BATHURST netballers Amy Belfanti and Olivia Johnston made their final tournament with this year’s Western Regional Academy of Sport program one to remember with an impressive showing at the Australian Invitational Youth Games.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
So impressive in fact that they were named most valuable player for their respective teams at the tournament.
Conducted at Maitland, the Australian Invitational Youth Games drew talented netballers from across the state.
Johnston lined up for WRAS’ division one team, while Belfanti played alongside fellow Bathurst talents Sara Reynolds, Alexandra Ridley and Elissa Ridley in division two.
“The netball part of the tournament was specifically for regional academies in New South Wales, it’s basically the end of program tournament where all the academies meet,” WRAS executive officer Candice Boggs.
“It was not results driven, but at the of the day they did tally things up. Western Sydney Academy of Sport won both division one and two, but WRAS came equal fifth in division one and equal sixth in division two.
“It is tough coming up against metropolitan academies because they have the opportunity to train and play together on a regular basis, but there were a few occasions where our girls beat Sydney teams in both divisions.
“It’s probably one of the better performances our academy has had.”
The most valuable player mantles were awarded to the Bathurst duo for their consistently strong efforts across the entire tournament.
Rather than being decided by their WRAS coaches, it was mentors from rival academies who voted for the best after each game.
But that was not the only thrill for the WRAS pair - they and their team-mates also got to interact with some of Australia’s leading netballers.
“It was really good because Netball NSW had a really strong presence at the tournament, they brought along a few of the Sydney Swifts, there was a Giants player, and the Swifts head coach Rob Wright and assistant coach were there,” Boggs said.
“While the girls sat on the bench, the Swifts players came up and had a chat to them and the coaches did the same thing with our WRAS coaches.”
Nominations for the 2017-18 WRAS netball program are now open, those interested can find details at wras.org.au. Up to 24 players will be selected.
“We always get good numbers at the trials from Bathurst, but not just players, the coaching staff as well,” Boggs said.
