Mid Canterbury Netball is hoping for a bumper 2023 winter season, as it’s going to be a pretty special year for the organisation.

This year, is Mid Canterbury Netball’s centenary year, and while there’s a special celebration being planned to mark the milestone in October, there’s a whole season of netball to get through first.

Mid Canterbury Netball centre manager Erin Tasker said 2022 was a bumper year for netball. The number of senior (secondary), social and premier teams in Mid Canterbury Netball’s stable of competitions grew by five, while junior numbers remained fairly steady, and hopes are high for much of the same in 2023.

While the netball season doesn’t begin until late April, trials for premier and senior teams get under way next week. A trials window introduced a couple of seasons ago sees all premier and senior team trials held within a two week period, which this season is February 27 to March 12. Teams are then named, and all team registrations across the board – from year 3 and 4 through to social and premier – need to be with Mid Canterbury Netball by March 31.

ACL Premier netball will then be the first to get under way for the year, on April 27, followed by year 3 and 4 netball on April 28, Saturday netball on April 29, and social on May 3. Social netball teams will also be required to be represented at a Netball Smart education night on April 26 though, where they will be taken through the Netball Smart warm up in the hope of encouraging teams to warm up before they play, hence reducing the number of injuries.

After three seasons of netball impacted by Covid in some way shape or form, Tasker said things were certainly back on the up.

“I think last year people were just keen to get back to some sort of normality, and although there was a fair bit of sickness around which made things hard at times, we got there. We had a full season, and a full season where we didn’t have to stand at the doors counting people to make sure we didn’t go over any number limits, so we’re looking forward to another good season where we can continue to grow,” Tasker said.

All players must be registered before taking to the court, and details of all Mid Canterbury Netball schools and clubs and how to register to play for them can be found on the Mid Canterbury Netball website, here. Any players new to the district who want help being pointed in the right direction, can email info@mcnetball.co.nz.

Mid Canterbury Netball is also on the hunt for umpires and umpire coaches, and anyone keen to umpire in any Mid Canterbury Netball competition this season is asked to fill out the umpire registration form here. New bench officials are also welcome, too, and anyone wanting more information on the role of a bench official and how to go about becoming one, can email info@mcnetball.co.nz.

The other vital role where people are always needed, is coaches. Most Mid Canterbury Netball clubs are also still seeking coaches for the coming season, from year 3 and 4 teams through to premier. Anyone keen to coach is asked to contact Mid Canterbury Netball, so coaches can be connected with teams.

Existing and new coaches are also welcome to attend a pre-season coach support day, being facilitated by Mid Canterbury Netball coach developer Claire Tappin this coming Sunday. More information on this and the form to register can also be found on the Mid Canterbury Netball website, with topics covered in this Sunday’s session to include selecting, planning, building relationships and skills analysis. A second coach support day in early May will look at shooting, attack, defence and team culture.

While there is no pre-season inter centre competition being hosted in Ashburton as there has been in previous years, pre-season tournaments are being hosted by both the Selwyn Netball Centre and the North Canterbury Netball Centre, which Mid Canterbury teams are welcome to attend.

Article added: Tuesday 21 February 2023