Goal-getting Geraldton teenager makes netball history

Geraldton netballer Katherine Garraway is a history-maker.

Ms Garraway is the first non-metropolitan based person selected to represent WA in the Marie Little Shield.

The shield — named after the woman who founded Sport Inclusion Australia and dedicated her life to improving the lot of people with an intellectual disability — will be played in Brisbane in October.

Ms Garraway, who has a rare genetic disorder, sports the colours for the Champions club locally.

She impressed State selectors at a trials weekend in Perth.

She will attend regular training sessions at the State Netball Centre and complete parts of the program locally under the guidance of Leanne Fiorenza, Netball WA’s Midwest Gascoyne development co-ordinator.

“I feel very humbled to be representing Geraldton and Western Australia,” Ms Garraway, 19, who studies at TAFE and assists her mum Laura in the family animal cage hire business, said.

“I’m honoured to be the first girl outside Perth to be chosen in the team.”

The Marie Little Shield started in 2013, with WA entering three years later.

“It honours a lady who worked so hard within the netball community and gives women with an intellectual disability the chance to compete at a national level,” Netball WA participation co-ordinator Sarah Gray said.