The Forbes Netball Association (FNA) held a very successful AGM last Thursday night, with all committee positions filled. Congratulations to all the volunteers whom have put up their hand so the Forbes community can keep enjoying netball. The committee is planning many events for the year so stay tuned.

The Autumn Night Competition started this week with the first grading games. The competition dates were set by members present at the meeting and will consist of 13 weeks. Any teams that have still not entered should email secretary.forbesnetball@gmail.com. All new teams must be entered by Friday, 1st March, ready for the first round of competition on 6th March. If anyone wants to join a team or teams are looking for more players, they should contact the committee on the above email or come down to the courts on Wednesday night. Help with registrations will also be given at the courts. Ladies can play in both mixed and ladies competitions on the same night.

Saturday Junior Mixed Netball

The Saturday netball has had a makeover and will now be the Saturday Junior Mixed Netball. The competition will be for all boys Your free weekly guide to what’s happening in and around Forbes…shop locally first! Friday 1 March 2019 Page 7 and girls under 15.

The whole family can enjoy one sport at the one venue, with boys and girls all playing together in the mixed competition.

Watch out for more news including the new uniforms that will be available for players to wear in the competitions.

NetSetGo will cater for all the little ones, which will also be played on Saturday mornings.

The representative information day is set down for Monday, 4th March at 6pm at the netball courts. Application forms may be downloaded from the FNA website.

Forbes Netball is well underway, preparing for 2019. There are many dates already booked and more to come.

The AGM of the Forbes Netball Association (FNA) will be held on Thursday, 21st February at 7pm at the Forbes Services Memorial Club. All night competition teams who played in 2018, are asked to attend to help form a quorum.

Many of the 2018 FNA committee are unable to volunteer for 2019 due to family commitments and many new faces are needed to keep netball in town. Many of the positions can be split up to share the workload. Volunteers are needed for president, secretary and treasurer as well as many other positions.

The Autumn Night Competitions for both mixed and ladies teams are scheduled to start on 28th February with the first grading games. Entries for the competitions must be emailed to Secretary.forbesnetball@gmail.com by the 21st February.

The first grading games will start the following week, when committee positions are filled to run the competition.

Nominations for players to play in the FNA open team, to play in the West/Central West Regional League have been reopened.

Nomination forms are on the FNA website and should be emailed immediately to above email. Some of the players who nominated last year are now unable to play and more players are needed. Players turning 15 this year are encouraged to also apply.

Dates for Regional League to be played at Orange are 10th and 24th March with finals on 31st March. Training is on Monday nights and all games are played indoors at the Orange PCYC. Entries for the competition close in a few weeks.

The Forbes Netball Association (FNA) night competitions for both mixed and ladies teams played the finals in each competition recently.

The finals were played between the two top teams on the point score ladder in each competition. In the ladies competition Forbes Engineering defeated Golfie 44-33.

Best and fairest awards were presented after the game. This award is determined by the umpires each week and totalled at the end of the competition. Best and fairest was awarded to Shea King (CWD) and Brianna Duncan (Marist).

In the mixed competition FPS Teachers defeated RBCC 32-18. Best and fairest was awarded to Kate Hanley (Double Shot) and Jack Finch (Hot Shots).

News for 2019

The next night competition will be starting at the end of February 2019.

The AGM of the FNA will be held on Thursday, 21st February at 7pm at the Forbes Services Memorial Club. Volunteers are needed to fill the many committee positions.

The FNA is enquiring about taking teams to the International Netball Festival in October in New Zealand, with divisions entering being: Open, 18’s, 15’s and 13’s. There will be more news on the New Zealand trip in February.

The next Forbes netball night competitions will start in late February 2019 and will be played until June. Thank you to everyone who has helped with the running of the competitions and the umpires who have umpired every week so the games can be played. Thank you to Rosa and Haig for coming early each week and putting up the post pads on the courts.

