Netball: John Paul College set for their first nationals

HISTORY MAKERS: The John Paul College Senior A netball team led by Samantha Sinclair (front left) and Maria Gardner (front right) are going to the national netball champs for the first time. PHOTO/BEN FRASER 160913BF1

The John Paul College Senior A girls have made history, qualifying for the New Zealand Secondary Schools (NZSS) Netball Tournament for the first time.

The top 16 schools in the country qualify for the high-profile tournament which will be held at the AMI Netball Centre in Auckland from October 8 to October 11, during the second week of the school holidays.

A record 252 secondary school netball teams contested the top 16 spots, through three regional qualifying events.

Six schools qualified from the upper-north qualifying tournament held recently including John Paul College, Mount Albert Grammar, Pukekohe High School, Baradene College, Auckland Girls' Grammar, and Westlake Girls' High School.

The John Paul College netball team are led by recent Bay of Plenty Magic signing Samantha Sinclair and Maria Gardner.

The 16 teams will be divided into four pools of four teams for a round-robin round.

The top two teams from each pool will then move on to the quarter-finals stage.

Auckland's Mount Albert Grammar School are the defending champions.