IT was a tough pill to swallow last month for the Singleton Netball Association (SNA) when they were told the 2020 HART Junior and Senior State Titles had been cancelled due to COVID-19.
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The announcement didn't come as a surprise, but was disappointing nonetheless for those who had been training since early in the year, and fancied their chances at having a really successful tournament.
SNA president, Kerri Koosmen, has now revealed what their initial reaction was once the news broke.
"While you weren't surprised it was coming, you were still devastated when they said it was off," she said.
"We had a really competitive side this year, we had a committed side this year and we [would've] had a real shake at it, and unfortunately that's gone and never to be gotten back."
It was tough not to have a payoff considering they had been training since February, only having a break throughout the first lockdown.
The decision isn't one that Koosmen disagrees with however, acknowledging there are more important things at play.
Fortunately, they were still able to compete in the regional league finals, and put in a strong performance in attack, finishing top in terms of points scored.
However, they were ultimately defeated in both the semi and preliminary finals of that competition.
There were some strong performers though, most prominent of which was Emma Johnston, who got selected in the Region Two (Hunter) under 23 representative side.
"That's a great honour to have someone picked for that, so we were ecstatic that we had a player that was selected," said Koosmen.
They were scheduled to take part in the Regional State Cup, but that will also not go ahead.