Netball president rejects criticism

Press, 5 July 1985, Page 32

Netball president rejects criticism

Criticism of the format for next year’s Swiss Maid national club netball league was yesterday rejected by the New Zealand Association’s president, Mrs Anne Taylor. The six teams which competed in the inaugural league this season played a full round of matches, with the top two sides contesting a final- The team on top of the league before the final, Carmel Mainzeal (North Shore), was beaten in that final by the second-placed side, Verdettes (Hamilton). The same format has been retained for 1986, when the league will consist of eight teams, and that decision has drawn an angry response from the Carmel coach, Marion Smith.

She described the final as “a non-event,” felt her team had proved itself the best in the country in the round robin and called for a revised points system. Mrs Taylor said from Hamilton yesterday that the

national association had received no formal complaints on the format. The decision to keep the rules intact was unanimously agreed by .the N.Z.N.A. executive. “We are very aware that people like to have a grand final situation,” she said. “We think netball made a lot of impact with that final.” The executive’s first priority had been to increase the league to eight teams, but felt .a double round, home and away, would not have been practical, in addition to being a costly exercise. “We don’t want to take the top club# away from their associations. If there are more games in the league, it is very difficult for those teams to play in their own club competitions,” said Mrs Taylor. “We also don’t want to interfere in the representative season, which is the highlight in most netballers’ careers.”

Mrs Taylor clarified points on the 1986 national league. The winners of the Auckland and Waikato regions will play off, with the winner automatically included in the national competition. The top team in the Canterbury and Otago-South-land regions will meet the leading side from the Hawke’s Bay-Wellington area, with the winner also advancing to the national league. The four beaten regional winners will then be permitted to challenge any of the four encumbent league clubs for their places. At least one South Island club must be involved in the national league next winter. St Nicholas is expected to be the Canterbury region representative. On August 11, it will play off with the winners of the West Coast, South Canterbury, Mid-Can-terbury and Country areas at Ashburton for the right to meet the leading side from Otago-Southland.