This weekend some of the best netballers from across New South Wales were due to arrive in Sydney Olympic Park to contest the 2021 Regional State Cup at Netball Central.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 had other plans but Netball NSW did not want to let the week pass without recognising the achievements and contributions of those involved this year.
The competition is about regional pride and includes the best athletes (aged between 16-22) selected from the HART Regional League competition.
As a result, teams of players, coaches and officials from the Hunter, West/Central West, Far North Coast, South Coast, Northern Inland, North Coast and Riverina were selected to represent their regions.
While the wider lockdown of Greater Sydney and parts of regional NSW has meant those selected could not compete this year, it has not stopped Netball NSW from providing remote coaching and training expertise.
"Each Thursday night the players selected attended online High Intensity Interval Training Sessions with Emily Wilson and it was fantastic to see so many of them working hard to keep up their fitness and strength levels during this difficult time," Mardi Aplin, Regional Performance & Pathways Manager at Netball NSW, said.
"The coaching staff has also been able to work with ex-Swifts Premiership-winning Assistant Coach Anita Keelan, and she has challenged them to think about their role, their strengths and areas of improvement.
"She also talked about on-court areas of breakdown and did this by game analysis via video.
"Overall, everyone has been trying to make the best out of the COVID situation and doing these via Zoom. Our people have embraced the challenge and that gives us great hope for the future of the competition and our regional pathways.
"The HART Regional League is a brilliant way for athletes from these parts of NSW to stand out and I look forward to seeing even more players pushing for spots when we get back to playing fulltime in 2022."
