New Sports Group – Social Netball

What drove you to set up the social netball group?
We had a ladies social netball group a few years ago at the gym. It was held after school and gave Mums (well, anyone really!) some time out for themselves. Then Covid hit and everything had to shut down. When the new multipurpose courts were built, it presented the ideal opportunity to start up again.

Are you an official ‘Club’ or just a social group?
We’re just a social group at the moment, but we’ve had so many people interested in taking part that I’m keen to look at a more official ‘Club’ in the future.

How many people are currently part of the group?
95! I’m stoked. We were originally going to be ladies only, but The Pirates wanted something to do in their off season so we opened it up to the men as well, which has been great.

How does it work?
We play our games on Thursday nights at 6.15pm and 7pm. There are two games going at once. Each game lasts 40-minutes, and is split into 8-minute quarters, with 2-minutes rest in between. After the first games, we have a quick 5-minute switchover, before the 7pm games begin.

To help provide some consistency and allow people to get to know each other, everyone is allocated to a team when they sign up to join the group. Alex Jarquet, Tieri’s physiotherapist, has been instrumental in this.

We have eight teams in total, six adult teams and two high school teams. Even though netball only has seven players on each side, we’ve allocated between 12-16 people per team to allow for shift work, holidays, sickness and general life ‘admin’ which we know gets in the way sometimes.

How many games have you played so far?
Only three! We began in October but we were rained out in our first week! It rained again the second week, but we played anyway.
The rain has certainly not been our friend this season – it seems to be a ritual for it to rain on a Thursday! But we have been lucky enough to play some games in-between the rain.

Who can get involved?
Anyone and everyone! The teams will always be looking for people to join. Our youngest player is 14 and there isn’t an upper age limit.

It also doesn’t matter if you’ve never played before. In fact, 50 per cent have never played, especially a lot of the boys. After so many years playing footy, it’s quite entertaining watching them try not to run when they get the ball!

We have people who are really good, and others who are doing it for the first time. Regardless of where your ability is, everyone is there for the same reason – to have some fun and get a bit of exercise. It’s a really supportive environment.

There’s no cost and no minimum commitment. All you need is a team attitude and some exercise gear or gym wear (no jewellery allowed, for safety reasons). Each team has their own set of bibs which you’ll be provided with when you join.

Of course, you don’t have to play to get involved. Many just come to watch and support the players. There’s been heaps of community involvement already. There’s a playground for the kids and I’m trying to get a BBQ set up down there so we can do a sausage sizzle or something at the end of the games. Watch this space!

How can people contact you if they want to get involved?
Join the Tieri Social Netball Facebook page, or message me – Natalie Martell – on Facebook.

What do you hope the group will bring to the Tieri community?
A fun, social way to keep fit without having to think about it. You rock up, run around, have a laugh, catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and burn a few calories! It’s a great way to connect.

One of the reasons I am trying to get BBQ facilities at the courts is the benefit it will bring to the whole community who like to get together to play, support or simply watch a game of tennis, netball, or basketball.

Where would you like to see the group in a year’s time?
It would be great to develop into a proper Club, but from experience, I know that Clubs need volunteers in order to survive, and volunteers can be hard to get. So, if anyone is keen, get in touch and who knows!