So much has been happening since my last update in mid-August, I wanted to update you all on the happenings within VMMNA over the last few months.

Strategic Plan, Constitution Update & AGM

The Strategic Plan certainly remains a priority and will be further developed in 2020 as a crucial pillar in guiding our decisions forward.

With a pending official, not just operational, name change to VMMNA coming in 2020 there has been much behind-the-scenes work occurring on a new and updated Constitution for our Association. This will be available for viewing in the first quarter of 2020 and a vote to adopt this will coincide with the AGM. Stay tuned for announcements!

State Programme & Squad Day

Our state teams are well underway with their training with Head Coach Christina Puopolo organising for all teams to take part in fitness testing in November as part of the plan for tracking athletes progress as they go through our programme. Teams have been taking to the court each week to improve on skills and work through tactics in preparation for the Australian Championships during Easter 2020 in Adelaide.

The final session for 2019 was a Squad Day conducted on Sunday just past. Teams were created from athletes across all age groups as they raced around inner city Melbourne competing in an Amazing Race-style challenge, culminating in a BBQ along the banks of the Yarra. Thank you to all volunteers who helped make this day happen and in particular coaches Craig Moore (20&Under) and Dan Cooke (23&Under) for their hard work with this.

All photos can be found in this Facebook album here, while a hilarious special mash-up of all the Macarena dances (a challenge from the day where teams were asked to rope in and dance with four strangers at Fed Square) can be viewed here. Congratulations to Team Yellow on their win!

Don’t forget to keep your payments for the Australian Championships coming through – any questions surrounding these please contact Grant Crocker at: Treasurer@VMMNA.org

Our Tour Manager and the Tour Committee are constantly working to make the lead up to the Championships run as smoothly as possible for you all – so if you have any queries or concerns at any stage please contact Sonya Febbo at: TourManager@VMMNA.org.

MLeague: Senior & Junior

The Senior MLeague season concluded on Wednesday 11th December at the State Netball Hockey Centre with some truly exciting netball, including the Men’s Premier Division heading into extra time.

Our live streaming record was smashed with over 10,000 unique viewers tuning in on our’s and Netball Victoria’s social channels to watch the two Premier Grand Finals. This is a brilliant result and shows the great demand there is for Men’s and Mixed Netball!

Congratulations to our four premiership teams: St Therese (Premier Men’s), Parkville Panthers (Premier Mixed), Northern Titans (Division 1 Men’s) and Fitzroy Phoenix (Division 1 Mixed).

Full Grand Final results/wrap up and MVPs for the season (and for each individual team) can be found here.

If you weren’t able to join us last Wednesday night, or are suffering from some MLeague withdrawal today, both Premier matches (including our extra time nail-biter Premier Men’s match!) can be viewed in HD on our YouTube channel VMMNA TV – Premier Men’s Grand Final and Premier Mixed Grand Final. Also on that channel are the Grand Finals from 2017 and 2018 if you feel so inclined.

Surveys will be sent out in the new year to gauge views on ways of continuing to have Victoria’s elite Men’s and Mixed netball competition go from strength-to-strength in 2020 and beyond. Additionally, we are looking for someone appropriate to coordinate the competition for 2020 and for people to join the sub-committee. If this may interest you please contact: VicMLeague@VMMNA.org

A huge thank you also goes to Netball Victoria and to Draft Central for all their coverage of MLeague week in and week out.

Junior MLeague will be back in 2020 returning to Mullum Mullum, ready to showcase the finest young netballers in Victoria and will once again be seeking interest from clubs and associations wanting to enter teams. For more information contact Craig Moore: VicePresident@VMMNA.org

MLeague’s Movember Round

Our inaugural Movember Round on November 27 was a huge success! The month of November was dedicated to Men’s Health issues to support this brilliant charity as we smashed our $8k target raising $11,584. The area of Men’s Health is something I personally want to see spoken about more and more. 

Thanks to the guys from Movember for coming down on the night and even more importantly each and every member who either grew a mo, spent time getting through km’s or just getting the message out there – you are the reason we were able to raise much needed awareness for this terrific cause. All photos from the night can be found here.

More than the moustaches that were grown, distances moved and funds raised, VMMNA hopes that we can truly create an environment where boys and men feel comfortable talking about the health issues they face, how they are feeling and being safe and supported enough to make themselves vulnerable. These conversations break down stigmas and, in so many cases, can change and save lives – which is what Movember is all about and something VMMNA wholeheartedly supports!

Fast’N’Furious Junior Tournament

We are very excited to announce our Fast‘N’Furious Netball Championships (along with the logo above!) happening on February 23rd, 2020 at the Hoppers Crossing Netball Association (Heaths Rd, Hoppers Crossing).

This is junior tournament with standard netball but shortened matches (2x7minute halves) to be played across 5 divisions.

For more info and to register click here or email Geoff Taylor the Tournament Coordinator via Tournaments@VMMNA.org.

A special thank you to Hoppers Crossing Netball Association and Wyndham City Council for their support!

Sponsorship & Media Kit

In my last update in August I let you know that we had two sponsors: CitySide Sports and Bryce Rowley PT. Since then we’ve added a third in Business Services by Ren! Rennae has been a part of the VMMNA Community for 10 years including as a Team Manager, and her husband Andrew is a former Victorian representative and current MLeague player. A huge thank you to all three of our sponsors for their generous support!

If you know a business or own a business and are interested in sponsoring VMMNA and becoming a partner too, then feel free to ask me for a copy of our Media Kit. This Media Kit details all assets we have available that businesses and brands like the above can take advantage of along with five tiered Sponsorship Packages: Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Please reach out to me to discuss any sponsorship opportunities further at President@VMMNA.org

VMMNA Community Fund

Last year we launched the Community Fund, an initiative to assist those participants who are experiencing hardship which may impact their ability to take part in the National Championships.

Recently we unveiled the the Fund’s new logo – which can be seen in the video above. We also reached out for both applicants for the Fund along with patrons to support it.

For more information about the fund, click here or for any enquiries please contact Rob Farrimond at CommunityFund@VMMNA.org

This is a fantastic initiative for our community and one VMMNA is proud to have established.

Please reach out at any time

If at any point you do have any queries, concerns or ideas – come have a chat with me or send me an email on President@VMMNA.org

Additionally if you have any concerns that are confidential in nature, the email address is private and I will handle anything that comes with the utmost confidence.

Finally, wishing you and your family a safe and happy holiday period. Cherish any moment you have with your friends and family across the holidays and any break you may have. 

Enjoy the brief netball break also and let’s make 2020 a year of aspiration, growth and excitement for Men’s & Mixed Netball here in Victoria and beyond.

Season’s greetings and yours in netball,