PSNA Council Communique

Executive Members, Club delegates and Life Members came together 18 June 2025, for the PSNA Council Meeting. Apologies were noted, and the meeting opened.

The meeting records, of the May meeting were tabled and members agreed they were a true reflection of the previous meeting.

St Brigids Netball Club, thanked the grading committee for their consideration of minimising teams playing at 10.35am to support minimise traffic impacts at that time.

The Chair noted that the following positions remain vacant and called for any nominations from the floor:

• All Abilities Convenor 

• Boys and Mens Convenor  

• Coaching Convenor  

• Carnival Convenor 

Unfortunately, no nominations from the floor were received.

The Chair provided a Health and Safety update, reminding members the importance of reporting injuries sustained at the venue. This is important for cases where members then seek insurance through Netball Australia’s Insurer Howdens Insurance.

Members suggested that Clubs rostered to morning set up, also assist with blower vacing courts as required. This was supported by members.

Executive Member Updates:

President Update

The President acknowledged the success of our Senior Representatives Teams at Senior State Titles in particular the 17s and congratulated them for taking out Division 4.  

The President further noted that due to injury and illness of Executive members, that we appreciate the support of all Member Club executives collaborating to support the daily running's of our netball community.

Vice President Update

Indigenous Round Update, Justin Ridgeway will open with a Smoking Ceremony at 8.30am. 

We currently have 5 stall holders registered being: 

• Precision Body Method 

• Warlga Ngurra  

• Midnight Dreaming  

• Koori Colours Art Gallery  

• Hunter River High School

  
  

Four organisations are Aboriginal owned, and provide service from Pilates embedded to culture, Aboriginal women and children services, aboriginal arts and story telling  

We are looking forward to this event. With the remaining one providing services to Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander people.  

We have purchased a small gift for each Junior player- Teams will receive a bag of assorted items to share among their team. These gifts have been purchased through Indigenous Promotions Australia a Worimi - Biripi organisation based in Tuncurry NSW.

All players will receive a free raffle ticket and will go into the draw for some prizes including:

• training shirt for Giants Netball,

• training shirt from NSW Swifts,

• training shirt from the Newcastle Knights

• donated artworks form Nadina Marsh and Hunter River High Students

Everyone who visits one of our great stallholders will also get extra raffle tickets for the draw. 

Karuah Pearls Netball will host the BBQ on the day, and for the first two hours, with thanks to the grant from Port Stephens Council, the BBQ will be free!

Treasurer Update

The Treasurer provided a financial update to members.

Secretary Update

The Chair provided an update, on behalf of the Secretary noting apology. The correspondence report for the last period to be provided to members with the meeting record. Most correspondence relates to the daily operations of the Association.

Representative Convenor Update

What a weekend it was! PSNA proudly had three teams representing the association at this year’s HART Senior State Titles in Campbelltown on the weekend of the 7th – 9th June. The weather was kind—no rain until Presentation on Monday afternoon—and the atmosphere was electric! (Freezing but electric) 

Across the competition, our teams scored a combined 503 goals, showcasing grit, determination, and a whole lot of heart. Each team fought hard through every game, making us incredibly proud to be part of this netball family.  

Before the big weekend, we held a special training night where parents were invited to attend the announcement of team captains, followed by the traditional cutting of the cup (or cupcakes this year). It was a wonderful way to kick off the excitement!  

Captains for the Weekend:  

• 15s Team: Co-Captains Charlotte Crampton & Haylea Caldwell  

• 17s Team: Co-Captains Bronte Bohan & Caitlin Porter  

• Opens Team: Captain Shannon Bohan & Vice-Captain Kaitlyn Newman  

Team Results:  

15s Team  

• Coached by: Danielle Tranter and Managed by: Lois Tranter  

• Finished in 9th place  

17s Team  

• Coached by: Emma Penfold and Managed by: Mel Crain  

• Finished in 1st place – STATE CHAMPIONS!  Huge congratulations to the team for bringing home the title!  

