Newsletter 2 April 2014

Welcome to the 2014 netball season. It is heartening to note that we have increased our team numbers to 34 teams, up from 29 last year. No wonder the trials seemed busy. Your Coach will be in contact and practices arranged as soon as possible, if not already.
Just a few things to get you underway and ready to start playing, for most of you this is Saturday 3 May. Our A, B, C and D teams start a week earlier.

CLUB DAY        Where:    Avonhead School,  Avonhead Rd, Avonhead

                         Date:    Sunday 13 April 

                        Time:    9.30am    Coach/Manager Meeting - for information and pick up

training bag
                                    10.00am    Annual General Meeting - everyone is welcome
                                    10.30am until noon  for uniforms, jackets and backpacks

Club Day This is when you come to buy uniforms and pick up your Club jacket and backpack.  If you are new to the Club you may not be aware that we require players to buy their playing uniform (Technical shirt and skirt), although we do issue jackets and backpacks, which need to be returned at the end of the season. The cost of a complete uniform is $85, although you can buy separately the shirt for $50 and the skirt for $35. 
If you are unable to attend to pick up your jacket and backpack, then please make arrangements for someone else to pick up on your behalf, otherwise you may miss out on getting this gear. You will still be responsible for returning the gear at the end of the season. 

You may also pay subscriptions (cash or cheque only), although you are strongly encouraged to pay these electronically to Westpac 03 1591 0105537 00, and using player name as reference. Thank you to those who have done so already.

Where a parent has 2 or more school age children playing, each player will receive a 10% discount 
A player who also coaches a different team will receive a 50% discount 
A player providing an umpire for Third grade, U14, U13 U12 and U11 will be eligible for a 50% discount
Only one discount option is available per player

We are happy to accept payments by instalments (electronic banking only please) if this is more manageable. Please email info@technicalnetball.co.nz with proposed plan for the attention of the Treasurer. 

Help required
We need some 3 or 4 volunteers to help out on Club Day to distribute backpacks and jackets and assist with uniform purchases.
Current committee members no longer have an association with teams from U19 down to U11 and therefore we would like to see at least one person from each of U11/U12 or U13 or U14/U15 or U17/U19 grades join us so that we can meet the needs of those players.  We get compliments on our efficiency, but we are sure there are some new ideas to take on board to improve your experience. Meetings are held on Monday night from 7.30pm.
We could also do with some help in looking after our communications - monitoring our emails and facebook.
If you are at all interested in helping the Club, then get back to us. You are welcome to ring Elaine (021 410 824) or Raewyn (027 321 0364) for more information or email us expressing interest.


Entertainment Books for sale
We have an opportunity to raise funds by selling Entertainment Books and this year they have introduced a new digital edition. The Club receives $13 for every book sold.   The current version covers Christchurch, Canterbury and Nelson.   
The link to the Technical Netball payment page is: www.entertainmentbook.co.nz/orderbooks/13485g7 which is where you can order and pay online using credit card details. The books cost $65 and we will deliver them to you on a Saturday at Hagley. Alternatively you could put a cheque in the mail to our PO Box 36222, made payable to Technical Netball Club. Ensure you include the name of the Technical netball player you know, so that we can get the book to you. They will be available from mid May, for use as from 1 June 2014.

Umpiring requirements of teams
ALL players in the A to J teams (Prem, Senior 2, 2nd Grade, and Under 19) must sit the NNZ on line Centre Theory exam. When you have completed the test on line, you must print out their certificate and hand to the coach.  If you don't hand in the certificate, then you are deemed to be unregistered and should not play. A team playing an unregistered player can have competition points deducted.

Teams in Third grade, U14, U13 U12 and U11 are required to supply their own umpire for their game. Failure to do so will require a player to be stood down, ie the team will play with only 6 players. The Coach will discuss with the team if a roster is necessary. If you have someone (parent, sister, brother, friend) who is capable and willing to umpire for the team, then please advise your Coach.

You can now follow us on Facebook. Search for 'Technical Netball Club' and ask to join the group. 

Trials
We were fortunate to have reasonable weather for all trials, except the second night for U19 and U17. The majority of these triallists are long standing Club members and well known to the selectors, so the teams were able to be sorted. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Isabella from the U13 trials who was injured at the very end of the trials, and her team will be pleased to see her eventually. Just to clarify the selection strategy for the U13 and U12 grades where we have large numbers. The selectors focus on selecting the A and B team strictly on merit. Other teams are put together with a stronger focus on playing with friends and team mates from last year where organisationally possible. Generally this makes for happier teams all round. Sadly, there are always some players who are disappointed in their placement, as well as others who are pleasantly surprised, however overall the Club fits everyone into a team. There is still some movement required between some teams as we ensure that all teams have enough, but not too many players - 9 being the ideal number in our experience. Thank you to everyone that gave a hand at organising, selecting and umpiring.

As always, please check out the website for the most up to date information.
www.technicalnetball.co.nz

Happy netballing
Technical Netball Committee