Any aspiring male netballers in Goulburn now have one more major stage on which they can display their skills, after Netball NSW recently announced its intention to introduce Men's State Titles divisions.
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This is the first time in the history of the NSW State Titles that men will be able to take part, which Netball NSW CEO, Tain Drinkwater, said was a major step forward for equality.
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"It is a myth that netball is only a sport for women and young girls," Drinkwater said.
"But while it was the only team sport that gave the female demographic a fair-go for a very long time, it must also be acknowledged that male participants haven't always been properly embraced.
"This is something that must change, and we are in the process of changing it with [this] announcement. We want both boys and men to have aspirations to represent their state and country, and contrary to the negative narrative that's often aimed at netball there are already very well established and respected men's competitions which run annually.
"Anything that Netball NSW can do to prepare players for these competitions in terms of pathways opportunities via the State Titles and the Summer Series is imperative for us, and overdue."
The decision to introduce men's divisions into the longstanding competition was made after Netball Australia's State of the Game Review made clear the need for increased inclusivity.
Though Goulburn does not currently have a senior men's division, another goal of the decision to introduce men's divisions to a senior representative competition was to encourage participation at a grassroots level.
"Our future focus emphasises the need to create pathways for junior boys to play netball and remove all stigmas of boys and men playing the sport," Men's Netball NSW president, Clare McCabe, said.
"Creating the male divisions at the State Titles will lead to a huge number of additional opportunities and exposure for the men's game. It will also lead to more participants and a larger talent pool for those wishing to get involved in high-performance sport.
"In terms of Summer Series, partnering with the netball Associations and having them involved shows how serious we and Netball NSW are about further developing a strong platform for men in the game."
With another major opportunity for men at a representative level, the Goulburn District Netball Association will no doubt hope to see it increase interest from local players as well.
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