Community members in regional Victoria have joined forces to form a new netball club, the Bendigo Strikers, and applied to join the Victorian Netball League (VNL) from next year.
Key points:
- A new netball team, the Bendigo Strikers, has applied to join the Victoria Netball League
- A review recommended Netball Victoria increase the number of club licences for the league from 10 to 12, with up to three regional clubs
- Regional netballers say local teams will boost participation at the elite level
If successful, it would become the second regional Victorian club to get a team in the VNL, with Geelong the only regional Victorian team in the competition.
Bendigo Strikers board member Teigan Redwood has played and coached at a local level in the Loddon Valley Football Netball League and the Bendigo Football Netball League since she was 10.
Ms Redwood, who is also the head coach at the Bendigo Academy of Sport and has played in the VNL, said it would be great for the region if the bid was successful.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity for our local and regional netball community, to have the option to pursue an elite netball pathway, without the added impacts of expense, time and travel to compete in Melbourne,” Ms Redwood said.
“When I was playing at that [VNL] level and living in Bendigo, it impacted my family time, my work and my school commitments.”
Ms Redwood said having a local VNL team would provide more opportunities for regional athletes, who otherwise may have had to give up playing at an elite level, due to to travel and cost.
“We’ve heard many stories where they’ve had to say no to competing at that elite, high-performance level, because they haven’t been able to make it work,” she said.
“It gives those opportunities to local and regional athletes, coaches and umpires, to continue along that pathway.”
Hope for more regional clubs
One of the key recommendations from a review of the VNL competition was for Netball Victoria to increase the number of club licences from 10 to 12, with capacity for up to three regional clubs.
Bendigo was the first regional Victorian city to get its own WNBL team, which sparked hopes it would also be a trailblazer in the VNL.
There have been no other public bids from regional towns.
If the bid was successful, Bendigo Strikers would enter a championship team and a 23-and-under team, with a five-year licence period.
“There’s no shortage of local talent to draw on. We have so many names that have come from this region, that have competed at the VNL and Australian Diamonds level,” Ms Redwood said.
She said it would not take personnel away from local competitions.
“The idea is not to take from but elevate the whole netball region,” she said.
“Participation in the VNL wouldn’t impact on a player’s ability to play in their local league. Because of the timing of trainings and games, it doesn’t impact on their ability to participate.”
Netball superstar backs bid
Former Diamond and Bendigo resident Caitlin Thwaites is an ambassador for the Bendigo Strikers and their bid to join the VNL.
She said it was very exciting.
“Having a regional-based team would be incredible for the whole area, not just Bendigo,” she said.
“It would cut that travel time in half. I think it would make so many things a lot easier for local kids.”
Having grown up training in Melbourne three to four times a week while living in Bendigo, Ms Thwaites said a local VNL team would help remove a barrier for regional netballers.
“Parents having to make sacrifices and finish work early, getting home at 11 and 12 at night … doing that type of travel takes so much commitment,” she said.
She said the timing was right for Bendigo to have a VNL team.
“In the lead up to Bendigo hosting the Commonwealth Games [in 2026], I think it’s a perfect time,” she said.
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