Bingo Fundraiser: The bingo fundraiser was lots of fun and another day will be planned in 2019. Thank you to Rosa Gillogly for helping with the committee to organise the bingo fundraiser for the association. Thank you to everyone who helped with the bingo day and a huge thank you to everyone who donated prizes to make the afternoon a success.

Annual General Meeting 2019: The Annual General Meeting of the Forbes Netball Association will be held on Thursday, 21st February. Open representative team 2019 selections postponed: The first selection for the Open representative team has been postponed and will now be held on Wednesday, 5th December at 7pm.

Merry Christmas: The Forbes Netball Committee would like to wish all members and their families and friends a very merry Christmas.

Representative Netball Coaches, Assistant Coaches and Open Players for 2019 The Forbes Netball Association (FNA) is calling for representative coaches and assistant coaches for 2019. Applications will close at the next monthly meeting which will be held on 15th November.

All applications must be emailed to secretary. forbesnetball@gmail.com and state coaching experience and qualifications, and playing experience.

Representative coaches and assistant coaches being called for 2019 are for the under 17’s and 15 years. As well as for the 12 years, 13 years and 14 years.

Players must be turning the age in 2019 Anyone wanting more information can contact the Coach Convenor, Robyn Kenny.

Open Representative Team

Applications for players to trial for the 2019 FNA Open representative team to compete in the Regional League competition in Orange are now open. Applications will close on 21st November with the first selection trials to be held on 26th November.

Regional League will be played on 10th March and 24th March and finals on 31st March.

Training may commence end of 2018, depending on availability of players. Training will be held on Monday nights.

Bingo Fundraiser

The FNA will be organising a Bingo fundraiser on Sunday, 18th November from 2pm till 4pm.

Donations are needed for prizes and anyone with something to donate should contact the organiser, Rosa Gillogly, or any one of the committee members.

This will be a fun event and all members, friends and families and the Forbes and district community are all invited to attend.

Cost will be $20 for 20 games and the afternoon will be held at the Forbes Services Memorial Club.

Round three of the Spring netball competitions for the mixed and ladies team was played this week.

All teams are reminded to check the draw for umpiring duty, as all teams will be allocated at some stage during the season. Help will be given to new umpires.

Team representatives should inform the committee at the office, if their team will need help when allocated to umpire.

Volunteers are needed to help with timing and canteen duties. Anyone able to spare an hour or more at any time during the night, is very welcome. The committeemembers are all volunteers, and help is needed to run the competitions successfully.

Last week there were players in teams that had not completed their full registration. This is the registration to Forbes Netball and Netball NSW, the $40 competition levy for the first team and $20 for the second team. The competition levy can be paid at the office.

Teams that forfeited because of players not registered are: ladies competition: CWD, Marist and mixed competition: Double Shot, Hot Shots, Tyrepower, Stingers. Players will not be able to take the court if their full registration is not paid.

Anyone needing help with registrations should contact the registrar, Kerrie Priest by email to kerrie.priest@bigpond.com.

The FNA meeting was held this week at the Forbes Services Memorial Club. All teams had to be represented. The format of the night competitions was set at the meeting.

The first round of the Forbes Netball Spring night competitions for both mixed and ladies teams were played on Tuesday night.

There is still time for a team to enter into both competitions to take up the bye teams. All team representatives are asked to please complete the nomination form and update any changes to player details. This can be done at the office.

All registration and competition fees should be paid by this week.

Anyone with enquiries about registrations should contact the registrar, Kerrie Priest.

The next meeting of the Forbes Netball Association will be held on 20th September at 7pm at the Forbes Services Memorial Club. Agenda items must be emailed to secretary. forbesnetball@gmail.com.

All teams must have a representative and will receive two competition bonus points. The format of the night competitions will be on the agenda.

Volunteers are needed to help run the competitions. Anyone who would like to help in any way is asked to please contact the committee on Wednesday. The committee all work full time and volunteer their time after work to run the competitions.

The Forbes Netball committee is requesting nominations for the end of season awards, which will be presented at the annual presentation on Saturday, 25th August after the grand finals are played.

