2024 has been a very exciting year for netball at our school, seeing continued growth in player numbers, improved results, and many of our students selected for representative opportunities across the season.
We had more than 60 students, playing across six secondary teams and one primary team in the local competition at the Leschenault Netball Association. All teams had very successful and fun seasons, with a lot of improvement in skills and game understanding across each round. Hawks 1, Hawks 2, Hawks 3 and Hawks 6 all qualified through to the preliminary finals, with Hawks 3 and Hawks 6 both making it through to the Grand Finals for their respective divisions. Unfortunately, both teams were unable to win their grand finals, and for Hawks 3 this was their only loss for the whole season! Special congratulations must go to Indi B who won Runner Up Best and Fairest for Division 1.
Country Week, as always, was an exciting and memorable event for our netballers. We entered two teams this year, into A division and D division. Our A division team faced the pressure of trying to defend the title and both teams got off to a very strong start. Unfortunately, the injury clouds rolled in during the middle of the week, and by the final day, only 12 of the original 21 girls were able to take the court for the finals. With some help from some AFL and hockey players, the A division team was still able to finish fourth. For such a young team, their grit, resilience and team spirit in the face of adversity was highly impressive, and they are all very determined to bounce back strongly in 2025!
Indeed, the future of netball at our School is looking particularly bright. For the first time in our history, we qualified through two teams, our Open and Intermediate teams, to the Perth rounds of the High Schools Cup, with the majority of girls from both teams being in Years 9 and 10. The Intermediate team only narrowly missed out on making it into the Top 8 teams in the state.
Furthermore, many of our BCGS netballers are also taking their opportunities to play at a high level outside of school:
• Mia R (Year 11) was selected for the State U17 team this year before her injury.
• Ellie F (Year 12) was selected to play for the South West Jets U21 team in the West Australian Netball League.
• Ellie F and Mia R, alongside Hannah F (Year 12), were also selected for the South West Jets Futures (U18) team.
• Adela H, Kylah L, Mia R, Rosie R (all Year 9), and Evie L (Year 10) were selected to the South West Fever in Time U14 and U16 development squads, an opportunity that puts them in line for State selection in 2025.
• Additionally, ten of our BCGS netballers have been playing across the Under 16, Under 18 and League divisions of the South West Netball Football League this season, making strong contributions to their community clubs.
Finally, it is important to highlight that our netball program would not be able to run if it were not for the parent, student and staff coaches who give up their time to help out. So many thanks must be given to the following special and dedicated people: Kate Howard (Hawks 1), Geoff Mazzuchelli (Hawks 2), Michelle Reinders and Areti Geerlings (Hawks 3), Dani Trott (Hawks 4), Rochelle Coppin (Hawks 5), Latisha White, Zaylee L and Charlee K (Hawks 6), and Claire Swart (Hawks 7).
Mr Jason Reid :: Head of Sports and Activities
