Australian Institute of Sport (netball)

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Australian Institute of Sport are a former Australian netball team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They were the netball team of the Australian Institute of Sport. They effectively acted as a development/under-21 team for the Australia national netball team. Between 1985 and 1996, AIS played in the Esso/Mobil Superleague. In 1985 and 1986 they finished as champions. Between 2003 and 2007, the AIS and Netball ACT entered a combined team known as AIS Canberra Darters in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 2008 and 2012, the AIS entered a separate team in the Australian Netball League. They were ANL grand finalists in both 2008 and 2009. They have also entered teams in the NSW State League, Victorian State League and the South Australia State League.

Esso/Mobil Superleague

When the Australian Institute of Sport was established in 1981, netball was one of the eight original sports chosen to be part of the development program. Former Australia national netball team coach Wilma Shakespear was appointed the program's first head coach.[1][2][3]

Between 1985 and 1996, AIS played in the Esso/Mobil Superleague. The league was formed as a partnership between the All Australia Netball Association and the AIS in order to provide the AIS team with more competitive matches. With a team coached by Shakespear and featuring Shelley Oates-Wilding and Vicki Wilson, AIS subsequently won the first two titles in 1985 and 1986. AIS also played in the 1987 and 1989 finals, losing to Melbourne Blues and Sydney Tigers respectively. Other AIS players from this era included Natalie Avellino, Sharon Finnan and Shelley O'Donnell.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In 1990 Gaye Teede succeeded Shakespear as the program's head coach. Teede had served as assistant coach at the AIS since 1982. She remained as head coach until 1998.[2][13][14]

Esso/Mobil Superleague placings
Wilma Shakespear coaching the AIS netball team in 1986
Season Position Won Lost
1985[6]1st5?0
1986[7]1st50
1987[8]2nd
1989[10]2nd42
19904th23?
1991[15]4th21
1992[16]3rd51
1993[17]7th
1994[18]7th
19957th16
1996[19]7th16

  Premierships
  Runners Up

Source:[4][11][12]

Commonwealth Bank Trophy

AIS Canberra Darters was originally formed as a partnership between the Australian Institute of Sport Netball Program and Netball ACT. They subsequently entered a combined team in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They joined the competition in 2003, replacing Adelaide Ravens. They continued to play in this competition until its demise in 2007. Their best performance came in 2004 when they finished 5th.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Regular season stats
Season Position Won Lost Drawn
2003[20][27]6th590
2004[22][23][27]5th4100
2005[24][25][28]7th2120
2006[28][29]8th0140
2007[26][30]8th1130

Australian Netball League

The AIS and Netball ACT subsequently entered separate teams in the Australian Netball League with the Netball ACT team continuing to use the Canberra Darters name. The AIS played in the ANL between 2008 and 2012. In 2008 and 2009, Simone McKinnis guided AIS squads featuring Shae Bolton, Ashleigh Brazill, Shannon Eagland Jasmine Keene, Sharni Layton, Samantha May, April Letton, Chelsea Pitman, Kara Richards, Jacqui Russell, Laura Scherian, Amy Steel and Courtney Tairi to two successive grand finals. However, on each occasion they lost to Victorian Fury.[31][32][33][34][35][36]

Regular season stats
Season Position
2008[31][32]2nd
2009[33][34][35][36]2nd
2010[37][38]3rd
2011[39]n/a
2012[40]4th

  Runners Up

State leagues

As well as entering teams in national leagues, AIS also entered teams in state leagues. During the 1980s and 1990s they regularly played in the New South Wales state netball league[6][7][8][41][17][18][42][19][43] In 1997 they also began entering a team in the Dairy Farmers Victorian State League.[43][44][45] In 2001, with a squad coached by Norma Plummer and featuring Jane Altschwager, Kristy Doyle, Susan Pratley, Kimberley Purcell, Rebecca Bulley and Natalie von Bertouch, an AIS team won the South Australia Farmers Union League title. Bertouch was also named the league's best and fairest player and was selected in the Team of the Year.[46]

Grand finals

National leagues

Esso Gold Club Championship
Season Winners Score Runners up Venue
1983[47]AIS39–34Melbourne BluesSurfers Paradise
Australian Club Championships
Season Winners Score Runners up Venue
1984[41][48]Melbourne Blues20–19AISAdelaide
Esso Super League
Season Winners Score Runners up Venue
1985[5][6]AIS52–46Manly-Warringah (NSW)
1986[7]AIS61–35East Doncaster (Victoria)
1987[8]Melbourne BluesAIS
1989[9][10]Sydney Tigers57–36AISState Sports Centre

Source:[4]

Australian Netball League
Season Winners Score Runners up Venue
2008[31][32]Victorian Fury56–41AIS
2009[33][34][35][49]Victorian Fury46–32AISBCEC

State leagues

Season League Winners Score Runners up
1997[43]NSW Dairy Farmers State LeagueParramatta Auburn44–42AIS
1998[44]Dairy Farmers Victorian State LeagueAIS
1999[45]Dairy Farmers Victorian State League47–45AIS
2000[50][51][52][53]SA Dairy Farmers State LeagueContaxAIS
2001[46][54]SA Farmers Union LeagueAISMatrics

Tours

The program also organised an annual international tour.

Destination Year
Hawaii[3][41]1981, 1984
Canada[55]1982
Jamaica[55][44][26][31]1982, 1998, 2007, 2008
Trinidad and Tobago[41][55][56][10][17][40]1982, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1993, 2012
New Zealand[8][55][47][17][18][37]1982, 1983, 1993, 1994, 2010
Fiji[55][47][14]1982, 1983, 1990
Malaysia[55]1982
England[6][47][14][16]1983, 1985, 1990, 1992
Barbados[41][56][17]1984, 1988, 1993
Northern Ireland[6][14]1985, 1990
Papua New Guinea[7]1986
China[57][14]1990
Scotland[14]1990
Republic of Ireland[14]1990
Wales[16]1992
Barbados[56][17]1988, 1993
Cook Islands[17][18]1993, 1994
Caribbean[42]1995
South Africa[33]2009
Singapore[37]2010

Notable former players

Coaches

Premierships

References

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