A TEAM of Tamworth City Netball Club's brightest stars are set to take off on a trip of a lifetime.
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The small club will be sending their under-17 girls team to the International Global Netball Festival in Fiji this month. They will be pitted against teams from across the world.
The 10-day tour will not only improve the team's skills, but will offer a cultural experience as they tour across the nation.
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Team coach Nicole Corby said her side was excited about what will be its first international trip.
"For a few of our girls, this will not only be the first time they travel overseas, but it will be the first time they've travelled in a plane," Corby told the Leader.
"We are a small, tight-knit club within the Tamworth Netball Association, so this is an amazing opportunity for our girls. We are taking off on November 27 and the girls are just so excited."
Corby said the tour came about as a result of the club's senior teams playing in a competition in Queensland.
"Our senior teams play in the NetFest competition every year and during our most recent trip, we saw this opportunity come up for our girls.
"From there, we put the wheels in motion to get the trip off the ground and it's come together.
"A group of mums got together to form the club a few years ago, in the hope it would give our kids somewhere to play together.
"Now the girls and some of the mums are ready to head off on this trip and it is just amazing to see it all come together."
During the tour, the team will sponsor a Fijian village, as well as lend a hand in volunteer work. "It will certainly be a real cultural experience for our girls," Corby said.
"We know a lot of them wouldn't have experienced anything like this, so we felt it was pretty important to give them that chance.
"The girls will only actually be playing on four days.
"The rest of the time they will be touring around villages across the country, learning about the culture and lending a hand where they can.
"This tour wouldn't be possible without the support of our sponsor the Tudor Hotel, who sponsor us year in and year out, so we are very grateful to them.
"It will be the trip of a lifetime and we can't wait."