While the south aren’t letting the tyranny of distance get in their way, teams from north of Mackay have a real advantage this time. Catch the day one action LIVE from 8am on Saturday. See the schedule.
Usually on the road south at this time of the year, a record 26 from eight associations from north of Mackay have a much shorter distance to travel this time around.
That’s more than double the number of teams who went to the Gold Coast in 2022
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You can catch 86 games (48 on day one and 28 on day two) LIVE from two courts (five and 11) over the first two days of the championships on KommunityTV.
There will also be games streamed from two courts on Monday and Tuesday. A draw for those days will be finalised at the end of Sunday’s matches.
See the LIVE STREAM below.
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The large playing numbers aren’t confined to the north though.
The Metropolitan North, Logan and Gold Coast regions have also seen an increase in teams, who seem far from put off by a two-hour flight to Townsville.
In all, there will be 214 teams representing 49 associations playing over the four days.
A new Netball Queensland ruling which allows associations to register three teams per age group instead of the previous maximum of two, has also contributed to the surge of numbers.
Games will be played in three girls divisions – U12 girls, U13 girls and U14 girls – from 8am on Saturday morning. There are also five boys teams entered this year.
Reigning overall champions Metropolitan Districts Netball Association (MDNA) are well aware Sunshine Coast Netball Association (SCNA) will be out to retain the trophy, which has swung between the two for several years.
The championships act as an exciting opportunity for players to experience the community-driven advantages against teams they would not otherwise see at local carnivals.