The Sunshine Coast will play host to Netball Australia’s PacificAus Sports Netball Series next month as the international spectacle returns for the second time.
The series, which is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), will run from Sunday 16 to Friday 21 October at USC Stadium in Sippy Downs, Queensland.
The inaugural competition ran earlier this year and was a huge success in showcasing the skills, talents and athleticism of the Pacific netballers.
Not only that but it also provided a high-level competition for the national team of Netball Australia’s PacificAus Sports partners – Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga.
The four nations are coming off the back of the Oceania Netball World Cup Qualifiers in Suva in July where Tonga and Fiji qualified for the 2023 Netball World Cup.
Netball Australia Executive General Manager Strategy, Government and Community Glenn Turnor emphasised the significance of the series’ return.
“Netball Australia is committed to promoting netball excellence and strengthening linkages with our Pacific neighbours to grow our game for all,” Turnor said.
“Our One Court, One Family event slogan directs the nature of this competition as the perfect description of how we are connected by netball and can celebrate harmony through sport.”
The Fiji Pearls, Papua New Guinea Pepes, Samoa Tifa Moana and Tonga Tala will make their return to the PacificAus Sports Netball Series, with the event providing teams the experience to improve World Netball Rankings.
Head Coach of Tonga Tala, Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson, was eager to get more debutants on the court.
"The October Series is another chance to debut players and try various combinations ahead of the 2023 World Cup. It is the perfect event for us to assess some of our processes, gather more player data and understand areas for improvement in preparation for next year," she said.
"This is an opportunity for us to be tested against an unknown opposition with a different style of play and ability."
Netball Samoa CEO Rosemarie Lome echoed those sentiments and said the team was eager to finish the year off on a high.
"These spaces provided by PacificAus Sports enable our players to actively participate, thrive and advance their skill levels in a competitive High Performance environment," she said.
"By playing top tier teams it gives us more game time and it allows for us to identify what we need to improve and work on and giving Pacific countries the opportunity to advance their knowledge, skills and grow stronger via this developmental pathway. As the saying goes ‘To be the best, you need to beat the best’."
USC Thunder and an Australia pathway team will also enter the competition as domestic invitees, giving both Pacific and Australian athletes exposure to different playing styles at the international level.
Entry to the October PacificAus Sports Netball Series is free. Spectators must adhere to all Queensland Government and venue requirements at the time of the event.
Every match of the series will also be available to stream live and free at netballaustralia.tv.
PLEASE NOTE: Invitation teams (Australian pathway team and USC Thunder) are ineligible to compete in the Grand Final and will finish the preliminary rounds unranked.
