On Tuesday 23 July we saw the return of netball with the first training session of the year. Teams adjusted to sessions reduced to one hour and social distancing guidelines. They trained in wet, windy, cold and dry conditions on Tuesday nights including a session where the power in the lights went out during the 7:30 timeslot – did someone say sabotage? On Saturday 4 July, with only two training sessions completed and in what was a very hot first game back, Hamersley hit the ground running with 19/26 teams coming away with the win and one draw. We also saw our first Hamersley vs Hamersley game where Team 20 beat Team 21. Game 2 was another scorcher and another good day out for the club with 19 teams winning and 2 teams playing out draws. In Game 3 we saw the return of spectators (at a restriction) and you guessed it 19 teams won with 1 team finishing with a draw. This round also saw the underdogs Team 14 take the win over Team 13. Game 4 was an amazing week for the club with a whopping 23/26 teams playing through to a win in some windy conditions. Game 5 saw 16 teams with a win and 1 team with a draw. We had a few Hamersley showdowns on this day with Team 1 getting the win over Team 2, Team 9 won against Team 10, Team 11 beat Team 12 and we saw another underdog in Team 4 take out the win over Team 3. With the first round done and dusted, congratulations to everyone for your achievements so far and a shoutout to the following 9 teams on your undefeated round; Teams 1, 8, 9, 11, 14, 17, 19, 20, 26. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those players who have helped other teams by playing up and filling in where needed as there has been many teams low on numbers due to injuries, illness, holidays, WANL (West Australian Netball League) commitments and more. Several coaches have also filled in for other Head coaches when they have been away and in some cases taken on a second team and we would like to thank you for your efforts! Good luck for the second half of this 2020 season!

Congratulations to the winner of our Home Program Participation Competition prize draw Ashleigh Firth, 13U player from Team 20. Ashleigh won a $200 Rebel Sport voucher. Congratulations to the winner of our Home Program Social Media Competition, Caitlyn Gillespie from Team 26. Caitlyn also won a $200 Rebel Sport voucher. Caitlyn’s post was a fantastic example of participating in Hamersley’s Shooting Hub program at home. The chalk markings on the ground were a great visual representation of working through the program shooting cards, Caitlyn was dressed in her full Hamersley uniform and had an inspiring caption that supported the club’s initiative to bring everyone together when we were apart through our Home Program. Caitlyn also tagged Hamersley’s Instagram and used the Home Program competition hashtag. Caitlyn’s post said: On top of being a great photo (thanks mum Leah!) all of these important aspects combined resulted in Caitlyn’s post being a standout winner of the competition. Our Home Program season was a resounding success and saw Hamersley players complete a total of: 1,829 sessions
comprising of:
989 Shooting Hub sessions
456 Run Club sessions
384 Fundamentals sessions
with our shooters scoring an incredible total of: 109,469 goals We are immensely proud of all our members who participated and kept the Hamersley spirit alive amid COVID-19. You are all a wonderful example of the Hamersley way, to “be the best you can be”.

Netball is a huge part of our lives; it brings joy, happiness, healthy competition and for many, an outlet. In Issue 1 of the 2020 Hamlet, we asked a series of questions to see what our club members were doing while missing our beloved sport. The Hamersley Home Programs had a lot of participation, with the Run Club proving to be more challenging than many anticipated. With extra time on their hands, our members started new hobbies and restarted old ones. Annke Schmidt restarted an interest in martial arts. Former player Emma Johnson, who now lives in New Zealand, started learning Yoga and loves it. Annie McKendry has started creating succulent bowls for friends and family, Leah Hannent enjoyed baking, DIY projects and surfing. Isolation gave people the opportunity to try something they may not have ever done. Grace Frazer went camping at home. While it also gave some members a chance to catch up on some study, Isabella Trandos said she did a lot of homework. How did our members get their daily dose of fresh air? Erin Kretschmer would walk her dog Hunni and Jodie Davis went bike riding and running with the entire family. Madison Belsham completed strength and conditioning training with her sister and dad. With our final question we got to see just how excited everyone was to have netball back in their lives. Lily Gilsenan said “Massively! I can’t wait to see my on-court friends again and to get back to training.” Darcie Richards was excited with a big “10000% excited.” Nicole Fevre said “Words can’t describe” how excited she is to get back on court. It would be fair to say that there are many people who feel the same way as Honey Harrington who said “Omg! I have missed it so much I can't wait; I have never felt so ready in my life to play netball. Without netball I feel like something is missing in my life.” Thank you to everyone who completed our survey. I can only imagine the look on your faces when you got back to the courts!

