While the competition now partners with a primary school division for both girls and boys, the event comes from humble beginnings.
The cup began with an Albany high school approaching Great Southern Netball Region (GSNR) and the event was quickly expanded to include the Denmark and Mount Barker regions.
Schools across the Great Southern jumped at the chance to join the event, wanting the opportunity to play each other closer to home as a prelude to the Country Week in Perth.
Both the GSNR and the region’s schools saw the bright potential of the carnival and the competition expanded to all schools in the region in 1993.
The Great Southern High School Cup has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Netball WA over the decades, with the carnival named the Orioles Cup from 1997-2006 and being rebranded to the West Coast Fever Cup in 2019. It has also been a pathway to strengthen a sense of community in the region.
The competition now calls both Albany and Katanning home with the carnival rotated between the two towns, utilising the best of the region’s sport centres.
GSNR Event Coordinator Jenny Cristinelli said the event is a valuable part of the Great Southern’s sense of community.
“This carnival is still and will continue to be an integral part of the high school curriculum within the region. It is a legacy which will continue for another 30 years,” Ms Cristinelli said.
Netball WA Regional Team Leader Kelly Dominiak believes the competition’s success is thanks to organisers, parents and students who make the carnival possible.
“Many people including the inaugural GSNR committee along with all GSNR committees throughout the years should be congratulated for the countless hours they spent in organising, running and marketing this event.
“Now Netball WA Great Southern takes the lead to help ensure this long running event continues,” she said.
“The success of the carnival can only be measured by the continued support of the schools and the students who participate.”
Article By: Oliver Lane
