Fever Sharp Shooter Earns Top Award

On the back of shooting Australia to World Championship glory in July, WAIS athlete and West Coast Fever star Caitlin Bassett has been named the club’s Player of the Year at the 2011 Netball WA Annual Dinner.

Bassett was again the Fever’s top goal scorer in 2011, and was acknowledged in front of 350 people at Burswood’s Entertainment Complex.

The sharp shooter also accepted the Coaches’ Award, whilst fellow WAIS scholarship holder and Fever teammate Andrea Gilmore picked up two awards of her own, receiving the Players’ Player and Members’ Player of the Year awards.

The Western Sting was honoured on the night, through a video montage celebrating their achievements at ANL, and award winnersaccepted their prizes through video message where they were unable to attend.

Following the culmination of the 2011 ANL season, WAIS netball scholarship holder Courtney Bruce was named in Netball Australia’s U21 squad, which is due to play matches in Perth against; the Australian Diamonds, New Zealand Silver Ferns, South Africa and Malawi.

Australian U21 coach Carol Byers has selected a squad with an average age of just 18, and admitted the selection process was made with one eye on the 2013 World Youth Netball Championships.

“This series will provide a starting point in our preparation for the 2013 World Youth Netball Championships, it’s our goal to expose our athletes to international netball who are still eligible for the tournament in two years time,” Byers said.

“It’s a great opportunity for these young athletes that haven’t had any exposure to South Africa or Malawi, let alone the chance to play against the world champion Diamonds and the Silver Ferns.”

-with Netball Australia