The HART Sapphire Series is a state

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

league featuring teams from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. The league is organised by

Netball Queensland Netball Queensland is the governing body for netball in Queensland. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organizing and managing Queensland Firebirds who compete in Suncorp Super Netball. It is also responsible for organiz ...

. The current semi-professional league was first played for during the 2019 season. It replaced earlier state leagues organised by Netball Queensland as the top level netball competition in Queensland. On a national level, the HART Sapphire Series is effectively a third level league. Reserve teams compete the Ruby Series.

Queensland Sapphires Queensland Sapphires are an Australian netball team that represents Netball Queensland in the Australian Netball Championships. Between 2008 and 2019, as Queensland Fusion, they played in the Australian Netball League. Sapphires are effectivel ...

are the representative team of the HART Sapphire Series. They originally played as Queensland Fusion. In 2021 they were re-branded Queensland Sapphires after the HART Sapphire Series.

History

Earlier state leagues

Between 2001 and 2018,

organised a series of state leagues. These included the Dairy Farmers Cup, the Holden Astra Cup, the Holden Cruze Cup, the Queensland Champions Cup and the Queensland State Netball League.

2019

In 2019 the founding members of the HART Sapphire Series included Bond University Bull Sharks,

Brisbane North Cougars Brisbane North Cougars are an netball in Australia, Australian netball team based in Brisbane. Their senior team plays in the HART Sapphire Series. They also enter teams in Netball Queensland's Ruby Series as well as under-18 and under-16 compe ...

Carina Leagues Club Tigers Carina Leagues Club Tigers, also known as CLC Tigers, are an Australian netball team based in East Brisbane. Their senior team plays in the HART Sapphire Series. They also enter teams in Netball Queensland's Ruby Series as well as under-18 and ...

, Ipswich Jets, Moreton Bay/USC Thunder, Northern Rays and QUT Wildcats. The inaugural season began on 25 June 2019, with a match which saw Thunder defeat Bull Sharks 53–44. QUT Wildcats were the inaugural premiers after defeating Cougars 60–49 in the grand final.

2020

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the 2020 season took place later then planned. Northern Rays were unable to compete due to travel restrictions, so the second season went ahead with six teams in the Sapphire Series.

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

, Jets, Wildcats, Tigers, Bullsharks and Thunder also entered the Ruby Series were they joined by a seventh team, Darling Downs Panthers. Cougars finished the season as premiers after defeating Jets 62–47 in the grand final.

2021

The 2021 Sapphire Series featured eight teams with the return of Northern Rays and the debut of QUT Netball.

finished the season as premiers after defeating QUT Netball 70–45 in the grand final.

2022

In December 2021 it was announced that Gold Coast Titans would enter a team in the 2022 Sapphire Series.

Teams

;Notes * Brisbane South Wildcats were originally partnered with

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

and were known as QUT Wildcats. * Darling Downs Panthers only play in the Ruby Series. * Gold Coast Titans are the netball team of Gold Coast Titans * USC Thunder were originally known as Moreton Bay Thunder. They are partnered with both the

University of the Sunshine Coast The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it was later renamed the University of the ...

and

Sunshine Coast Lightning Sunshine Coast Lightning are an netball in Australia, Australian netball team based at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The team was formed in 2016 in Australia, 2016 as a joint venture between the university and Melbourne Storm. Since 201 ...

. * USQ Jets Netball Club were originally known as Ipswich Jets. They are partnered with both the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...

and Ipswich Jets.

Venues

The majority of HART Sapphire Series matches are played at the

Queensland State Netball Centre The Queensland State Netball Centre, also known commercially as Nissan Arena, is a multi-purpose facility located in the southern Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The centre features a 5,000 seat indoor arena that is the home court of Super Netball t ...

. Northern Rays play their home games in

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

, while the remaining teams can play two home games in their own venue each season.

Representative team

are the representative team of the HART Sapphire Series. They originally played as Queensland Fusion. In 2021 they were re-branded Queensland Sapphires after the HART Sapphire Series.

Division 1 grand finals

;Dairy Farmers Cup ;Holden Astra Cup ;Holden Cruze Cup ;Queensland Champions Cup ;Mission Queensland State Netball League Division 1 ;HART Sapphire Series

Awards

;Katie Walker Medal The HART Sapphire Series MVP award is named after

Katie Walker Katie Walker (April 12, 1969) is a British furniture designer well known for combining simple components in her work. Her designs combine the function of the object with a sculptural interpretation of its structure. She works with craft and volum ...

. ;HART Sapphire Series Grand Final MVP:

Ruby Series

Grand finals

Awards

;Ruby Series Season MVP ;Ruby Series Grand Final MVP

Main sponsors

References

External links

HART Sapphire Series on Facebook
{{Netball leagues Netball in Queensland Netball leagues in Australia Queensland Sapphires Sports competitions in Queensland 2019 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 2019