The association's junior and senior competitions were scheduled to start on Saturday but heavy rainfall across Dubbo during the week and on the day forced the junior matches to be cancelled.

Dubbo Netball Association president Vanessa Uebergang said the opening day of the season was a good one in parts, even with the less than ideal weather hanging around.

"Sort of because it was wet but the kids didn't play so we'll probably do a bit more of an official thing next round," she said.

"The adults were really happy to be out playing, especially when it cleared up.

"It ended up being a nice afternoon, it was a good run around for everybody."

During the off-season, Nita McGrath courts received a bit of an upgrade with two grass courts being converted into hard courts thanks to funding from the local council and the state government.

Uebergang admitted the association had received some good feedback about the pair of new courts, with the majority of thoughts coming from some of the elite players in town.

"(We are) really happy with the new courts, we had an A Grade side on there and they were happy with it," she said.

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"There was heaps of space, the girls were super, super happy with it. So I was like 'as long you are happy we will keep putting you on it'."

With COVID impacting many sports over the last few years, netball is no outlier when it comes to dropping player numbers with other codes being impacted by the pandemic.

A lot of participants with families have stepped away from sports and netball in particular, with Uebergang suggesting the interest from senior players declined.

"There isn't (much interest), we've reduced to down in numbers," she said.

"We feel like that is because of COVID, people are being a bit more mindful of where they are spending their time, especially when running between different sports on Saturday and Sunday.

"We're appreciative of the teams, clubs and players who have returned for this season. We've had a lot of younger teams come this year which is lovely, so the interest is there for the babies. We've condensed quite a few of the grades but everyone seems to know what they are doing.

"I think it's going to be good."

St Thunder started their season off with a win, defeating Macquarie Hornets 40-31.

Should the wet weather stay away, the junior season will officially start this upcoming Saturday with age groups ranging from under 8s through to under 12s.

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