News & Events

Prior’s Field Camp NOW FULL

It’s that time again - the rules of netball – your chance to influence them

The last Official Netball Rules review was held in 2007, and instead of waiting for the normal eight years IFNA agreed that the next rules review will be in 2011, at an International Netball Federation Congress.  In order to change the rules, all member countries must submit any proposed changes by 30th September 2010, which will then all be voted on by the member countries. 

From the proposals submitted, the IFNA Rules Advisory Panel will determine if there are any rules, identified in the review, which would benefit from a trial period, and will then determine all the processes of how that trial can be conducted.  Once the trial has been completed successfully, the IFNA Rules Advisory Panel will then draw up draft recommendations for consideration by congress.

So if you have a ruling which you feel should be changed to benefit the game, then England Netball would like to hear from you.  Any suggestions must be received at Head Office by 16th August 2010 so that they can be considered by the England Netball Rules Board before our submission to the IFNA Committee.  Please look at the rules and suggest any changes - however, please remember that you need to provide a reason for your suggestion, alongside the wording for your new proposal.

Please download and complete the review form below with your new rules suggestions, and return it to EN Head Office as soon as possible.  Please mark it with ‘Rules Review’ as the title.  The forms can either be e-mailed to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or faxed to 01462 442343 or posted FAO Sheelagh Redpath at Head Office.

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=1055

Mission accomplished by England’s netballers

The tour was designed to reproduce some of the challenges the squad will face at the Commonwealth Games, which takes place in October.
 
The 16-strong squad played and won all seven of their games, but as importantly, all of the players got court time and were able to focus on specific objectives set by the coaches.
 
The tour included games against Sydney Swifts and Adelaide Thunderbirds - two teams in the Trans-Tasman ANZ Championships, the Southern Hemisphere’s top netball club competition - as well as fixtures against less strong opposition.
 
“We were aiming to achieve consistent delivery of performances against teams of different levels. The coaches were pretty satisfied with what we achieved, although they will always be looking for more,” said Liz Bloor, team manager and England Netball’s head of performance.
 
“It was a demanding tour in terms of the number of games played, which will be good preparation for Delhi,” she added. “The objective was to give all the players plenty of court time against the Australian style of play, which we achieved.
 
“Some of the games were over six quarters and there was a lot of rotation of players, so we didn’t publish the scores, but we did win all of the games we played,” she added.
 
Commonwealth Games England will announce the netball squad for Delhi in August.
 
The squad will travel to Jamaica at the end of August for a two-test match tour ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
 
“A lot of people staked their claims for places on the Commonwealth Games team throughout the tour. There were a lot of strong performances in Australia and the selectors’ jobs will be a tough one, but that’s a nice position to be in,” added Bloor.
 
England took bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, beating Jamaica 53-52 in the third place play-off.
 
The 2010 Commonwealth Games take place in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. They will feature 17 sports - archery, aquatics (swimming, synchronised swimming & diving), athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7s, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. With the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Commonwealth Games England is entering a breath-taking four years of sport.

Commonwealth Games England (GCE) is the organisation responsible for selecting and organising England’s team at the Commonwealth Games.  England finished second to Australia on the medal table at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games with 36 golds, 40 silvers and 34 bronzes.

Sport England is responsible for building the foundations of sporting success, by creating a world-leading community sport system of clubs, coaches, facilities and volunteers. Their focus is growing and sustaining the numbers of people taking part in sport and improving talent development to help more people excel.
 
For further information about Commonwealth Games England please contact the Commonwealth Games England press office at Matchtight Ltd on 07765 071683 or 07831 755351 or see the CGE’s website at http://www.weareengland.org

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=1054

England players get to grips with life down under

The next day the team were straight into training with a pool session. Pool sessions have been incorporated into their tour as players use all of their muscle groups as well as benefiting from the compression of the water.

Not all of the squad like pool sessions, which will feature everyday of the tour; so England Team Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Mcleod organised games to keep players in the water and moving. In typical sporting fashion the players soon became hyper competitive and time ran away with them as the desire to win took hold. England Team Manager Liz Bloor commented; “The locals think we are mad using the outdoor pool in the winter but with temperatures reaching around 20 degress in the sun shine it’s like summer for us”.

A yoga session with England Team Physio Emma Batchelor was next on the agenda. Yoga enables players to stretch out muscles and Vice-captain Pamela Cookey is a huge fan. Karen Atkinson, England Team Captain said; “Being one of the oldies I like all the variety of the sessions as I need to look after my body so I don’t pick up injuries.”

