Junior Sports

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It is great to see the girls loving the team sports that they participate in. Comments such as “a week is such a long time to wait for the next game” after they have just finished their game (and many others) have been shared which delights me.

Whilst results have been mixed, there is no doubt of the improvement each time the girls step on the court and turf. I am also heartened by reports and have also witnessed, the relationship that the older girls are forming with our Junior School girls. These older girls are not only stepping up to the commitment of coaching or helping out with younger teams but they are also doing so in their own time and a lot of the time this also takes commitment from their own parents to transport and support them whilst doing so.

The love and passion of the game was shown this week by two students who won the chance to meet their netball heroes. Below is the article that Netball NZ will be sharing with their community and they have given us permission to publish this for you to enjoy.

Merivale netballer jumps for joy

Merivale netballer eight-year-old Henrietta Williamson was walking on air when she met the superstars of netball on centre court at Christchurch Arena before the Tactix vs Mystics ANZ Premiership game on Monday.

St Margaret’s College student Henrietta won the chance to meet Jane Watson (Tactix) and Sulu Fitzpatrick (Mystics) and lead the teams onto the court as a part of the ANZ Future Captains programme. Best friend nine-year-old Harriet Gough accompanied her.

Budding netballer Henrietta had her very first five a side game only a week prior and was awestruck seeing the elite teams caught in a tiebreaker. “It was a really exciting game. In the last eight seconds, the Tactix scored a winning goal. I was so excited, I jumped into the air,” she said.

Henrietta says the whole experience was awesome, especially standing centre court with her favourite player, captain Jane Watson. “The captains were so tall! I think she’s a really good defender and she shows good sportsmanship which is really important,” said Henrietta.

Henrietta can’t wait to catch up with her own netball team and tell them how the Tactix scored the win. “You’ve got to jump high a lot and pass the ball to your teammates so they can score. I like helping my teammates,” she said.

ANZ Head of Sponsorship Sue McGregor says ANZ is committed to its support of netballers in Aotearoa from local Christchurch players right up to the elite athletes in the ANZ Premiership and the Silver Ferns.

“That’s why we’re giving 94 young people from all over Aotearoa the chance to be part of the ANZ Premiership and to meet their netball heroes as an ANZ Future Captain. After such a tough year for the netball community in 2020, it’s great we can offer this once in a lifetime opportunity to our country's youngest netball fans and players. We hope this experience inspires them to remain passionate about their training and to try their very best on the court.”

Applications for the ANZ Future Captains programme are now open at anzcourtside.co.nz