A LONG-TIME netball administrator has slammed the state of two of eight netball courts used by Bendigo Strathdale Netball Association.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As the association continues to battle a shortage of courts at its Flora Hill base, Northern Flames president Gill Davey vented frustration over the state of facilities at the complex.
“There are five outdoor courts and the top two, courts five and six, are atrocious – absolutely atrocious,” she said.
“The three indoor courts are fine, they get a bit slippery, but that’s part of having indoor courts.
“The bottom three courts are fine but probably need a bit of fencing work.”
Her concerns were echoed by BSNA executive officer Daryl Cheeseman, who described the two courts as ‘suitable for junior use only’.
As the association continues to battle a shortage of courts to accommodate its 157 participating teams, several clubs contacted by the Bendigo Advertiser expressed concerns with the standard of netball facilities.
The association does not own its courts; they are leased from Bendigo South East College.
Netball Victoria northern region manager Pam Ferrari confirmed there had been no approaches to the state’s peak body re the conditions of courts at Flora Hill.
“I am aware of the situation, AFL Central Victoria did a court study and court audit last year and they (BSNA) were certainly part of that audit,” she said.
“Logically you would think they would contact us, but that hasn’t been the case.”
Courts shortage worry for booming netball association
BENDIGO Strathdale Netball Association is anxiously awaiting the results of a public consultation into a hard court facilities strategy for Bendigo’s future.
The association is continuing to battle a crippling shortage of courts at its Flora Hill Stadium base following continued growth in the popular competition.
A surge in team numbers in recent seasons has led to the BSNA rostering a full schedule of Friday night matches in the last three seasons, but even that has failed to alleviate problems.
BSNA executive officer Daryl Cheeseman said the association was this season accommodating 157 teams, an increase of 13 from last season.
Highlighting the extent of the growth, Cheeseman said the BSNA had 76 teams, when he first took up his current executive role in 2009.
“We’ve more than doubled in the last 10 years and because we have grown so dramatically over the last few years, there is certainly a shortage of courts,” he said.
“That problem has been around for a while now.
“What we have had to do is go to Friday nights for part of our competition, but even that brings with it some logistical problems.
“It’s got to a stage where we are virtually at full capacity, I don’t think we can take too much more growth the way it is at present.”
The Flora Hill complex has three indoor and three outdoor courts, with two other outdoor courts suitable for junior use only.
“When you think about it, you are looking at six courts, and when you have eight one hour time slots, that’s about 100 teams you can cater for on a Saturday and we have 157,” Cheeseman said.
The vast majority of teams making their way into the competition in the last three years have switched from the Golden City Netball Association, whose past two seasons have been interrupted due to the redevelopment of Bendigo Stadium.
After a tough two years, GCNA secretary Maree Dixon said the association was focusing on boosting team numbers.
“We had a decline in numbers while they were building because we were really pushing for courts,” she said.
“At one stage we had only three outside and four inside, so we lost a lot of teams.
“Now we’ve got the 12 (outside) courts and our numbers are increasing, mainly in the primary and the open sections.
“There was a problem there for a while, where people couldn’t see any netball happening while the building was going on, but we’re getting there now.”
A draft netball and tennis court strategy was released for comment by the City of Greater Bendigo in April.
It found there was a shortage of lit-courts to support training and night competition, a preference for acrylic courts due to playability, multi-use and reduced maintenance and an increasing need to upskill volunteers to deliver local competitions and manage and maintain facilities.
Cheeseman confirmed his association had provided comment on the strategy before the June 1 deadline.
But complicating any potential expansion at Flora Hill is a lack of space for new courts.
One long-mooted solution to the court shortage – a share agreement between the associations – appears unlikely.
Dixon was confident Bendigo was big enough to be serviced by two associations, parallel to the region’s football-netball leagues.
“I don’t think merging would be the answer, sending some teams to Strath one week and back here the next week,” she said.
“We have a lot of teams over our side of town, it makes more sense for them to be playing closer to home.”
Cheeseman also cast doubts on any merger being entertained.
“Bendigo is pretty big, it probably needs a couple of junior associations,” he said.
“This hard court strategy indicates there are 10 indoor courts at (Bendigo Stadium) and the suggestion is (our) competition could go there, but I am not sure that’s the way to go either.
“Basketball and volleyball are using those courts on the weekend, so I don’t know how you do that.”
The Golden City courts are also used for school and other competitions, including the recent Association Championships Northern Zone under-age qualifiers.
We want to know your thoughts
In the lead up to the Victorian state election on November 24, Fairfax Media is giving you the chance to have your say about issues that matter to you.
Your answers will help shape our coverage.
Take our anonymous survey, here:
