should not stop them."
While Western had no difficulty in defeating Counties Manukau 77 to 34 the Otago versus Cook Strait match was a nail biter. The desire to win was very much etched on the faces of the Cook Strait team throughout the match. While they got as far as 6 goals ahead in the dying moments it looked like Otago may stage a comeback. However, the one goal win 43 to 42 will make the long road trip home even sweeter.
Southland has risen from the bottom of the leader board in 2008 to the top in 2009 to win the Lois Muir Challenge. The only side to go through unbeaten in the competition the team from South. Four teams came close including bottom ranked North in the final match for the Southland team. The 49 to 46 win to Southland reinforced that the Lois Muir Challenge is one where predicability is not the case.
In the other match of the round Auckland Waitakere had a strong win over Canterbury 62 to 49. Amy Latu was again the stand out shooter scoring 48 from 51 attempts.
Going into the final round any one of three teams can be runner up. If Cook Strait defeat Otago they will be second outright but if Otago win the honours will be shared with Western as long as they defeat Western.
The Cook Strait versus Waikato match had the crowd on the edge of their seats in the second half after a very expected first half that saw Waikato end the second quarter up 22 to 15.The Cook Strait sides less than 50% shooting average contrasted strongly with 73% average of Waikato who had put up two less shots. The third quarter saw the largely Wellington side burst into life and claw back control of the game with a 76% shooting average and putting 10 more shots up than Waikato who struggled with the Cook Strait defence. A low scoring final quarter was the result of a number of turnovers from both sides but it was the grit and determination of the Cook Strait sided that saw them win 43 to 42 and so dissol ving Waikato's chances of being in the hunt for the runner up title.
The Bay of Plenty versus Otago match provided the large crowd with some excellent passages of play by both sides. The secondary school players in the Bay of Plenty team had a much better showing in this match. Amy Christophers playing the entire game was a stand out at both GK & GD while Harley Smith grew in stature as GS and Lyddia Moke played a strong quarter at WA. Harley Smith is to be proud with her 86% shooting average. The final score was 52 to 44 to Otago who put up 21 more shots than Bay of Plenty.
Southland showed why thay have made a meteoric rise from bottom of the table i n 2008 to top of the table in the Lois Muir Challenge of 2009. Although down by three to Cook Strait at the end of the first quarter they made the second quarter very much their own and so held a lead of 26 to 22 at the half. The third was almost a repeat of the second and so they pushed their lead out to 9 goals at 41 to 32. The final quarter saw Cook Strait unable to match the well drilled Southland team who won 54 to 39 in what was a reasonably flowing match. Southland put up 71 shots while Cook Strait 57. Very much the story of the weekend in with teams running out of ideas not being able to get the ball into the shooting circle in the latter stages of the game.
The Waikato versus Otago match was an excellent game of netball that saw both teams work hard to get the ball through the court. This match went into extra time and it was the experience of the Waikato side that told the story in the end in a match that looked like it would go for the rest of the afternoon.Waikato won the firstr quarter by two only to have Otago come back at them at the end of the first half to close the lead to one at 24 to 23. Waikato continued to press hard to gain the ascendency in the third quarter - 36 to 34 but that never say die Otago attitude saw them level the scores and then the see saw finish to the quarter was a 45 all draw.In the first half of overtime Otago led by one only to have Waikato come back at them and win the last half by 3 and so Waikato took the win 53 to 51.
The two games in this round were fast paced and intense and saw the score lines see saw between one team and the other. Bay of Plenty got off to a superb start against Canterbury going into the second quarter 6 goals up at 20 to 14. The second quarter saw a resurgent Canterbury side play strongly to close the half time score one goal with the Bay up 30 to 29. The third quarter saw both sides have their chances and both sides lead but the Bay emerged up 50 to 47 with school girls Lyddia Moke at WA and Harley Smith at GS settling in well. The final quarter saw Canterbury dominate and go on to win 66 to 57. Ellen Halpenny palyed GS in the first half for Canterbury and Goal Attack in the second her 85% shooting average was a tribute to her. For the Bay Tanya Lund playing GA the entire match averaged 78%. Canterbury put up 11 more shots than the Bay over the match.
In the other match Auckland Waitakere led 16 to 13 at the end of the first quarter and held on at the half to 32 to 29 against Western. Western came back in the second half to lead 47 to 44 at the end of the third quarter and pushed on to win 62 to 55 at full time. This match saw 140 shots put up with 117 finding the mark. Special mention must go to Amy Latu who scored 29 out of 32.
The North versus Cook Strait clash provided some moments of quite outstanding play by both teams. Cook Strait got off to a flyer leading 18 to 10 at the quarter and it did not look like North would come near them. However,the second quarter saw North settle into their game plan a little more strongly and they won this quarter by two to narrow the half time score to 28 to 34. Cook Strait worked hard to win the third quarter by one goal and so going into the final quarter 46 to 39 unless the team from the North could work a miracle the game was Cook Strait's. The final score at 56 to 54 was a tribute to the way North played their final quarter. Carli Bates shot 100% in the second half of the match which is a tribute to her.
