HAWKESBURY City Netball Association performed valiantly at the Netball NSW State Age Championships at the weekend, with two teams having top four finishes.
The 12 years girls finished in third place and the 13s finished in fourth place in division two of their age groups at the end of the three-day competition.
Association president Tracy Chalk said the district held its own against teams who had much larger player pools.
‘‘The 13s had a pretty hard first day and then fought back on Sunday and Monday to climb to fourth on the ladder,’’ she said.
‘‘We don’t know now, but the 12s and 13s might be elevated to championship division next year.’’
In the championship division, the 14s and 15s girls did not finish as highly as their younger counterparts, however, the level of competition was also much higher.
The 14s finished 11th and the 15s finished 14th, and Chalk said that was a tremendous achievement for them.
‘‘We’re nowhere near as large as some of the associations so the fact Hawkesbury can take it up to championship level against some of the larger associations is a credit to our girls,’’ she said.
This year, the Hawkesbury also hosted division four of the event, with 31 teams from across New South Wales playing on the courts at the Mileham Street Netball Complex in Windsor.
Association president Tracy Chalk said there was a great atmosphere at the netball courts all weekend.
‘‘The mood on the court is competitive, but it is positive and it is very good,’’ she said.
‘‘A few local businesses have told us they enjoyed getting the extra business from all the players and parents.
‘‘The tavern across the road was definitely happy to have a few more people in.’’
Chalk said the association had wanted to host part of the event for a long time, and was glad it finally happened.
‘‘Netball NSW has congratulated us on a smooth running event,’’ she said.
‘‘They do the running themselves but we’ve made it easy for them to get things done from an administration and umpiring angle.
‘‘We’ve even had some invitations to go out to the country and play some gala days out there.’’