Previously known as the World Youth Netball Championships, the Netball World Youth Cup (since 2017) is the world championship of

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

for national U21 teams, with all players being aged 21 years or younger. As part of the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

celebrations in 1988 (Australia was founded in 1788), a new international tournament for youth took place in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. Its success led to this event being held once every four years. The most recent tournament was held in Gaborone in 2017, with New Zealand taking the title. In the lead-up to the 2009 World Youth Championship in the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

, there was considerable anxiety over the facilities, and whether they would be up to standards. The

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

reconfirmed that his government would deliver a new venue. Before this, the International Netball Federation also reaffirmed their support for hosting the event in the Cook Islands. The Chinese government had offered to step in and loan the country NZ$9.3 million to help pay the costs of constructing the facility. The loan was controversial as some organizations felt the country had misplaced priorities. During that period, the government also sought to increase the size of the loan for the facility to NZD 13 million$ . The opposition leader

Norman George Norman George (born 2 July 1946) is a Cook Islands politician and former Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, and Cabinet Minister. George was first elected to the Parliament of the Cook Islands in 1983. He represented ...

was very unhappy with how the government handled the whole situation regarding new sporting facilities to be built for the World Youth Netball Championships and the

2009 Pacific Mini Games The 2009 Pacific Mini Games was held in the Cook Islands from 21 September to 2 October. It was the 8th edition of the Pacific Mini Games. Torch lighters were the athletes Daniel Tutai and Patricia Taea, the Cook Islands' junior sportsman and s ...

Editions

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{International netball competitions

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

Youth netball