Two grand final victories for Katanning Netball Association at Great Southern Regional Championships

The Katanning Netball Association returned home with some well-deserved silverware from the annual Great Southern Regional Championships in Albany last weekend. Three teams from the KNA competed at the three-day event and walked away with two titles. The 15-and-under side and open division two teams were both victorious in their grand finals. On top of their success on the court, Katanning’s 13-and-under team claimed the best dressed team at the opening ceremony award. The 15-and-under side owned the court for most of the weekend, winning six out of their seven games by playing hard and smooth netball consistently across the court. Coming up against a determined Albany team in the grand final, Katanning stood up to the challenge and prevailed 34-27. Katanning’s open team had three games before a semi-final and the grand final. They won one of the three qualifying games before claiming the semi-final against Albany Masters to advance through to the decider against Ongerup. The grand final was a thriller but Katanning managed to prevail 16-15 and take home the title in a nailbiting contest. The 13-and-under team didn’t manage to get a win but their willingness to stay at it and positive encouragement to each other was impressive and over the six game their skills kept improving over the six games. Katanning umpires Kristy D’April and Bodhi Anyon were also recognised with their national C-Badges at the carnival. Both D’April and Anyon umpired in the grand final rounds. Anyon also received the award for Netball WA Rising Star Umpire for championships. Kelly Holzknecht received the Netball WA Coach Of The Meet. In other championship results, Albany won the 12-and-under division by three goals over Narrogin, Albany held off Denmark 24-16 in the 13-and-under grand final and Albany 1 beat Albany 2 by 32 goals in the 14-and-under decider. Albany claimed the 17-and-under title after beating Narrogin by eight goals and Albany were the open division 1 champs after Albany 2 beat Albany 1 34-25.