THERE’S a reason the Mildura Netball Association Spring Carnival has been running for more than 55 years.
The iconic event features over the first weekend of the September holidays every year and attracts teams and families from a variety of places, including many from Melbourne.
Association president Alana Mills said numbers continued to rise since the pandemic, reflected by 47 teams that have registered this year, 17 of which were at the senior level.
“Anyone can enter a team,” Mills said.
“There’s no real criteria but some big associations down in Melbourne like Lilydale/Yarra Valley, Mountain Ranges, they bring quite a few teams … there’s some big associations that bring teams to us.”
Of those teams, surprisingly only seven had entered from Sunraysia.
“We’re probably heavier on out-of-town teams this year than previous ones but with the SFNL and Millewa leagues having just wrapped up, lots of netballers want a break,” Mills said.
“Being the school holidays, a lot will actually stay on with their families and have a bit of a holiday.
“That’s why we’re such an attraction for visiting teams — it’s amazing to see so many people come up and enjoy our beautiful region.”
In last year’s carnival, games were played indoors at the Mildura Sporting Precinct, which meant that six courts were utilised.
However, this year will feature use of both the indoor and outdoor facilities at the MSP, the addition of four outdoor courts allowing for 10 courts to be used at once.
“To be able to use so many courts at once is a massive boost to the carnival … and knowing that good weather is predicted is a bonus for the outdoor games,” Mills said.
“I think some of the teams coming up might be surprised by the forecast, which is around the 30°C mark.”
Spring Carnival games start from 8.30am on Saturday and run until 3pm on Sunday.
