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Netball Rodney has found a temporary solution to its lack of courts for the 2022 competition and a further two seasons.
Club representatives Karyne Ross, Lynette Gubb and Kelly Ayres told a Rodney Local Board meeting on April 20 that with a little TLC, the tennis courts at Centennial Park in Wellsford could be utilised.
This was necessary because of the poor state of the existing six netball courts – two were playable, two were marginal and two were unplayable due to lack of maintenance.
Ross said it could cost the association between $50,000 and $70,000 to re-purpose the tennis courts.
“The condition of the asphalt isn’t too bad, but it will need tidying up and line-marking,” she said.
She said the club hoped to see a Netball Rodney Court Development Strategy start in November, as part of the Centennial Park Master Plan. The strategy would look at investment, court design, governance and operations, costs and funding, and an implementation plan. Ideally, new courts would be in place by March 2025.
The Board was told that there are more than 600 playing members, with 31% growth in juniors in the past five years. However, membership had been affected by both Covid and the poor quality of the courts.
Ross said netball needed to be local, affordable and accessible.
