Australian Netball Championships re-opens the door for Canberra's emerging stars

Netball Australia announced the Australian Netball Championships, a revamped second-tier competition, would be held in Traralgon from August 22-28 after a three-year hiatus.

It provides Canberra netballers with a rare chance to put themselves on the radar of Super Netball clubs and the opportunity of getting a professional contract.

With coaching applications only closing on Monday and athlete applications open until next Monday, who will oversee the Darters - along with who's playing - is still up in the air.

Thrilled with the announcement and aware of its importance for the territory's high performance program, Netball ACT chief executive Matthew Battams is eager to finalise the team structure and is confident a much clearer picture will be apparent by the end of the month.

"In the next two weeks we will work through those combinations with the panel and set up some interviews, it [coaching decision] shouldn't be too far away," Battams said.

Because Canberra doesn't have a Super Netball team, the ANC provides ACT netballers the opportunity to test their hand against some of the nation's finest athletes and also delivers a key pathway to reach the country's top-tier professional league.

"It's super important for their development," Battams said. "This really is a level the girls need to be at if they see themselves getting a [Super Netball] contract in the future.

"It's great for them to test themselves against a greater quality athlete again and is also a chance for them to be noticed by Netball Australia High Performance staff."

Equally as excited for the new-look competition, Netball ACT high performance manager Kate Carpenter is eager for August to roll around and see the girls out on court competing once more at the elite level.

"Just like how it was really exciting to have Nationals back this year for the 17's and 19's, this ANC will be really exciting as well," Carpenter said.

"A lot of the athletes who will be nominating for this program are currently participating in the NSW premier league, have previously, or are at that level.

"Within our pathway this is our top group, so it's something our athletes aspire to."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: