Netballers head to Hawaii for international festival

If you live in a remote Kimberley town where else do you go to pursue a new competitive edge for your netballers but Hawaii, and that is exactly where the Derby Netball Association sent a squad of 21 women and one man last weekend.

Derby has a long history of sporting success, with netball a popular pastime in town during the dry.

“We wanted a change for our annual ‘away trip’, as we normally attend the North West regionals,” club president Jane Edwards said. “But this year we are doing something different with an adventure to the International Netball Festival, which is held in various countries each year.”

Treasurer Maria Preedy explained the association had worked tirelessly to raise funds.

“Our players, whose ages range from 17 to 50, have ‘cake-stalled’, raffled, Halloween danced and even hosted a mixed competition during the wet to secure enough money to get the team on their way,” she said.

The three-day festival of competitive netball was played on grass at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki and was preceded by clinics, run by former Australian captain, Anne Sargeant. The team, comprising representative players from six of the seven Derby sides, includes Kira Edwards, a member of the WA Development Academy.