WHITEHORSE NETBALL THURSDAY NIGHT COMPETITION

Season 2023

Thursday night netball at Sportlink started the year with 30 teams and by Season 2 we had 32 teams on board.

Over the year we grew our Mixed Competition from 7 teams to 12 teams. We wanted to try and bring in family teams – mothers, fathers and sons and daughters, - and though we tried we got a few but we also had a number of new young teams joining the ranks, which made our Mixed comp hard to grade and certainly wore our the older legs at times on the court!! Our thanks to our umpires, Trudy, Jacki and Carolyn who have tried to teach the “boys” the rules of netball and not play like AFL. Thank you! I think you were able to encourage the guys and taught them the finer points of netball!!!

Season 2 Grand Final Night

We held our Grand Final last Thursday night ( 23/11) and it was a fun night. Games were fiercely battled, but unlike Elimination Final night, no draws. Thanks Umpires.

It was good to see some new teams in the finals, and then there were the old familiar faces as well in some sections.

We thank Ros Blakemore, Vice Chair of the Whitehorse Board for handing out our 7pm presentations. And to Liz Umpire Thursday Night Umpire Coordinator and also Member of the Whitehorse Board.

A good night was had by all. The atmosphere was friendly despite the on court rivalries Our thanks to all the umpires throughout the year, without whom we could not run the games. Thank you !

We are looking for more teams in 2024- experienced ladies teams and a couple of strong Mixed teams. All information will be on our website shortly.

Hope to see you all back in 2024. Have a happy Christmas and a safe and peaceful

holiday. See you in 2024

Winners

Runners Up

Couch Potatoes – one of the “old” team faces of our competition, who have been with us for many seasons and more to come. They have even started to work on expanding the team – about 3 or 4 babies down the track who one day may end up playng with their parents !!!!!! Thanks for your loyalty guys. Winners Mixed 1!

Ladies Section 4 Winners – Bevies . Have tried for a couple of seasons and finally  triumphed!

Our Board member – Ros Blakemore presenting the prizes to another winner/ runner up

Mother presenting to daughter!

Jenny thinks she is Queen of Scorers, but sorry think Kerrie P beats you there!!

Waiting for presentations!

Vale Leonie…

 But I need to bring in a very sad note. Over many seasons we had a ladies team called Nexus, who played with us when we took the comp to Box Hill whilst the stadium was being built at Vermont South. They followed us back when we opened the stadium in 2009.  In 2022 they decided they would need to return to a venue closer to their homes – Box Hill and inner-city way...I just recently found out that the team  actually played on the carpark at Forest Hill in the very early years  when we were Deakin and Nunawading  Netball Associations.

Nexus was a team of sisters, mothers and daughters, and Leonie played with her sister and daughter, something she was grateful for. I often had talks with her and the team – joking about one player Sally who went every winter season to the snow with her daughters doing their schooling there. I would tease Leonie and Sally abut this part-time person leaving them in the lurch each season!!

I received an email one Tuesday night to say Leonie Keilor had passed away. Leonie had bravely fought a very rare kind of cervical cancer for 23 years. When she was on the court, you would hear this “youhoo” and you knew Leonie was playing that night. I had many conversations over the seasons with her and it never ceased to amaze me, Leonie’s strength, courage and sense of humour over the years with a disease that took so much out of her. But Leonie would not give in , she fought the good fight, until in the end she could fight no more. Part of her final email to me was the following:

As you have gathered by now, and as Sally pre-empted  at the end of last season, we haven’t returned to Whitehorse. It’s rather sad and I have loved the competition you have run but the distance was finally getting too much for us (as we get older 😊) and it was harder and harder to find a fill in allowing for the travel time.

Thank you so much for supporting us over the many years and provided an A+ competition.  We have loved our time with Whitehorse hence having stayed for so long.

We joined ESBNA back at the Box Hill Aquatic Centre and had our first night on court. Sadly, I didn’t play but the girls did say the facilities were not as good but distance was excellent.  I am secretly thing the comp won’t be as good as yours but…..

On myself – I’m just about through my chemo, two treatments left and then we’ll see where we are at.   Not sure what the future holds for me but wanted to let you know I have appreciated all your love and concern over the years.  It’s been a journey on and off the court.

I miss Leonie dearly – someone who over the years left an impact on me. But she is in a better place now without the pain, but I will always remember the “youwoo” up and down the courts which always brought a smile to my face

Rest in peace Leonie.