The October long weekend saw the inaugural Regional State Cup take place at the home of Netball, Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park. A team was selected from each of the seven Regional League competitions and came together to compete to be the Regional State Cup Champions. An Umpire from each Region was also selected to officiate across the weekend.
The weekend kicked off with some laughs and cheers as NSW Swifts Executive General Manager, Kath Tetley, rallied the troops and had everyone excited for the weekend ahead in our Opening Ceremony.
Many of the athletes competing in Regional State Cup have grown up training together in their respective Regional Academy, playing against each other in Carnivals, at State Titles and at Regional League so this was a very exciting experience for them to come together and play as one.
Mia Baggett representing West Central West from Bathurst Netball Association said, “Playing all of regional NSW brought a sense of equality in terms as all regional girls are met with the same challenges, being further away from facilities and major competitions such as Metro and Premier League.”
Aela Streatfield representing Hunter from Charlestown Netball Association commented on the format of the competition and the growth of her team saying, “Playing teams twice allowed the whole team unit including coaches to improve throughout the tournament and gave opportunities to implement strategies to combat our opponents and allowed us to plan and formulate goals to execute as individuals and a team.”
Natasha Flanagan representing Far North Coast Lismore & District Netball Association shared a similar sentiment, “It was great to see the different strengths and abilities of all regional athletes and what they can put together and do as a team.”
Kaylah Upfield representing Riverina from Wagga Wagga Netball Association spoke about what made it all worth it, “Our improvement over the two days was something that was really special to watch and makes all the training and the travel worth it.”
The weekend was a great experience for the teams and an opportunity for them to bond as they travelled, stayed and played together, Streatfield commented, “The two-day format allowed for the team to really bond and it was great that we all got to stay together as it brought us together and allowed us to unite as a team.”
There was extra fun and games on the Saturday as Sporty Swift made an appearance at lunchtime getting in a few BeReals and even recreating a photo for one young athlete.
Regional pride was in full display over the weekend with all teams wearing the colourful singlets loud and proud. Upfield spoke about how special this was in particular for Riverina.
“There was a greater sense of unity that isn’t experience at the association level and I think it’s because in the Riverina we’re a close-knit community as it is, we’ve all seen each other play or played against each other but when you all get to come together and be one it’s really exciting.”
Streatfield added, “Representing your association always comes with a sense of pride and representing your region is the same. All being from different associations, the team came together amazingly with us all able to contribute our different strengths and put out and show what talent our region has to offer. This created a sense of regional pride keeping the comradery high as we battled through the tough games later in the tournament.”
North Coast athlete, Isla Smith Hastings Valley Netball Association spoke of the historical significance.
“Our bright yellow singlets meant that no-one could miss us … We wore them with pride and the knowledge that we were the first North Coast team to represent our region at the first ever Regional State Cup.”
Coach Kirstie Fuller representing Northern Inland Glen Innes Netball Association spoke about the importance of the competition for their region.
“Our focus for our region was to grow and learn and as individuals from smaller regional towns take those learnings back and grow our game to reach the same standards, so playing the physical, strategic/smart, intense and competitive standard they faced across the weekend and being able to take that back to their own sessions as players and coaches.”
Fuller spoke about her thoughts on the competition, “I think weekends like this expose our regional athletes to exciting further opportunities and learnings they can share with others about what our metro areas play like a lot more consistently. The opportunities for development for players, coaches and umpires were fantastic.”
Streatfield commented, “It (Regional State Cup) allowed us to be seen and feel accomplished that our hard work and determination to pursue the sport we love was appreciated in the netball NSW space.”
Smith summed up the weekend quite simply.
“… the chance to play at the Regional State Cup pushes those athletes that want to go further and opens the door for talent identification. When I finish school I would love to play in Premier League so high quality competitions like this, where there are selectors watching, are invaluable to my journey on the Netball NSW pathway.”
Mardi Aplin, General Manager of Performance & Pathways, was thrilled that the competition was finally able to go ahead in 2022.
“The Regional State Cup is a vital part of the Netball NSW performance pathway for regional athletes and is an opportunity to expose the athletes to this level of competition and future opportunities within Metro League and Premier League. We were able to educate and upskill the coaches and umpires to take this experience back into the regions. We are excited to see this competition continue to grow in the future.”
While the weekend was a wonderful opportunity for development, ultimately a Regional State Cup champion had to be crowned and it all came down to the final match. Hunter came away victorious claiming the inaugural Regional State Cup with West Central West following closely behind as Runners Up.
A sincere thank you goes to our special guest from the NSW Swifts, Maddy Turner, defensive extraordinaire, who assisted in presentations. An exciting finish to what was an eventful, action-packed weekend.
Here’s to 2023!
