Maitland Netball Association will celebrate 15 years of hard work behind the scenes when its new clubrooms are officially opened on Saturday.
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But it will also by a symbolic end to a horror 12 months for the association in the wake of April’s superstorm.
The old clubrooms were unable to be used and all the equipment stored inside was either destroyed or beyond repair.
“It was a tough 12 months. We somehow managed to get through on borrowed equipment and a lot of goodwill,” association president Kim Starkey said.
“The change from 12 months ago is amazing. The support of our sponsor The Mutual has meant we have been able to purchase new equipment, the courts are in great shape and we have new clubrooms
“The new facilities are just wonderful and are the result of 15 years of work by past committees and present officials.
The new facilities are just wonderful and are the result of 15 years of work by past and present committees.
- Maitland Netball Association president Kim Starkey
“It’s like a brand new start for everyone involved and a facility we can be proud of and use well into the future.”
Saturday’s celebrations will centre on the official opening at 9.30am and a march pass by teams from all the clubs, led by Maitland representative sides.
“There will be a carnival atmosphere throughout the day,” Starkey said.
“We have a giant castle, blow-up obstacle course and face painting for the young players.
“I think the youngsters are particularly excited about taking part in the march pass.
“It should be quite colourful really. We certainly haven’t had anything like that since I’ve been on the committee for the past six years.”
Past committee members and officials, council and state dignitaries have been invited to take part in the day and Starkey is eager for all past and present players to get along.
Starkey said the new facilities had undergone their biggest test on the weekend with a regional carnival on Sunday, following a full round of games on Saturday.
“Everything ran smoothly, our teams all competed very well and the feedback we got from all the visiting teams was fantastic,” she said.
Starkey said to enable the scheduled event on Sunday, the first games would start at 8.30am instead of 9.30am.
“We will have to juggle things around, but we have come up with a schedule to allow all the games to proceed and for the celebrations to take centre stage,” she said.
