Netball will be part of Canberra’s Centenary celebrations next year with the capital city to host an international trans-Tasman netball Test between the Australian Diamonds and New Zealand Silver Ferns in October 2013.
The fixture, to be held at AIS Arena, will be the first time that Canberra has hosted a trans-Tasman netball Test match and marks the 100 year anniversary since Lady Denman, wife of then Governor-General Lord Denman, announced the name of the new capital.
"We’re thrilled to be bringing the pinnacle of our sport, an international Test match between Australia and New Zealand, to the national capital for the first time to help celebrate Canberra’s Centenary,” Netball Australia CEO Kate Palmer said.
“Canberra and netball have historically held close ties with the sport included as one of eight foundation sports when the Australian Institute of Sport was established in 1981 and it remains netball’s Centre of Excellence and High Performance training base.”
The Australian Capital Territory has previously hosted two international netball Tests when the Australian Diamonds took on England in the 2011 Holden Netball Test Series and South Africa in 2001 as a part of a Tri-Nations series.
The ACT Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Andrew Barr, said the test match between Australia and New Zealand will be another key sporting event for Canberra’s Centenary year in 2013.
“The match is not only great news for netball fans but also welcome news for Canberra’s tourism industry as elite sports contest provides compelling reasons for interstate visitors to come and stay in Canberra.
“It will again focus the world’s attention on Canberra as Australia’s sporting capital and as a great place to visit and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Netball Australia for their support in securing the test match for Canberra in our Centenary year,” Minister Barr concluded