Last activity for the day was a court session which had no impact so an outdoor court was used. The added benefit was some sunshine which helps the player’s body-clocks adjust to the right time zone. The session had lots of balance and proprioception exercises, combined with ball handling skills using netballs, golf balls and tennis balls aimed at testing players’ reactions.

Eboni Beckford-Chambers commented on the tour so far; “It’s been a productive first few days getting my balance back and losing the ‘topsy-turvy’ feeling from the flight. I really felt the difference on the wobble boards from day 1 to day 3.”

Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to training sessions which got progressively tougher with lots of focus on balance and getting the squad tuned and ready to perform at full pace ahead of the game against the ANZ team the New South Wales Swifts. Stacey Francis commented; “It’s been good progressing things day by day, I usually like to go hard out all the time but don’t think that would have been such a good idea. I now can’t wait to play the match this afternoon.”

The first game of the tour will be played tonight against the Swifts and it will be played over 6 quarters. England player Sonia Mkoloma, who is currently playing for the Swifts in the ANZ, will play with her club side for the first half then play the second with England.

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=1044

Pamela Cookey named as Vice-Captain for England’s summer tour to Australia

Cookey will support Karen Atkinson who is England’s Captain and who previously shared the captaincy with Sonia Mkoloma. Mkoloma is currently playing for the team at the top of the ANZ Championship table, NSW Swifts and she will be meeting up to train with her England team mates in Sydney.

Cookey, captain of The Co-operative Netball Superleague 2010 Champions TeamBath is thrilled to have been given the position of Vice-Captain, she said, “Getting to represent your country is a huge honour but to be given the added opportunity to support our captain and help lead the team is amazing and I can’t wait to get out there.”

The England squad will be playing against ANZ Championship teams in a round of matches that have been scheduled to test, train and develop the team’s performance in preparation for the Commonwealth Games. Results of the matches will not be published as each game will consist of six quarters rather than the standard four with the aim being that each player will receive maximum match play. The team fly out today (Friday 11th June) and their first game will be in Sydney against NSW Swifts on Wednesday June 16th. Throughout the two week training tour, the team will be put through their paces as they endure strength and conditioning sessions plus seven games of netball before returning home on Saturday June 26th.

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=1040

Bath bring back the trophy

The final score was 51-44 and a delighted TeamBath captain Pamela Cookey got to lift the trophy. “Whoop whoop!” she laughed, “Yay, we came out on top. So proud of the girls, so pleased, awesome.”
“Considering where we started at the start of the season and we just built it and built it and this is just like, er the end thing at the end of the season and we’ve won… I can’t speak.” Pamela was left even more speechless later when she was named Player of the Year for the three time in a row.
Naturally it was a very different feeling for the Hertfordshire Mavericks captain Louisa Brownfield; “Gutting! That’s the easy way to put it.”
She said, “after the first quarter I thought we were in with a really good shot and to be fair we were for most of the game, but our performance was too inconsistent to pull ahead and stay ahead. Fair play to them and well done Bath.”
Her head coach Maggie Jackson was rueful “We don’t like losing” she admitted. “In patches we did really well, we just did not keep doing the things that were working and I think that’s what’s frustrating the squad.”
“The game was perhaps a little bit more competitive than the scoreline. All credit to Bath and congratulations to them they did well.”

Jess Garland’s success also won her the Coach of the Year Honour. “I’m just really pleased for the team, I know it’s a cliche but the players have to go out and do it, our job’s done by the time they take to the court and it’s really just relief that the team dug in when the attention was elsewhere.”

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news/

Congratulations to Northern Thunder - NTL Champions 2009/2010

The league creates a competitive environment in which young netballers aged from 14-19 can experience high pressure games on a weekly basis throughout the year. England’s most promising young netballers will have an opportunity to hone their skills and impress the national selectors en route to the senior game.

This season, Northern Thunder finished top of the table with 45 points ahead of Hertfordshire Mavericks on 37. The Northern Thunder squad will be presented with their winners’ medals and trophy at half time during The Co-operative Netball Superleague Grand Final.  England Coach Sue Hawkins will be joined on court by Cheryl Danson, England Netball’s Chairman, to present the trophy and medals.

Northern Thunder finished with a 100% record over the 9 games, beating Leeds Carnegie 54-43 in their final game to finish the season unbeaten.

