By Mikayla van Loon
Local talent was on show as some of the Valley’s best representative netballers went to Mildura and claimed medals from the state competition carnival.
With eight teams from the Lilydale and Yarra Valley Netball Association (LYVNA) travelling the distance for the two day event over 17 and 18 September, all were successful in at least making the semi finals.
LYVNA committee member Marina Jean said the round robin style tournament saw the teams aged between 13 to 17 play a number of 15 minute games each day.
“It was difficult. There was a lot of games, between 11 to 13 games just before finals, so they had to do a lot of netball,” she said.
Marina said of the under 17s, three under 15s and four under 13s teams, one was victorious in the grand final, three teams came runners up and the other four made the semi finals.
“We were very strong, successful and competitive and we were up there and we’re very proud of the girls and what they achieved,” she said.
Bringing teams and associations together from both metropolitan and and regional Victoria and South Australia, Marina said it really did bring people together, particularly the Valley girls.
“Given that we’ve been together as a squad since January, it really showed how much the teams have come together.
“Competing against teams they have not even competed against at all yet, it shows how much they’ve developed and where they’ve come from and what more they also need to do but it was a strong showing of a really unified team.”
Embracing the entire experience from the car ride up to staying in motels, Marina said as much as it was about the netball, the girls enjoyed the opportunity to get away for the weekend with their friends and family.
Having been cancelled for the last two years, Marina said for many of the players it was their first Mildura Carnival tournament.
Getting to the carnival this year, Marina said, would not have been possible without the support of the committee and parents and “everyone just had a great time.”
