Victoria Reigns at the ANC

Victoria clinched the Australian Teams Championship on the final day of the 2026 Australian National Championships in Carrara, Queensland.

The quartet of Joanne Joseph, Tate Norris, Sarah Cardwell and Benjamin Ratcliffe won 3 of the 4 matches for Victoria to take the top spot in the podium. 

Cardwell and Norris were undefeated in all five matches played across the two days. 

Team Queensland settled for the silver medal in a hard fought tournament on home soil. For Queensland, young gun Sarbani Maitra was a standout, also going undefeated in the Teams Championship over the two days.

On their win, members of the Victorian team said this;

•  It’s about par with the usual tournaments we play, especially within Australia, as we all tend to play the same tournaments. Being 26 now, I am kind of one of the older ones at these tournaments, which feels weird to say, so not necessarily what I’m taking away much from these tournaments, because we play so many of them. It’s definitely about rocking up, being prepared, and executing our game plans to our fullest extent, which gives us the best possible chance to win. Definitely a proud moment to represent Victoria, something I definitely strived for as a junior, and probably my highlight of each year as a kid was seeing if I was selected to represent Victoria then going away to the Australian Junior Champs. So to how doing in seniors feels just a bit more special, especially coming away with a win as my juniors Queensland always dominated - Ben Ratcliffe
• This year's national team championships were harder than I’ve previously experienced because we played 5 matches in 2 days! It was difficult at first to have finished runner-up in the women’s individual national championship final and then start the team event the very next morning (my opponent was a semi-finalist in the women’s championships, so it was jumping straight into a good matchup), but I was really proud of my teammates' and my efforts to win! Especially as we lost so closely last year to Queensland, so it was great to get it back this year with the same Victorian players. Last year, I didn’t perform how I wanted to and felt like I was letting the team down, so I was determined to do better this year, and ultimately came away very happy to not drop a game over 5 matches. I look forward to trying to defend the title in the future, and I encourage other Victorian players to strive to represent our state; it’s a great feeling. - Sarah Cardwell
• Getting the chance to represent Victoria at the Australian National Championships meant a lot, especially being part of the senior team while I’m still a junior. It was really special to be back with the same team as last year, but this time to go one step further and get the win after just missing out against Queensland in the final last year. The competition itself was intense, with five matches over two days, but we stuck together as a team and managed to come out on top. Being part of the senior team was a privilege, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn from and play alongside such experienced and supportive teammates. Winning the championship together made the experience even more memorable, and I’m really proud to have been part of the team. I can’t wait for next year and hopefully getting the win again. - Joanne Joseph