Netball Australia has confirmed that this year’s Super Netball Grand Final will be played in Perth, with a new location chosen and posted with the match ahead of the season each year.
Key points:
- The grand final is traditionally awarded to the winner of the major semifinal
- The announcement was made two weeks before the end of the regular season
- Former Diamond Nat Medhurst said the players “would be more than furious at how these big decisions have been handled again.”
The grand final will be played at Perth’s RAC Arena on Sunday, July 3rd.
The decision to switch to a fixed location each season, instead of awarding the host rights to the main semifinal winner, caused a stir when reported on Wednesday, with the news just two weeks before the end of the regular season. .
Netball Australia also announced an increase in prizes, with Super Netball champions receiving $ 100,000 and runners-up receiving $ 25,000.
“We understand that the netball community is disappointed at the time of this announcement. We had to move quickly to secure this funding investment for our sport,” said Kelly Ryan, CEO of Netball Australia.
In addition to the prize pool, Netball Australia said the Western Australian government had pledged more netball funding from the grassroots to the elite.
The Diamonds are also set to hold their pre-Commonwealth Games training camp in Perth in July.
Former Diamonds, Firebirds and Fever goalie Nat Medhurst said on Twitter that players “would be more than furious at how these big decisions have been handled again.”
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Meanwhile, the president of the Australian Netball Players Association, Jo Weston, said the organization was taking its time to make a statement.
Weston plays the Melbourne Vixens, who seemed willing to claim the first minor charge and be in the saddle to get the reception rights for the decisive until that decision was announced.
“We know there are a lot of netball fans and club members [Super Netball] He will be disappointed by this decision, especially after two years of live sports very limited to most states due to the COVID pandemic, “the Vixens said in a statement.
“No doubt many of the Victorian netball community will be disappointed to miss the potential opportunity to host the grand final this year, and we share that disappointment.”
Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago Thu, June 2, 2022 at 7:47 AM, updated 49 m ago, 49 minutes ago, Thu, June 2, 2022 at 8:12 AM