Netty players battle through conditions to put on show at South West Peel Regional Championships

Not even miserable weather was able to put a dampener on an action packed weekend of netball as Busselton hosted the South West Peel Regional Championships. More than 125 games were played over the two days despite some being called off due to nearby lightning. While competitors, parents and volunteers were treated to glorious conditions on Saturday, the heavens opened on Sunday, leading to the cancellation of some games due to nearby lightning. Busselton Netball Association carnivals subcommittee lead Tanya McLeod said everyone involved put full effort into the weekend. “It was just a really, really great atmosphere like hail, rain or shine it was just absolutely fantastic there was really good netball played,” she said. Even when rain put a stop to games, the energy didn’t cease with an impromptu rendition of the Nutbush keeping spirits high. While Busselton didn’t take home any silverware from the competition they can still leave with their heads held high with both the 12/U and 16/U first division teams featuring in grand finals. It was heartbreak for the home side in the 16/U division one final, falling just one goal short of the unbeaten Mandurah side. It was a similar story in the 12/U mixed division one final, as Busselton went down 8 to 32 to a dominant Mandurah side who had made it through the regular games with a massive goal percentage of 573. Despite not being able to host this year’s championships due to reconstruction works, the Bunbury Netball Association went home with a reason to smile. The Association won two division one titles, both in the 13/U and 14/U divisions. The 13/U team sailed through the round robin games going undefeated and were able to beat Leschenault 26 to 16 in the final. For the 14/U side, they also went through to the grand final with an unblemished record and beat Mandurah 21 to 18 in the grand final. The event wasn’t all smooth sailing with wild weather wrecking multiple gazebos overnight. Community spirit prevailed, however, as within an hour of the destruction discovered families chipped in, bringing their own gazebos from home as a replacement. Ms McLeod said she was buoyed by the willingness of others to help out. “At six o’clock in the morning, we all got down to the courts and there were our seven gazebos all broken,” she said. “We put a call out and by 6.30am we had seven gazebos all popped up ready to go and we were back up and running before we knew it. “It’s just a great netball community, everyone just gets in and pitches and pitches in and helps.” The event was also an opportunity to raise donation for the Compassionate Scholarship Fund which helps children who’s families can not afford the costs associated with participating in community sport. Ten per cent of proceeds from fundraising will also go to Busselton Headspace.