The nomination forms for the Chris Read Memorial award are available at the office on Saturday. The award will be presented to a person who has helped the committee during the season, where ever and when ever volunteering was needed. Anyone may nominate a person they think has helped out in any area, with the winner to be announced at the presentation.

Every team in Division 2 and 3 will have a nominated player for the Edna Jenkin Memorial Junior Encouragement Award, who has shown outstanding sportsmanship, co-operation and enthusiasm throughout the season.

Nomination forms are available from the office and thank you to all the coaches and parents who have already nominated their players.

Orange Gala Day: The Orange Netball Association will be organising a Gala Day on 12th August. It is hoped that Forbes players will be available to participate and enjoy a day of netball. No representative teams are able to play in the Gala Day. Private transport will be required.

11’s Carnival Dresses: There are still some carnival dresses to be returned. Can all players please check to see if you have a dress that has not been returned? The dresses will be handed out on the day for any players who will be playing in the Orange Gala.

Friday Netball: Anyone can join in the fun of Friday netball and boys and girls do not have to be registered or play in the Saturday competition. Friday netball will be organised every week, during the semi finals through to the grand finals. Any players or teams wanting some extra practice are very welcome to come along from 5pm till 6pm.

The Forbes Netball Association (FNA) completed the 2018 representative season during the school holidays, when the 12 and 14 years representative teams competed in the Netball NSW State Age Championships.

Both teams played in Division 3 at the Eastwood Ryde netball courts, over three days of very competitive netball.

A huge thank you must go to Kristy Butler, who organised the full weekend on behalf of the parents and the teams. Thank you also to Marg Spackman, for organising all the representative uniforms, supporting the teams and laminating the tent posters.

Congratulations to players and umpires, who all displayed outstanding sportsmanship, and played and umpired to the best of their ability.

Umpires to represent the FNA were Aurella White, Hannah Staines and Karen Hargraves.

The 14 years team consisted of: Gi Gi Stitt (Captain), Lauren Bate (Vice-Captain), Ellie Flick, Ella Higgins, Elsa Cusack, Gabby White, Amy Cusack, Tilly Aveyard, Bianca Tzioumis and Leah Catzel. Also to mention Robyn Kenny (Coach), Deb Bate (Manager) and Kristy Butler (Primary Carer).

All players have made huge improvements in their standard of netball, with only half of the team previously playing in the higher Division 3, in their age group.

When the team first came together in early March, the difference in the playing standard of the girls was very noticeable but by the end of the training preparation, the less experienced players had made major improvements. This improvement continued during the three days of championships, with all players taking vital roles in their playing positions.

The girls played many exciting games and rose to the occasion, working together as a team, with all players trying their best at all times.

The wins and losses were nearly even over the three days, with the team easily holding their own, to be able to compete in the same division in 2019.

A huge thank you to all the parents who supported the team.

By Robyn Kenny

The Forbes Netball Association (FNA) 12 years representative team competed in the Netball NSW State Age Championships during the school holidays.

The team consisted of Isla Worland, Tanesha Riddle, Andie Hodder, Katie Crouch, Ella White, Ebonnie Hopley, Ava Hui, Kate Stephenson, Bella Walker and Coco Gracie, along with Felicity Worland(Manager), Juliet Hodder (Primary Carer) and a wonderful group of supportive parents.

We started our State Age games with a loss of 10 points to the eventual winners, Nambucca Valley. The girls came off the court knowing that although they had lost the game, they had played well – which set the tone for the whole competition. Day one finished with one win and a draw from five games.

Day two we played six games with having one point difference in every game (four losses and one win, except for the draw) having been down to seven players from the second last game, showing just how competitive we were.

Day three and we started off with a win and a loss, before we found ourselves down to six players due to mounting injuries. The remaining players went into overdrive and managed to come away with two wins from their last three games at State Age, earning the admiration of opposing teams and umpires.

It was an honour to coach such an outstanding group of young ladies.

By Lyn Ford