NETBALL: For many netball is an exciting sport, but for the Bowyers it's hereditary. Bowyer sisters Lara (21), Hayley (20) and Alana (18) represented Queanbeyan Netball Association (QNA) in the State League and their 17-year old-cousin Claudia is not too far off, representing QNA in the junior state league.
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Claudia's mum played netball, so it was a natural progression for her to start playing in under 11s, but the Bowyer sisters explain they found their way to the sport slightly differently.
"I didn't like soccer, so I moved to netball when I was 10," Hayley said.
"I also didn't like soccer, but I wanted to play volleyball and thought netball was volleyball so moved with Hayley when I was eight," Alana said.
"I got a bit of a shock when I actually started playing, but it was fun."
"I played hockey for five seasons and so I was actually the last to pick up the sport when I was 15," Lara said.
"So basically we taught her everything she knows," Hayley joked.
Claudia jokes she missed out on the inherited height, so plays in centre- Hayley, Lara and Alana are all defenders and make a killer combination, Alana explained.
"We work as a unit and it actually involves less communication because we know what the other one is going to do," she said.
Lara and Alana played for the Canberra Darters for a year, they and Hayley have all represented ACT and together with Claudia all play for QNA, they would like to continue up the Darters ranks, but have all agreed they don't care where netball takes them as long as they enjoy it.
They all have different ideas of what netball has brought them and why they play- friends, experiences, travel and the love of the sport- but one common theme shone through: family.
"It's like a family, a community. You have your school friends and you have your netball friends," Claudia said.