BRENDAN LINES
A NEW junior development scholarship spearheaded by the Loxton North Netball Club has given financial relief to families of Riverland junior netballers.
Recently, the club was the beneficiary of a bequeathed $2500 from the closure of the Loxton Junior Netball Club.
Loxton North Netball Club spokesperson Ilze Braddock said the money went towards setting up the scholarship.
“The stipulation was to use the money for junior development,” she said.
The scholarship will be made available as separate $100 vouchers to cover the cost of player subs, uniforms, and sporting goods.
This year’s inaugural scholarship went to a Loxton-based junior who is to remain anonymous. Applicants were asked to provide a 250-word summary, which the club assessed on a needs basis.
“The particular girl who won was rapt. It was one of those bucket-filling moments,” Ms Braddock said.
“It’s going to go a long way to help her stay in the game and be part of the club.”
The junior netballer told the club in her submission that “at every difficult point in my life, netball has always been there for me to help me have an outlet and a positive focus”.
Ms Braddock said the scholarship will help to alleviate the costs of new juniors coming to the club.
“The cost of playing is a bit prohibitive for some families,” she said.
“This is a way we hope to alleviate cost and pressure because it’s not just about buying a uniform. There is the warm-up jumper and the bag, the list can go on and on.”
The scholarship comes with the addition of under 11 grades to the Riverland Netball Association next year.
“This is our way to attract new people to the game and help families who might be feeling the pinch (of costs),” Ms Braddock said.
The scholarship is open to new players and nominations from a third party.
“You can also nominate somebody, and write about someone who you know is suffering from financial hardship.”
Ms Braddock said the club would use the remaining money to seek sponsorship.
“Through sponsorship we’re hopefully going to keep topping that figure up so we can continue to offer the scholarship to our juniors,” she said.