A record number of schools competed at the Combined Points Netball Tournament at the Auckland Netball Centre on Wednesday 3 August.
The annual event which, hosts schools from North Harbour, West Auckland and some as far south as Cambridge, enter their top players into 3 grades: the Premier, Year 10 and Year 9 competition. The aim is winning the honour of being named the best netball school in the region. In the past, Westlake Girls has won the honour twice, and with its two junior teams through to the finals of the Year 9 and 10 grades, it was hopeful of a third.
The school’s Premier netball team faced stiff opposition in their early pool games including local foe Rangitoto, who they eventually overcame before losing to Diocesan and the eventual Premier grade winners, St Peters, Cambridge.
In contrast, the Westlake Year 9-1 team (pictured top) glided through the preliminary rounds before beating Hamilton Girls in the quarterfinals and then scraping past St Kents in the semis. Their stumbling block came in the final when they met Mt Albert Grammar. Having beaten Mags by 4 points in the regular Auckland competition four days earlier, the Cygnets found MAGS too strong this time and eventually lost by 5.
Westlake’s Year 10-1 team (pictured left) also shone during the early rounds of competition, losing just one game to Hamilton Girls before sliding into the playoffs where they made light work of St Peters, Cambridge in their quarterfinal.
Gifted a direct entry into the final via a lucky draw thus bypassing an exhausting semi-final game, the 10s met Howick in the final and like their younger counterparts, found their opposition too much on the day, losing by 7, 9-16. Howick College won the Combined Points Tournament to be named the best netball school in Auckland.