Dates confirmed for new 2020 tournaments

Netball New Zealand has confirmed next year’s domestic events calendar, which includes two new tournaments.

The Fuji Xerox NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs return in October where the top 16 schools from around the country will gather in Porirua for the four-day event.

Te Rauparaha Arena will host the NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs from 6-9 October to round out the 2020 domestic season.

There will also be plenty of interest in the two new tournaments early in the year including the Netball NZ U18 Champs and the Netball NZ Open Champs, supported by NZ Police.

The two tournaments replace the Under 19 and Under 17 national events as suggested by the netball community and following on from the NNZ High Performance review.

Netball New Zealand Head of Events and International, Kate Agnew, said it was exciting to confirm the dates and venues for the two new tournaments.

“We’re really looking forward to watching these new tournaments unfold,” she said.

“We’re excited about what this will do to our netball landscape in terms of the number of athletes who are now able to compete at a national event, who previously may not have.”

“And it’s not just the players who are representing their Centres who have been given these new opportunities, but also the coaches and officials who will also be taking part.”

The Netball NZ U18 Champs will be played at the Rotorua Netball Centre in the July school holidays, from 13-16 July.

Palmerston North will host the Netball NZ Open Champs, supported by NZ Police at the Central Energy Trust Arena from 8-12 September.

Agnew said she expected both tournaments to prove popular while the Fuji Xerox NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs continued to be one of the most coveted titles on the domestic calendar.

“We feel this new-look calendar can increase the depth of athletes we have competing at a national level, which can only be good for the game,” she said.

Netball New Zealand 2020 Domestic Events Calendar

2020 Netball NZ U18 Championships
13-16 July
Rotorua Netball Centre, Rotorua

2020 Netball NZ Open Champs – proudly brought to you by NZ Police
8-12 September
Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North

2020 Fuji Xerox NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs
6-9 October
Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua

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