Jo joins Sharelle and Bianca on Breakfast Club

They chatted to Netball Australia’s CEO Marne Fechner and Vixens defender Jo Weston about what they are getting up to in self-isolation and what is happening with the Suncorp Super Netball season.

Sharelle said one of the biggest challenges for netballers is preparing for a season with an unknown start date.

Earlier this week the Super Netball League Commission made the decision to defer the Suncorp Super Netball League until at least June 30, after taking into account the latest medical and government advice.

“The players have been pretty good about it and the staff that sit around netball,” McMahon said on RSN.

“The training in the club environment has been suspended and that will be in place for a couple of weeks then we’ll review that.”

“From an elite athlete perspective, the uncertainty of when you need to get yourself ready to go is really tough because it’s very prescribed. You gear yourself towards that one date and it’s really hard to know how to train.”

The Vixens were due to start their season in May, having not played since their preliminary final loss to the Swifts in early September.

“We can’t come together for on court sessions. We talk about that preseason that they’ve gone through. We sent them home with training equipment, they’ll be given at-home training programs so they’re getting lots of support. We’ll be keeping in touch with them at least once a week.”

McMahon said the Vixens were lucky to live in an age of virtual connection where they can still communicate and engage with fans, the community and each other.

“I know that they’re doing lots of connecting with social media. At least we now have so many tools that we can see each other. I think it’s really important, we need to keep connected.”

McMahon says one of the biggest challenges will be attracting participation at junior level after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.

“The operation and the way things are done will have to shift. Trying to mitigate the impact will be the challenge.”

Credit: RSN Breakfast Club