Sunshine Coast Lightning
| Founded | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Sunshine Coast, Australia |
| Regions | Queensland |
| Home venue | University of Sunshine Coast Stadium |
| Head coach | Noeline Taurua |
| Captain | Geva Mentor |
| League | Suncorp Super Netball |
| 2017 placing | Premiers |
The Sunshine Coast Lightning are an Australian netball team in Sunshine Coast, Queensland that compete in the Australian premier league, Suncorp Super Netball. The team were formed in 2016 as a new look Queensland side, during the disbanding of the ANZ Championship. The team is a joint venture owned by the Melbourne Storm and University of Sunshine Coast.
Following the dissolving of the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship competition in 2016, Netball Australia announced the creation of a new national Netball league, which would feature the five original Australian teams and three additional teams. In May 2016, Netball Australia confirmed that professional rugby league club the Melbourne Storm was one of three preferred license holders for the new teams.
The club was launched in August 2016. The club colours (Navy Blue, purple and yellow) and logo (a bolt of lightning) are similar to the features of the Storm. Speaking at the launch, Storm CEO Dave Donaghy stated it was "exciting for the junior netballers, the fans, local businesses and the entire Sunshine Coast region. This is your team”.Noeline Taurua was immediately appointed coach of the team and high-profile Australia national team players Caitlin Bassett and Stephanie Wood were the team's inaugural signings. The Lightning play home matches at the University of Sunshine Coast Stadium, which was upgraded prior to their first home match with corporate boxes and broadcast facilities. The venue has a capacity of 2,200.
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