Defending champions Harcourts, blue, and Wairarapa College, navy, will both play in the Premier One semifinals. PHOTOS/FILE
NETBALL
CHRIS COGDALE
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The Netball Wairarapa premier and senior players will head straight into semifinals when their competitions resume later this week.
The disruption to the season due to the covid-19 level 4 and level 3 lockdown meant there was no play for four weeks. That has left only two weeks to complete the championships because of the high number of secondary school teams and the need to finish by the end of school term three.
The last round of games was scheduled to be played before the semifinals, but those games will not go ahead. With the top four in most grades clearly defined, Netball Wairarapa have decided to move straight to the semifinals.
Netball Wairarapa general manager Scott Cottier said the details of the draw will be confirmed once they have heard from the club delegates on the numbers of players for each of the teams
“We are definitely going ahead with it, but it just depends on what that looks like with regards to who wants to play.”
Cottier said Netball Wairarapa wants to avoid teams pulling out of semifinals on the day.
“We want the information from the teams first and then we will decide how the competitions look.
“For those in the top four of each grade, team managers will need to liaise with delegates to confirm each team’s ability to play.
“Any teams that choose not to play or cannot play will default and the other team will advance to the final.”
Based on the current standings, the premier one semifinals would have the number one ranked side Jo Kelly and Co Carterton Maroon play fourth-placed Wairarapa College,
while second-placed Celtic would come up against defending champions Harcourts, who are third.
In premier two, top qualifiers Makoura College would play Jo Kelly and Co Carterton Black, and St Matthew’s would take on Gladstone Gladiators.
The premier semifinals will be played on Friday night at the Colombo Rd Trust House Wairarapa Netball Centre with all other grades to be played on Saturday. The finals will be played on Saturday September 25.
The semifinal draws are expected to be confirmed within the next day.
The news is not so good for primary netballers though, with the remainder of their competitions cancelled.
Cottier said the decision came after community feedback and Netball Wairarapa’s ability to manage the competitions within level 2 requirements.
The winners of the primary school championships will be taken from the current standings on the Netball Wairarapa website.
“It is unfortunate we cannot cater to all teams, and we understand that many people will feel disappointed that they will not play more netball this season,” said Cottier.
