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News | NETBALL COMPETITION AT SUNDERLAND UNIVERSITY

 

NETBALL COMPETITION AT SUNDERLAND UNIVERSITY

Team England , the pinnacle of netball in this country, were making a long awaited return to the North East, to compete against Team Northumbria of the Netball Super League (NSL).

The match was the highlight of a whole day of activities organised by Sunderland University Sport to capitalise on the occasion and fully integrate the community with the visit.

Ninety-one local school children were invited to receive a training session from the Sunderland University team and Team Northumbria before free entry to the showpiece event.

The Sunderland team themselves were given a one hour workshop with the England side prior to the schools session and the excitement of such an opportunity was felt by everyone involved.

Sam Brown, Sport & Wellness Development Officer at the University, was one of a number of people involved in organising the event. She said: “I coach the Sunderland team and we really learned a lot from England Netball. Everyone was over the moon to have such an opportunity.”

“For England Netball to come up to the North East and train with us was really appreciated. The kids coaching session went really well and now everyone’s really excited for tonight’s game.”

“This building has only been opened since September so to have something like this already is amazing. It gives us all something to be proud of and helps establish ourselves with the other universities in the region.”

The importance of making this a truly regional event was echoed by Lynda Dunn, Events Co-ordinator for Team Northumbria . She said: “The idea arose by wanting to take the team out into the region. Northumbria is a regional side and we wanted to raise the profile of the team. There is a huge level of interest in the area for alternative sports and it’s something different.”

“It was really important to get the schools involved. I hope the coaching session will inspire the kids and it lets the community as a whole come along and watch. It’s a great opportunity to see netball at the highest level.”

England Netball, ranked third in the world, are due to play a number of NSL franchise sides in the lead up to the Co-Operative International Netball Series against Australia which starts on 19th February.

Northumbria coach Barbara Brown was delighted at the prospect of facing England . She said: “We rarely get England up here so it’s really great. The venue is fitting and the facilities are gorgeous. This game can only help to encourage the community to become more involved with the sport.”

Alex Wood of Team Northumbria was equally impressed saying: “It’s great for the North East. We have often been the poor relations up here but there is a lot of good talent.”

“This facility should inspire more young people to play and get involved.”

Article written by David Peddie, SUNEE Journalism Scholar at Sunderland university

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