Young netballers shine at North field day

CAUGHT: Alex Quensell, North Region centre, foils the pass meant for North Harbour wing attack Tahlea Fong at Netball North Field Day.PHOTO/JOHN STONENetball

The Netball North Field Day was held at Whangarei Netball Centre involving representative teams from all the centres within the Netball North region.
North Harbour, Hibiscus Coast, Kaipara, Rodney, Whangarei, Northern Wairoa, Kerikeri, Bay of Islands and Mangonui centres took part in Sunday's tournament.
Representative age groups participating included Year 7, Year 8, Year 9, Under-15 and Under-17 and the day was a win fest for the Netball North Harbour teams. They took out every age group except the Under-17s which went to South Origin, a Netball North team.
In terms of Whangarei teams, the Whangarei Year 9 representative team were the most successful, coming runners-up in their age group. The Year 7 and Year 8 representative teams were each placed third, with wins over Bay Of Islands and Mangonui respectively, and the Under-15s placed fourth behind Mangonui.
To a certain extent the dominance by Netball North Harbour was expected as this centre has a far greater number of players and competitions available. The other centres however, are producing some great talent and the tournament was an opportunity for all players to be showcased.
To this end, 12 players were chosen from the Under-15 and Under-17 age groups, and these players make up the Netball North tournament team for New Zealand Talent Development Days. The development days are an opportunity for emerging players to experience a day in the "life of a Silver Fern" and they also provide the start of a selection process for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team. Two Whangarei Netball Centre players - Alanah Vinson (Whangarei Girls' High School 1) and Cherith Schraag (Onerahi 1) - were included in the tournament team.
Two Whangarei umpires were also selected as part of an umpire talent-identification programme, Lucy Gardner Lee and Sophie Tua. Overall, it was a successful day and it was good to see the talent around in the Netball North region.