The South Australian Sports Institute’s (SASI) netball team will travel with nine local athletes to Fiji to compete against three Fiji Academy Teams and the Victorian Institute of Sport’s (VIS) netball team.
The tournament provides an opportunity for players to experience international competition and hone their ability to adapt to each country’s unique style of play.
It will also serve as an opportunity for the Fijian athletes to fight for selection in the Fiji World Youth Cup team.
All SA eight athletes hail from clubs who compete in The Hospital Research Foundation Group Premier League competition at Netball SA Stadium.
South Australian athletes selection to representing SASI in Fiji:
- Sienna Burns (Newton Jaguars)
- Lucy Voyvedic (Matrics)
- Tabitha Packer (Contax)
- Brooke Irlam (Garville)
- Aaleya Turner (Matrics)
- Poppy Scholz (Oakdale)
- Lucy Denton (Garville)
- Jemma Kelly (Matrics)
- Dusty Millar (Contax)
SASI netballer Lucy Voyvodic, who took out the South Australian Junior Athlete of the Year award, was among the eight SA athletes selected to travel to Fiji.
“It will be very eye opening for us all to be playing against different oppositions with unique styles of play, but I think it will help our bonding and make us better as a group,” Voyvodic said.
Voyvodic has had an outstanding year in 2023, taking home gold at the National Netball Championships and the Most Valuable Player award for the 19U division.
“It was a huge surprised, but it gave me heaps of confidence in myself, which has really helped me this year,” Voyvodic said.
“I’m definitely a confidence player and I feel like if I have my back and my teammates have my back, it will help me play better.”
The team is led by experienced head coach Jacqui Illman alongside former Australian Diamond Jenny Borlase and Amehlia Schmidt.
Illman said the development tournament is a good opportunity for the SASI athletes to hone their skills.
“It’s a great opportunity for the players to experience international competition and the demands of international travel and also playing against a different style that the Fijians possess,” Illman said.
“I know that the playing group are really excited to play together, and it will teach them how to compete while managing the demands of international travel and the ability to be adaptable.”
During the trip, the group will be involved in community engagement activities and partake in cultural experiences.
“The girls will be involved in running clinics with the kids at the local club and an orphanage while we are over there, among other cultural experiences, which the girls are really looking forward too,” Illman said.
The team will be competing from the 10th to the 15th of December.
