By Mark Murray

THE Douglas District Sports Trials were held at the Port Douglas Community Sports Complex on Friday in preparation for the Regional Championships in Cairns.

Budding stars in AFL, Rugby League, Soccer and Netball were put through their paces in the hope of being selected to represent the Douglas District at the regional carnivals.

Students aged between 10 and 12 from Port Douglas, Mossman High, Miallo, St Augustine's, Wonga Beach, Julatten, Daintree and Alexander Bay participated in the trials under the watchful eye of AFL Cairns Junior Development Officer Keiran Daly, NRL Game Development Officer Alby Anderson, and Douglas Netball Association coaches Sharron Beechey and Kate Baxter.

Michelle Teasdale, HPE Teacher at Miallo, Wonga Beach and Mossman, said although only the best kids would be taken to Cairns the trials were a fantastic opportunity for students of all skill levels to take part.

"The good thing about the Douglas District Sport Trials is we open it up to everyone just to encourage them to have go," Teasdale said.

"There were some kids participating who were not trialling for the regional championships and it's fantastic to see them trying different sports.

"It was a fun day and it was great to see the development officers from Cairns here as well."

The Douglas District teams will take on the best schools from Cairns at the Regional Championships with the top performers going on to represent Far North Queensland at the state titles later this year.

The regional titles will be held on the following dates:

• Netball - March 18-20 at Cairns Netball Courts
• Rugby League - (Boys) Sunday March 20-21 at Billy Slater Oval, Innisfail (Girls) July 19-20 at Jones Park, Cairns
• AFL - April 13-15 at Watson Park, Cairns
• Soccer - April 17-19 at Edge Hill Football Club, Cairns