Canberra will hope to be used as a training hub for a second global women’s sporting event if Australia is successful in its bid to host the Netball World Cup 2027.
Netball Australia submitted its official bid for the event on Tuesday, proposing Sydney as the host destination.
The news comes soon after Australia and New Zealand were announced as joint hosts for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup late last week.
Netball ACT General Manager Operation and Sport, Nicole Bowels, said a successful bid would not only be a win for netball, but also for the ACT.
“Similar to the football, we would be looking to use this as a training hub,” she said.
“Being so close to Sydney, it makes it a logical stop and we would be looking to have discussions about the sort of training camps and what we can hold here.”
The host will be announced by the International Netball Federation by the end of 2020.
If successful, it will be the third time Australia has hosted the event in Sydney, and the fourth in total.
Netball ACT Capitals Spirit/ ACTAS Head Coach, Kate Carpenter, who has worked at three Netball World Cup events, said the ACT could also be pinned for some match play leading into the event.
“Lots of the teams will come in early based on rank, proximity or just getting used to the time zone and environment,” she said.
“While they are here, they will do a lot of their training and look at getting some match play in.
“That could happen locally against ACT teams such as The Capital Spirit, Capital Darters or the ACTAS players.”
Ms Bowels and Ms Carpenter both identified the AIS as a possible location for the match play, despite doubt around when the sporting centre will reopen.
A statement from the Australian Sporting Commission on Monday (29 June), said it “did not anticipate” opening for the rest of the year.
However, Ms Bowles and Ms Carpenter both agreed the Solarhub Netball Centre, located in Lyneham, would be suitable both as a training facility and for match play purposes.
“Our facility here is of international standards and we have extra facilities such as a recovery room for players,” Ms Carpenter said.
