Close to 200 athletes, coaches and managers from the Hunter Academy of Sport (HAS) arrived in Wagga Wagga on Friday 21st April, amongst some of the state’s finest young athletes for the 2023 Your Local Club Academy Games.

Hosted by the Southern Sports Academy (SSA), the event was held across various venues throughout Wagga Wagga from Friday, April 21st to Sunday, April 23rd. The event ran for the second of 3 years in Wagga Wagga, previously hosted by HAS in 2018, 2019 and 2021.   

Over 1 300 athletes and their families travelled from 11 Regional Academies throughout NSW to compete in the tournament. HAS had major success over the weekend, with all of their squads showing a high level of talent and skill against strong opposition. See their results below:

Basketball

Girls & Boys: A tough competition with a young squad saw the athletes show exceptional skill and perseverance throughout the 3 days of competition – a great all round effort by the HAS athletes. All teams fought hard against tough competition, showcasing how hard they have been training in the lead up to the Games. The girls finished in 8^th place and the boys in 5^th.

Cycling

Our cyclists juggled between road racing on the Saturday and track racing on the Sunday with the following results: Caitlin Rose came 3^rd in ITT U17 Girls, 2^nd in the road race and 2^nd in the Criterium; Hallie Boucher placed 1^st in the ITT U19 Girls and Criterium and 2^nd in the Road Race with Phoenix Julian placing 2^nd, 1^st and 2^nd in the same races.

Golf 

The HAS golfers faced fierce competition over the weekend across Wagga Wagga Country Club and Tumut Golf Club. Emily Leong came 1^st in the Girls Scratch, and 3^rd in Girls Nett on the Saturday, and team HAS placed 3^rd in Div 2 in the Sunday teams tournament.

UAA Hockey

Girls: our UAA HAS Girls squad placed 8th overall with a very close games throughout the weekend. 

Boys: UAA HAS boys won the Boys Academy Games tournament in a very close 2-1 final win against CCAS.

Indoor Volleyball

HAS finished in 3^rd in the Boys tournament and 6^th and 7^th in the Girls – facing tough competition across the 3 day competition.  

Greater Bank Netball

 Both division 1 and 2 Greater Bank HAS netballers had a great weekend, playing hard and strong throughout the entirety of the competition. Both teams had many notable wins against their academy counterparts, with Acacia Elers being named the MVP for Division 1 and Matilda Percival for Division 2.

Triathlon 

HAS had a great weekend of racing at the Games up against state athletes from Triathlon NSW. HAS had the following podium finishes: Rohan Barnes – 2^nd A Final Boys, Will Apps – 2^nd B Final Boys, Madeline Platt – 2^nd B Final, Jaz O’Brien – 1^st C Final Girls, Grady Platt, Madeline Platt, Rohan Barnes – 2^nd Teams Relay.

The 2023 Your Local Club Academy Games is proudly supported by Your local club, the NSW Government, Wagga Wagga City Council, Active Health Riverina, Southern Cross Austereo, Regional Academies of Sport and the Southern Sports Academy.

Full results from the tournament can be found on www.academygames.com.au