AUSTRALIA'S women's ultimate teams are being put on notice, as the Inland Gypsies gear up for their tournament debut at the NSW/ACT state championships next month.
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Western NSW's first representative women's squad met for a training camp at Dubbo last weekend, with head coach Michael Craigie making the trip from Canberra for his first look at the group.
He said the state's top teams were in for a surprise.
"It will be the first chance we get to show the national ultimate community that women's ultimate is not only alive in our region, but gaining momentum and strength," Craigie said.
"I want the team to put the other bigger, more experienced and established clubs on notice - the Inland Gypsies are here to play."
State will mark the first high-level tournament for about half of the team, with just three players - including former Australian junior Liz Latrobe - carrying previous nationals experience.
Dubbo Ultimate Frisbee Federation (DUFF) players make up more than half of the 17-woman squad gunning for the national championships in April.
"To see the strength of the female talent come through to take a majority of the positions in the... team is a very telling sign of where the sport is at in Dubbo," Craigie said.
"The number of women, and girls too, taking up the sport and just giving it a go is growing, and the talent we're seeing from them exhilarating.
"I hope it inspires more females to give it a go."
Players flocked from Tooraweenah, Mendooran, Gulgong, Cowra, Temora and Albury for the weekend's session - the second since the club was founded in December.
A former Charles Sturt University player-coach and founding member of the western NSW representative men's side, Craigie is no stranger to bringing together a playing group separated by hundreds of kilometres.
He said it was important for the squad to overcome the distance.
"[Saturday's session] was a great opportunity to get the playing group together as one of our biggest obstacles is the size of our region geographically," Craigie said.
"It was also a great chance for the Gypsies to develop skills and strategies as a team to create a sense of identity and direction.
"Most importantly I want the team to enjoy their Ultimate, to take it all in and grow from the experience of playing at the highest national level for their division."