COMMUNITY PARTNER
North East Blaze Netball Club ("Blaze") currently participates in the Victorian Netball League ("VNL") which is the premier state league netball competition in Victoria.
It is a pivotal step in the Netball Victoria pathway for athletes, coaches and umpires to develop and showcase their abilities in a competitive pre-elite performance environment. There are 12 clubs playing in 2 divisions - Championship and 23 & Under.
We are very excited to again develop a formal Community Netball Partnership between Blaze and Lilydale & Yarra Valley Netball Association ("Valley"). This partnership will benefit Blaze and Valley and will help grow netball at the grass roots and representative levels as well as increasing the exposure of Blaze and the VNL competition.
Blaze have been our Community Partner since 2019 and Blaze and Valley have always had a great relationship, with numerous Blaze coaches and players coming from the Valley program.
One of the principal benefits for our Association that arises from the community partnership is the involvement of coaches with the expertise and experience of Kate Upton and Ella Bayliss in our representative netball program. Kate Upton, Blaze’s Head Coach, Championship Coach and 23 & Under Assistant Coach, started her career at Valley. Ella Bayliss is currently Blaze's Championship Assistant Coach and 23 & Under Coach.
Our representative program has produced numerous players who have gone on to play netball in the VNL competition and at national and international levels.
Our Association looks forward to working closely with Blaze to further develop a Community Netball Partnership and grow netball into the future in our communities.
