Netball Samoa will know by the end of the week if their bid to attend the 2023 World Youth Games in August has been successful or not says Netball Samoa Chief Executive Officer Rosemarie Lome.

The C.E.O. confirmed when contacted by the Samoa Observer that Samoa had put in a bid to attend the World Youth Games which will be a boost for netball in the country.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed and if we do get the nod then it will be a boost for the young players who have been training non-stop for the past months,” she said.

“The pool of youth players who have been showing up for training are aged between 14-years-old to 18-years-old and all of them have a chance to be selected for the championship.

“We have been having two training sessions in mid-week and one on Saturday. The approach we are taking is to gear the players physically and mentally.”

Ms Lome said she was getting the girls ready for the national trials which is in a few weeks' time.

Netball remains Samoa’s number one sport for women and the season is about to start later this month. Netball Samoa is also hoping to be able to conduct the secondary school competitions which will begin in the first term of the school year.

“The secondary schools' games are organised by the principal’s association, but we have asked then to let Netball Samoa help,” Ms Lome added.

“This is a pathway to identify potential talents and improve the sport from the grassroots level all the way to the national level.”

Once a Pacific powerhouse, Samoa has not been achieving the top end finishes in its last few appearances, but the association is working hard to change all that.

In the last week of December, Australian professional player Kiera Austin held high performance clinics for players. This was a great opportunity for players and officials.

The national trials for the Under-21 and the national Tifa Moana teams will be held on January 26, 27 and 28. Netball Samoa has also called for expression of interest from eligible overseas based players to attend the trials.