It’s been a big beginning to 2026 in the NetballSmart space, with plenty already happening, gearing up for another season of netball.

NDC camp to start the year saw us in attendance over the weekend in Ashburton to test our selected athletes in the South and Mainland Zones for the ever loved Yo-Yo test, Triple Hop, Push Up, Vertical Jump, Hamstring Bridge, Calf Raise and much more to see how physically able our athletes were to be considered for NZ Secondary Schools. Some great results were produced, and the athletes took a lot away from this camp to take back into their respective schools and become potential leaders for their teams.  

We also provided support to Christchurch Netball Centre for their Summer Camp, which involved assisting Seniors Bronco testing, taking athletes through our dynamic warm up, and educating our coaches on managing player loading, training, nutritional information, and wellbeing. It was a big weekend with over 170 participants and 15 coaches! Big ups to CNC for running this massive weekend.

As we move into the preseason of 2026, now is a great opportunity for our centres and schools to book in session times for NetballSmart to help upskill our players and coaches to educate and learn about the ‘healthy’ heart of Netball and to reduce risk of injury, managing player loading, sleep and recovery for enhanced performance, nutritional guidance and much more.

For more information, visit our NetballSmart website to get a greater understanding of what we deliver.

All of our resources are free and can be downloaded and circulated throughout your netball community, so please do! They will help you better prepare your players for the demands of netball and ultimately keep them in the game for longer.

As always, I, as the Mainland NetballSmart Development Officer, am available to run you through the rationale for these workshops and support with physical resources. My contact details are below, should you like to reach out to arrange a time for me run a workshop.

Ngā mihi nui,

Nick Burton – Mainland

0273140615

Netballsmart@netballmainland.co.nz

Article added: Wednesday 11 February 2026