More than 150 girls will try out for 50 positions in the third round of trials to select the Tai Tokerau Maori netball teams in Kaikohe this weekend.
There have already been two rounds of trials - one in Kaitaia and the other at the Kensington Netball Centre on Sunday -
to find the triallists for the final trial on Sunday.
Selector Jonnette Chapman said the number of enthusiastic and promising 13 and 15-year-olds was encouraging.
"We're into the next generation of players now - and while not all of them are as skilled as they may have been 20 years ago because they don't all develop the same balance as they used to at an early age - it's all about belonging and wanting to be a part of this healthy lifestyle," she said.
Chapman said that while many of the young players were still developing and might not make the final team, there was still plenty of time to improve - and she expected that many of them would be back in the future and would be successful then.
"The whole essence of this process is not only to find netball teams but to also promote alcohol-free, smoke-free and drug-free lifestyle," she said.
Five representative teams - the premiers, the under-19, U17, U15 and U13 - will be announced after the trials on Sunday to prepare for the 10-region Aotearoa National Tournament in New Plymouth over Easter.