  
  

Opens Team  

• Coached by: Nicole Smith and Managed by: Analia Piscitello  

• Finished in 16th place, giving their all in every game  

Thank you!  

A special thank you to Oliver Vorenkamp, our dedicated physiotherapist, who ensured all players and umpires were well looked after across the entire weekend. His expertise and care played a vital role in keeping our athletes in top condition and addressing any injuries or concerns promptly.  

A heartfelt thank you goes to all the parents who supported our players, coaches, and managers across the entire weekend. Your encouragement, help behind the scenes, and seemingly endless supply of coffee delivered to the courts kept everyone going strong. Your presence made a significant difference both on and off the court.  

A massive thank you to our dedicated Port Stephens umpires who officiated across the weekend:  

• Cherie Edwards, National B (Medowie)  

• Emma Morris, National C (Centrals)  

Without you, there is no game—we appreciate your time, effort, and constant support!  

As the sound of whistles fades and our voices return, we’re already counting down... just 17 days to go until we hit the courts again with our Junior Teams!  

Well done to all players, coaches, managers, and supporters. Let’s keep the PSNA spirit going strong!  

Technical Services Convenor

The Technical Services Convenor acknowledged the great work that our Umpires Convenor has been doing with coordination of umpire mentoring. There are number of great young umpires progressing well, working towards their national accreditation.

The Technical Services Convenor also acknowledged the tremendous support spectators have been displaying towards all our umpires who support the games each week.

Games Services Convenor

Scoresheets 

• Majority of teams are completing scoresheets correctly; however, reminders are needed for: 

  • All players to sign next to their name to confirm attendance. 

  • Borrowed players to be correctly listed in the ‘Borrowed Player’ section. 

  • Scoresheets must be scored and completed in accordance with PSNA policy and International Netball Rules. 

  • Non-compliance with scoresheet procedures may result in: 

  • No competition points being awarded. 

  • Delays in result finalisation. 

  • Risk of fines if discrepancies are not rectified. 

Borrowed Players 

Reminders: 

• Borrowing only to bring a team to seven on-court players – not to include reserves. 

• Substituting borrowed players off the court once a registered player arrives and updating this on the scoresheet. 

• Monitoring number of games played to avoid automatic registration with another team after three games. 

Forfeits 

All teams reminded: 

• Forfeit notifications must be made by the Monday before the game to avoid fines. 

• We need notice to advise the other team. 

• Forfeiting on the day, forfeiting without notification or using an unregistered player could result in fines being issued to the team and/or loss of competition points. 

• Where a team forfeits up to 3 times in a competition this may lead to a team being disbanded consistent with PSNA policy. 

Injuries and Incident Reporting 

• All teams reminded to ensure players report to the clubhouse following any on-court injury. 

• The First Aid Officer is to complete an incident report, which is then filed with the Association Secretary. 

• This is essential for insurance claims and legal record-keeping. 

• Compliance with this procedure has been mostly consistent, though there are still people coming back to us after the fact asking for documents to be signed. We need to be aware of what had occurred and see that the correct people have been involved to sign the insurance form. 

State Representative Player Eligibility 

• All senior state representative players have met the minimum game requirements to be eligible for State Titles participation. 

General Business

The Chair provided a brief update / reminder on:

• Indigenous Round 19 July,  

• Wet Weather Rounds Reminder 10 and 24 August

• Health and Wellbeing Round 16 August, a link to raffle will go out soon and great stalls have been locked in for the day.

The Chair also tested with members a possible change for the constitution next year, in the section about the President, Treasurer, Secretary cannot hold one of these positions within a Member Club to possibly consider an amendment 'may not hold the same position at both Association and Club for example President of a Club could not hold the same position at the Association but could hold Secretary or Treasurer moving forward. 

The Chair noted we would discuss the above further at the August Council meeting.

The Next Meeting of Council will be held on Wednesday 13 August 2025, 6.30pm at the Port Stephens Netball Association Clubhouse.

The meeting closed at 7pm.