But things changed one day last year, when Moira Shire Council Recreation Development co-ordinator Correne Cooper decided that something had to be done to breathe life back into the local junior netball league.
“We had a five-court netball facility here that nobody was using,” she said.
The task - to reactivate the defunct Cobram and District Junior Netball Association - was never going to be a walk in the park.
But undaunted, Cooper knew the time was now or never. Often working out-of-hours, Cooper assembled a team of dedicated volunteers and began assembling the pieces.
“I knew it was going to be a lot of work,” she said.
“And I knew it couldn’t be pulled off without a committed group of volunteers.”
And on Wednesday, February 26, six months of hard work by Cooper and volunteers came to a head as over 100 junior netballers from across the district converged on the Apex Stadium courts once again.
Players came from Cobram, Katamatite, Barooga, Berrigan, Strathmerton and even Yarrawonga to play on the night.
Cooper said there was a huge amount of excitement in the lead-up to the big day.
“Well over 100 people have turned up on a 38-degree day,” she said.
It was a sentiment echoed by Association Committee President Sarah Quick, who was overjoyed at the response from the community.
She’s passionate about giving local players the chance to develop their ability without having to travel long hours to do so.
“It’s been a huge success, it’s really cool,” she said.
“The committee has gone above and beyond to get it up and going.”
Quick has volunteered her time with the committee since December last year, when she put her hand up for the position she now holds.
For the next six weeks, players will take part in a ‘taster’ competition.
“We wanted to make it fun and give people an opportunity to play,” Quick said.
The launch featured matches for 17 teams across under-11s, under-13s and under-15s.
Over the next decade, Quick is hoping to see the junior competition grow further to give players a chance to progress to the next level of the sport.
The event was sponsored entirely by the Moira Shire Council, and organised by the association committee with administrative assistance from the Council’s Recreation Team.
To find out more about how to get your child involved in local netball, stay updated through the Association’s Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/4camnvh9
