Despite being the most popular sport among women in Tonga, netball’s reach to the outer islands of the Pacific kingdom has traditionally been limited.
Now, an expansion of the country’s netball development program has engaged new communities, and brought the unique style of ‘island netball’ into the mainstream.
After enduring a 24-hour ferry journey to reach Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, the Vava’u netball team appear remarkably energetic as they step out for their first ever match on a standard court.
Vava’u, one of Tonga’s outer island groups, is known for its clear waters, white sand beaches, and for being one of the best spots in the Pacific to swim with whales.
It is also home to a unique form of netball.
"Our traditional sport is nine-a-side netball. We call it basketball, but it’s more like netball with some differences between the rules," reveals Sitefania Uasila’a, the recently appointed president of the new Vava’u netball committee.
But since April, women and girls in Vava’u have had access to mainstream netball coaching and tournaments, thanks to an expansion of Tonga Netball Association’s development activities, supported by Netball Australia through the Australian government-funded Pacific Sports Partnerships.
The program has been shooting goals on the main island of Tongatapu since 2010, and this year’s extension to the outer island groups of Vava’u and ‘Eua has reached even more communities.
Through encouraging women and girls to participate in netball, the program works to address the country’s high rates of non-communicable diseases, offering advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet, and improving the mental wellbeing of participants.
After a rapid learning curve in standard seven-a-side netball on local grass courts, a representative team from Vava’u has been invited to take part in Tonga’s annual week-long tournament for the first time.
As they leap around the court against one of Nuku’alofa’s top sides, ‘Uinita Misi, a development officer from Tonga Netball Association, watches on proudly.
Over the past few months she has travelled to Vava’u to facilitate every aspect of setting up a new netball culture: training coaches; coaching players; supporting the community to set up a netball committee; helping them run tournaments; and encouraging them to pick a representative side.
"The skills that I taught the players back in Vava’u, they didn’t want to use them because they just wanted to play their style," laughs ‘Uinita.
"They were just freestyling. I told them what to do according to the rules of netball and then ‘nek minnit’ they were doing they own style again. But coming here, they’re seeing how everyone else plays netball. I’m happy because now they’re using those skills, and I’m sure they will be better next time."
"I think our girls are catching up with the skills very quickly," agrees Vava’u coach Lisa Fanua after watching her team go down 52-14 in their opening match.
"This is only the first day but they get it. Now that they’re here, they can see how netball is and how to play it. We’ll pick up everything from here, take it back to our island, and try to teach the others there and encourage more villages to try netball."
Sitefania hopes that when the team returns home, tales of their week at the tournament will spread across Vava’u.
"I really believe netball is the best game for our girls," she says.
"In Vava’u lots of people are very poor and there is not much work there, but netball provides a chance to go and play overseas and help our families.
"My dream is to go back after this tournament and start a netball competition in primary schools so that our kids can learn to play when they’re still young. I think netball will be our future."
Photo ABC: Joanna Lester. Caption: Vava’u coach Lisa Fanua encourages her players to stay focussed during a half-time team talk.