Hawke’s Bay Netball are thrilled to be offering free netball competitions for Year 1 – 4 players in 2022.  General Manager – Tina Arlidge who has been the driving force behind this new initiative would like to see as many barriers as possible removed for this age group to participate.  Last year there were 1,326 participants involved in the weekly ANZ Future Ferns programme from Wairoa, Napier, Hastings and CHB, and she would like to see this number increase by at least 50 percent in 2022.  This is not an unrealistic number going by a similar initiative for Year 1 & 2 players in Taranaki in 2021 where there was an increase of 56%. 

Our aim is to give our very young ones an exceptional netball experience and gain a lifelong love of the game.  ANZ futureFERNS progresses players though modified formats of Netball that recognises their stage of physical and mental development. The aim is not only to grow their Netball abilities but also to help with their overall physical literacy which includes confidence, motivation, knowledge and understanding and physical competence.  Each week players concentrate on a new skill, such as catching, passing, shooting etc and this is led by trained Hawke’s Bay Netball Junior Coordinators.  Following this they play a game depending on their age group, from 4 aside, 5, 6 and 7 aside once they reach Year 7.  The biggest thing we have noticed is that you no longer see those very tall players shoved into GS or GK sometimes not even touching the ball once in a quarter.

Hawke’s Bay Netball led the country with the introduction of this programme back in 2013 and we are seeing the results amongst particularly our 14 – 17 year olds who began their netball in this format.  We currently have more players recognised nationally in this age group than we have ever had before.  Obviously there are other factors also attributing to this such as additional programmes however ANZ Future Ferns has been a key aspect.

There has been so much disappointment around cancellations and postponements in sport due to Covid, we are pleased to announce some good news.  To offer this experience free of charge to our Netball Community, with relaxed rules around uniform, encouragement of both girls and boys to play is a win win and we look forward to seeing the results.  We would also like to acknowledge the support of Unison in the Junior Netball space and Netball New Zealand for the development of the ANZ Future Ferns programme.

The programme will be able to continue whilst in the red zone, unless there are changes to the current regulations. There will be a requirement for all those 12 years/3 months and older to provide a vaccine pass, including coaches, managers and spectators and we will be having designated areas to stay within the gathering size limits.  More information on this will be sent directly to Teachers in Charge of Netball and Sport Coordinators within the next week.  We will be offering programmes in Wairoa, Napier and Hastings in Term One and Four, and CHB in Term Two 2022.

Article added: Tuesday 25 January 2022