Objects of Substance – Interform Netball Shields

1969 England Senior Netball Team. Back row—Mary Salter, Margaret Richards, Tania Gay, Valerie Richards. Seated—Victoria Gehrmann, Christine Haigh, Julie Dickinson

The competition continued in various formats until 1977 when Head Girls, Lillain Duncombe (Fielding, 1977) and Lynden Stone (Permezel, 1977), noted in their School Magazine report: July 6th was devoted to a new concept in interform sport—an intramural Sports Day. Everybody had a game of something—tennis, netball, volleyball, vigoro or table tennis’ (1977 BGGS Magazine). Houses returned in 1980; however, the Netball Shield was not reinstated as a separate prize, although House Netball competitions were played erratically across the ensuing years. There have always been differing opinions on intramural sport. It is a positive entrée into a new activity: it allows girls who miss out on School representative teams to play their chosen sport; it provides a fun and happy House activity that allows older students to shoulder responsibility with leadership, coaching and officiating duties; it can be a selection tool; it provides healthy, robust activity away from screen time in a School day. Whatever a person’s belief, in the case of Netball at Girls Grammar, it is a sport that has weathered the vicissitudes of time, carries a significant historical presence, and warrants a permanent place at the Interhouse competition table.