In the second game of the round top of the table Southland had an easy win over Counties Manukau 62 to 25. Gemma Roberts recorded 100% in the only quarter she played shooting 9 from 9.
There was great excitement at the Harbourside Netball Centre Thursday night competition when Kay Butler achieved the next step in her umpiring dream - her New Zealand Umpires Badge. This is an outstanding achievement for such a dedicated umpire who has worked hard to reach this level. Having been recognised as the Volunteer of the Month on the NBOP website and had high praise about her role with the Perry Foundation Scholarship Team at the Western Region Academy in Bathurst, Australia.
Kay is in the centre of the photo taken at the WRAS Camp in January.
Southland found the going tough last year but have emerged this year as the team that looks most likely to win the event as the ten teams go into finals weekend. The topsy turvy results make this competition exciting and there are three other teams within striking distance of the Southland side. Western are two points behind on the leader board and next comes Waikato followed by Auckland Waitakere. While Bay of Plenty ara at the wrong end of the ladder the team has provided excellent playing opportunities for the secondary school players - Lyddia Moke, Harley Smith, Patricia Iasona, Kimberley Maisey and Amy Christophers.
Matches will commence on Anzac Saturday at 12:30pm at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre with Cook Strait playing North and Southland playing the improving Counties Manukau. Bay of Plenty will play Canterbury at 2pm.
Click here for the current points table
The secondary school players getting their opportunities by being involved in the trainings and matches in the Lois Muir Challenge are the ones gaining the most at present. The results have been disappointing for Co Coaches Kyra Sharplin and Kimiora Insley who were hoping for more from the group who have trained really well each week.
"There is no doubt the competition is much stronger this year,"said Vice Captain Arahi Wall, "and we are at that point in the Bay of Plenty where we have lost a talented group who were ready to step up but have gone off to University and so the next group are working hard to fill the gap left."
The team have not had a win to date but have had a number of close games which is in stark contrast to the first season in which the side were runners up.
The good thing is that we have helped some of the younger players develop their games a little further. It has been great for the likes of Lyddia Moke, Harley Smith, Amy Christophers, Kimberley Maisey, Kylie Tiejtens and Tahlia Andrews. All will have so much more to take into their Age Group Representative Teams.
The Bay of Plenty Lois Muir Challenge Team had a good chance to test different combinations against the Central Pulse in the first game of Waipa Weekend.Youngsters Harley Smith in the shooting end and Lyddia Moke in the midcourt quickly got over their initial nerves and settled into what was a good game of netball to watch. Both teams committed themselves to all four quarters and played fast paced and very strong defensive netball. The Bay team aquitted themselves extremely well and 24 to 11 at halftime was a positive given the experience the youngsters had gained. 57 to 25 for a team that had not had any court time was extremely useful for coaches Kyra Sharplin and Kimiora Insley to tske to their final training prior to the start of the Lois Muir Challenge in Wellington March 28 & 29.
Some of the players from Waipa Weekend went on to play at the Netball Hamilotn City pre season event the next day. This was an opportunity for new Coaches Carol Holt and Rangi Ward to work with the experienced players and the other young players who just missed the final cut for the Lois Muir Challenge side. The team won all matches apart from one by one goal. "This is all so good for the development of netball in the Bay of Plenty," said CEO Sheryl Dawson.
The Annual General Meeting saw the Te Puke Netball Centre Pavilion filled to capacity for what was a great night enjoyed by close to 50 people. Mary Thompson was given her Netball Bay of Plenty Life Membership and Jackie Smith the Netball Bay of Plenty Service Award. Both women were overwhelmed by the special recognition given to them. The Service Award citations read by Doreen Neil for Jackie and the Life Membership for Mary by Taini Jamison revealed the countless hours that both had given to the game.
The current Board Chair Shirley Baker was re elected unopposed and the Centres agreed to increase the fees paid by each team to the Region. The increase in fee is to be used to develop the direct link between each netball team and the Region. Communication is very much the focus for 2009 along with finding a way to greater financial stability.
Coaches Kimiora Insley and Kyra Sharplin are pleased with the way the young players are developing in the mix of players that make up the Bay of Plenty side which will compete in the Lois Muir Challenge.
The shooters are Tanya Lund, Patricia Iasona, Harley Smith, & Arahi Wall. "This is a great opportunity for the two young secondary school shooters Harley & Patricia because they will both learn a great deal from Tanya and Arahi in the circle."
In the midcourt Lyddia Moke is the only secondary school player and will also benefit from the experience that Sharmaine Bunting, Laurelle Borck, Laura Macdonald, and Emma McGeorge.
The defensive end consists of Billy Pritchard, Erana Mikaere and Amy Christophers.
The first round of matches will be played in Wellington on March 28 & 29 and the side will use their game at Waipa Weekend to gain some court time.
