Lomaiviti Netball Club Shooting for Success

The Lomaiviti Netball Club is the oldest and largest club in Fiji, yet their past success and history are not stopping them from setting higher goals and advancing their club.

In existence since the inception of the Suva Netball Association in the 1970s, the club operates voluntarily with support from its working members, family, and friends.

With over 220 registered members in 2024, the club boasts a comprehensive lineup of grades, catering to players from as young as eight years old to seasoned veterans.

From the Roses category for youngsters, the Queens category for seasoned players over 40, and the Men’s category, Lomaiviti Netball Club offers a space for everyone to thrive.

The club’s success is underscored by its impressive track record of achievements, including producing 13 former and current national netball representatives and securing multiple championship titles across various categories.

In 2023 the club was titled the Knockout Champion 2023 in the Suva Netball Association Competition and was the overall champion for five categories.

Despite facing challenges such as financial constraints and limited access to netball courts, Lomaiviti Netball Club continues to thrive, thanks to its resilient spirit and unwavering commitment to excellence.

Vasiti Vugakoto, President of the Lomaiviti Netball Club proudly said, “Strong leadership is the cornerstone of our success.

“We have a history of commitment from team management, parents, former players currently residing abroad, and friends of Lomaiviti Netball.

“The pathway of netball from as young as eight years old to open grade is clear and we offer the development of talents that are essential for growth.

“This involves identifying and nurturing promising netballers and coaches, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth on and off the court.

“We offer continuous training and educational resources to help keep our technical team and members up to date with the latest trends and practices in the netball world.

“Additionally, leadership is an important aspect to ensure the club’s continuity in the future.

“We encourage the development of current leaders and seek new leaders within the club to ensure a smooth transition in the future”.

In strategising for the growth of the club, the management team recognised the importance of a digital presence to build trust, share information and collect incoming interest.

“We noticed the number of queries and interest increased over the years. Building a website for the club was a means of communication between the interested players and the Club.

“If someone searches for our club, they expect to find our website in the search results.

“They are free to send an email should they need further information.

“We believe that websites are the centre of all marketing efforts for financial support, sponsorship, and attracting more members,” Ms. Vugatoko said.

Hoping to build a website that could be updated by the management team with minimal cost to the Club, Perina Gabriel, Media Officer for Lomaiviti Netball Club attended my website-building workshop in Suva on April 5th.

“The website-building process was extremely fun, interesting, and very rewarding having to implement the skills learnt in the informative workshop to fulfil the Club’s goal and vision of creating a website,” Mrs. Gabriel said.

“It was very interesting learning about the different aspects of a website and how to create one that is tailored to reflect the ideas and goals of the club.”

Lomaiviti Netball Club’s first website, built by Mrs Gabriel and launched officially to the Club’s stakeholders in less than two weeks has been received warmly.

Complete with merchandise, newsletters, and club information, the website is owned and maintained by the Club, allowing them to keep it up-to-date as needed.

Boasting 13 former and current national netball representatives since its inception, five current members in the Fiji Pearls Squad, and 13 current members in the U21 National Squad the Lomaiviti Netball Club is an inspiration for anyone wanting to shoot for success in netball, but also in maintaining an active lifestyle and nurturing community through sport.

“To pick up netball, you have to love the sport and be passionate about it,” Ms. Vugatoko said.

“Passion and love for the sport will motivate you to be active throughout life whether it’s being a player, coach, or providing administrative support towards the development of netball in our communities.”

By: Shenal Harakh

• Shenal Harakh is the founder of her eponymous software development agency Shenal (www.shenal.online), which builds tech products for startup clients around the world.She is currently based in Fiji and is running workshops to digitally upskill communities. Head to https://fiji.shenal.online/ to sign up and keep up to date with new workshops, or follow her work on LinkedIn: Shenal Harakh or Twitter: @shenalyo.

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