Ten netball athletes from the Far West Academy of Sport aged 14-16 years old, have returned from a big weekend in Port Macquarie showcasing their talent at the Academy Netball Challenge 2022.

The girls selected in the Far West netball squad are from areas including Lake Cargelligo, Trangie, Warren, Gilgandra and Coonabarabran.

The Academy Netball Challenge hosted on 24-26 September, encompassed 11 NSW Regional Academies with over 350 athletes, umpires and coaches for a full weekend of netball. Regional academies are located from different areas across the state including the North Coast, Northern Inland, Far West, Hunter, Central Coast, Western Region, Western Sydney, South West Sydney, Illawarra, South East and South Sydney.

The competition aims to identify talented netballers whilst offering informative mentoring sessions, workshops and umpire badging opportunities for netball athletes across NSW.

The weekend of netball was hosted at the Port Macquarie Indoor Sports Stadium, where the Far West Netball Academy athletes were lucky enough to be scouted and trained by Australian netball legends including Abby McCulloch (Sydney Swifts), Anita Keelan (Pathway Head Coach), Julie Fitzgerald (Giants Coach) and Nadia McDonald (Netball NSW Coach).

Far West Academy of Sport, Assistant Netball Coach Adine Hoey, states that the netball squad played exceptionally well over the 3 day academy challenge.

"The girls played outstanding over the three day period. They did not win any games. However, they went down by only 3 to the Central Coast and South East Sports Academy teams, which is a huge achievement for a far west squad team that only trains about once every two months," Adine said.

Alirah Watton, 17 year old from Coonabarabran received the 'Most Valuable Player' (MVP) award from out of 6 teams within Division 2 at the challenge.

"The MVP is picked by the 6 teams and coaches within the division and only awarded to one player."

"It was great to see Alirah recognised for her hard work and effort over the competition. The Far West Academy of Sport team are super proud of her!," Adine said.

The Academy Challenge also assists young netballers to increase their ball and teamwork skills. The mentoring sessions are focused on creating stronger athlete support systems, umpire, coach and manager development.

The Netball Academy Challenge is the last hit out for the Far West Academy of Sport Netball squad this year. Netball selection trials are being held in Warren on the 22 October 2022.