HORSHAM Hornets junior squads are participating in association representative tournaments, with four sides travelling to Bendigo for the Skin, Ski and Surf Bendigo tournament from Thursday through to Saturday.
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Teams representing Horsham include a girls under-14 side, a boys under-14 side, a girls under-16 side and a boys under-16 side.
The tournament will be a stepping stone for the juniors before the sides travel to the country state championships in March and April.
Junior representative director Tony Sleep said the tournament gave teams a chance to compete against some of the best sides in the state.
“They are generally very high quality sides such as the host team Bendigo, and Ballarat,” he said.
“This is always a good hit out for our guys.
“The tournament will put them into a competitive atmosphere against some stronger teams.”
Sleep said the competition would help the teams see how they were tracking ahead of the state championships.
The sides were selected in August 2016 and have been training as a unit since then.
Sleep said the tournament was relatively new to the Hornets as it used to clash with the Hamilton tournament, which will run from February 4 to 5.
“This tournament gives us the opportunity to see teams from central Victoria and northern Victoria and it gives us a chance to see what those teams are doing, which helps us prepare,” he said.
“The Hamilton tournament will include teams like Warrnambool, Portland and the little teams like Warracknabeal and Dimboola.”
The two tournaments will clash with the semi-final and grand final of the CBL south-west competition.
Sleep said he hoped the juniors could get back to Horsham in time to watch the Hornets in action.
“It will depend on what time the Bendigo tournament finals fall,” he said.
The Hamilton tournament will see teams from across south-west Victoria competing.
There are five sides travelling to the Hamilton tournament. The Hornets will enter an under-12 girls and boys side, an under-12 development side, an under-14 development side and an under-16 side.
Sleep said the Hornets could sometimes face teams three or four times before competing at the state championships.
“This is a good thing for the coaches and the players,” he said.
“This way everyone can see the skill level progression and how the team has improved against the same opposition. We will be in the heart of our representative season after Hamilton.”
