Alwyn Nicol coached Southland Country Netball team in 1983......

Southland Country Netball team played in the third grade in 1983.  Ex-High club from Gore was well represented with Beth Campbell being named as captain, which was her third time she had been to tournament, and her team mates, Ainslie Morton as a shoot and Adele Hastie a defender.

Also shooting for the team was Janice McKerchar and Jackie Hegan both from the Spar Bush club and both new players for country.  Along with Ainslie Morton they were a good combination who put in a lot of extra time to improve their games.
Returning to the side were  two players from 1982 in Stephanie Hishon who played in the defence line and Evalie McKenzie, mid court player, who played well in the previous year's tournament.
Karen Popham, originally from Invercargill, who played in the Southland B team in 1982 but had shifted to Western.  Another Western player to join her was Rosemary Ryan and at 17 she was the youngest player in the team.
She was a versatile player who could play most positions on the court.  Ryan had a busy year as she was also in the secondary shcools' tournament in Blenheim after the tournament.
Christine Hitchen, who was a hard working forward, from Central she worked hard on court and had a good netball brain on her.
Mrs Alwyn Nicol was the coach and Mrs Ngaire Smeaton the manageress.

Reference:  Evans, H.  Country Team Young Combination The Southland Times August 1983