Inaugural Susan Pratley Shield awarded

Monday, May 21, 2012

Merimbula Primary School was awarded the inaugural Susan Pratley Shield at the South Coast Schools Cup in Bega on Friday in a new initiative from Netball NSW to encourage participation in primary school-aged children in the Sapphire Coast/Bega Valley area.

Teams were divided into two age categories; years three and four played a round-robin netta competition with the focus on participation whilst teams in the years five and six division competed for the Shield.

The Shield is named in honour of NSW Swift and Australian Diamond Susan Pratley, who grew up in the region and played her junior netball at the Sapphire Coast Netball Association.

“It was a fantastic turnout for the first year and hopefully the event will encourage more school-aged kids from the area to get involved in netball whether they want to play competitively or just have fun,” Pratley said.

Twenty-two teams participated in the day from Bega Valley Public School, Eden Public School, Lumen Christi Catholic College, Merimbula Public School, Mumbulla Public School, Pambula Public School and St Patricks Primary School.

Netball NSW is aiming to grow the competition each year and include more regions of the South Coast to encourage wider participation in netball.