Have you spotted a Hamersley player demonstrating qualities of excellent sportsmanship or tremendous courage? The Sportsmanship Award is awarded to a playing member who displays excellent sportsmanship, models the club’s values and/or represents the club positively. The Courage Award recognises a member of the club who experiences tremendous adversity; however still finds a way to contribute to the club. Nomination forms for Hamersley Netball Club 2020 Annual Awards are now open and any current club member can nominate a player for these awards. Sportsmanship Award Form Courage Award Form For further details please refer to the Awards Handbook. Nominations close Monday 31 August at midnight.

Congratulations to our WANL club Curtin Hamersley Comets. In Round 2, the Comets had their first full round of success. The games were held on both Friday 10 July and Sunday 12 July where the men, Open women, and 20U women’s team all won convincingly against their opposition. Well done and good luck for the rest of your 2020 season. Women's Open Head Coach and Hamersley's Club President Alexis Stevens, pictured above celebrating with her team mates, wrote on Facebook;

WANL club Southside Demons recently wrote an article below about our Team 3 and 4 Hamersley triplets. It's an inspiring story. Three sisters from a small Pilbara town in Western Australia have been given an opportunity to play elite level netball and pursue their sporting dreams thanks to a Community Grant from Consolidated Minerals (Consmin). Jacinta, Roberta and Lauren Ramirez-Smith (19) were recently named recipients of the grant and they nominated the funds to go towards their West Australian Netball League (WANL) club, Southside Demons to build a new Foundation (Be Part of Our Future) to support the next generation of netballers. The Ramirez-Smith sisters grew up in the regional town of Port Hedland, situated 1,800km north of Perth, where they showed passion, drive and competitiveness for the game they love from a very young age. Although being motivated to stay active in a regional town could at times be challenging, the sisters had ambition and hunger for playing netball, which gave them a great sense of community to bring people together to compete and support one another. At age 14, the sisters had the opportunity to represent the North-West region at the Academy Cup Championship in Perth, an eye opening experience that gave them a glimpse into the future possibilities and progression through the Netball WA pathway. The Ramirez-Smith family relocated to Perth in late 2016 to give the chance to pursue tertiary studies and opportunities to further advance their careers, and sporting opportunities. In 2019, the hard work paid off when all three sisters were selected to represent Southside Demons in the WANL, which is the primary pathway to the West Coast Fever program for West Australian netballers. Southside Demons Head Coach Josie Janz-Dawson said that the Ramirez-Smith sisters were incredibly deserving of the Consmin Community Grant. Janz-Dawson said that the support of ConsMin will have a significant impact on the future of the club and the generations of Demons players to come. Jacinta said her parents had sacrificed a lot for her and her sisters. She said she loves playing netball because she is continuously challenged and pushed to be the best player she can be. Lauren Ramirez-Smith said that cultural connection to land and to people is incredibly important. In 2019, the Southside Demons players showcased the clubs first ever Indigenous Round Uniform with the support of a ConsMin Community Grant. It was an opportunity to educate and show respect for Aboriginal culture and to celebrate Indigenous Round during National Reconciliation Week in a specially design uniform that represented Aboriginal people and their country. The lines around the neck and chest are representative of the Carawine Gorge where their sister’s grandmother was born on Njamal country. The Southside Demons Club have continued to build knowledge and raise awareness of the importance of being an inclusive club and community and more importantly to allow the Indigenous players to build continued confidence and pride in their cultural identity. The Ramirez-Smith sisters know that their story is unique, but that their journey is not so different from other young Aboriginal people growing up in country towns that are aspiring to be the best version of themselves. Original Southside Demons post

Volunteers are what drive our netball club and in this 2020 season we see that more than ever. We have volunteers working hard behind the scenes, volunteers helping on Saturday game days and volunteers who were manning the gates. To everyone, no matter how big or how small their role may have been, we say thank you! Without you, this season wouldn’t run as smoothly.

If you want to leave a comment about this Hamlet, a particular story we covered or just congratulate someone then please do so in this issue's Facebook post. We'd love to hear from you!