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The sun has set on Warkworth’s twilight netball, but a new junior league is on the horizon at the Warkworth Showgrounds.
Warkworth Netball Club president Pania Beazley-Searle says the switch to a junior netball league is about serving the majority of the club. Juniors make up three quarters of the club’s membership.
Most clubs in the area are struggling for adult numbers because college age players join school teams and play at North Harbour, but the flipside is that junior numbers are booming, she says.
The aim of the new junior summer league is to give young players the chance to upskill and gain confidence and will give Year 6 players an important introduction to seven-a-side netball.
“It’s a big transition for girls going from six-a-side to seven. They have to increase their positional understanding because individual roles are much more important,” Beazley-Searle says.
Younger girls will still play six-a-side and will focus on building, catching and passing skills.
Beazley-Searle says the games will be played at the Warkworth Showgrounds at 3.30pm and 4.40pm.
They will only be 20 minutes long, with an emphasis on having fun.
“We have had a good response with a lot of Warkworth teams. There have also been enquiries from Matakana, Snells Beach, Kaipara Flats, Mangawhai and Maungaturoto.”
Ideally, players will register as teams and will bring their usual coaches along with them, but individuals are welcome to sign up and will be matched with an appropriate team.
The league starts playing on November 4 and registration closes two weeks earlier. To register, find the form at warkworthnetballclub.com, on Facebook or email warkworthnetball@gmail.com.
If the summer league is well supported during November and December, the club will look to hold a second summer league in February and March, prior to the winter netball season.