Congratulations to the staff and players of Northern Thunder NTL for this fantastic achievement.

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=1014

Mavericks move into the Grand Final

Tamsin Greenway got the scoring underway and it was followed a Mavericks miss at the other end to take the home 2-nil up and they kept that two goal gap for another 50 minutes or so of the match. Storm had learned a lesson from the week before and got straight down to business. Mavericks were launching their trademark fast, flat passes down court and into skipper Louisa Brownfield. Their hosts were having a bit of trouble with the precision needed to lob goalkeeper Amanda Newton while giving shooter Rachel Dunn a decent punt at goal. This was real tussle and on a day when the netball refused to drop first time. Clearly, Amanda Newton had her game face on.
For fans of the fine art of defending this match was as good as any, with Newton especially displaying Bobby Moore-like skill in dispossessing her opponent and turning the ball round. When the ball headed towards the Storm circle in anything less than a controlled manner, the former England international was there to halt it with velcro fingertips and gather it safely in. Rachel Dunn was determined to get to the ball first, so much so in one case that a sprint for the ball off court almost saw the pre-fab TV studio demolished.
First centre was to Mavericks in the second quarter, but an interception from Janet Coulbourne circle-side allowed Storm the chance to extend their lead which they took. The players on both sides picked up from where they left off and that meant a battle for every ball. Every pass was hotly contested; the teams may have only been 20 minutes into the match but anyone just starting to watch could have been forgiven for thinking the clock was counting down. Everyone was being forced to work hard with the ball to find space and the pass, Rachel Dunn was still having an off-day by her high-standards. The quarter ebbed and flowed with first the home side, then their visitors edging it. Nothing much decided in that one.
There was some clever play in the third quarter. Netball can be a thinking game, as well as being instinctive and physical. The whistle started a bit of a mind match in the second half. In one play Natasha Hampshire outwitted the Mavericks defence to find Tamsin Greenway under the post, only to have the wily Mavericks keeper snaffle back the turnover. Storm had blasted out of the break and pushed another two goals in front, but failed to push home advantage and it was Mavericks who bagged the quarter win.
And so to the final countdown. Surrey Storm were defending their lead and only needed to stay in control and stay goal for goal with the team renowned for upping the ante in a knockout competition. Mental toughness is needed for pressure situations like that. Hertfordshire Mavericks have been there before, several times and prevailed; the previous week’s game against Thunder the most recent example .
With ten minutes on the clock and Mavericks landed two goals one after the other to pull level with Storm for the first time since the first whistle. This was now high-octane netball. No flinching from Louisa Brownfield, who netted all her shots in the quarter. The visitors then went ahead, Storm were playing catch up now. With six minutes on the watch they needed a turnover but it was not forthcoming in fact it went the other way and more precious seconds ticked by.
After such an outstanding season it was difficult to watch Rachel Dunn suffer agonies under the post, as she undershot three attempts to move the team back within one goal - every effort fell short and the hesitancy seemed to briefly infected her shooting partner , as Tamsin Greenway went on to also miss the kind of ‘sitter’ either usually could land with eyes closed. That sealed the result Storm ran out of puff with two and a half minutes to play and Mavericks were able to add three more and book a place in the Grand Final with a five goal win.
“It was a really good game tonight, but I think Mavericks always do it the hard way round.” said captain Louisa Brownfield who denied suggestions that a last quarter push is how they choose to grab the win. “It’s not a plan, definitely not a plan but what works for us works for us if we come out with the win I don’t think we’re that fussed about how we’ve done it.”
“We were dominating for about 55 minutes,” admitted Storm coach Mary Beardwood, “and the last five we didn’t play too well under pressure, basically.”
Hertfordshire Mavericks head coach Maggie Jackson is not the biggest fan of the ‘leave it late” tactic. She said “I can honestly say I do not want any more heart attacks on the bench”.
“I’m just very very proud of them today, I was proud of them last week and just think that gradually they’re coming together more and more.”
Hertfordshire Mavericks progress the Grand Final at Nottingham’s Trent FM Arena on 15th, May, 2010, where they will take on the reigning champions TeamBath.

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/match/93/report

TeamBath are through to CNSL Grand Final 2010

Last season’s champions took the lead in the first quarter of tonight’s game at Surrey Sports Park and finished on 57 goals to Surrey Storm’s 42.
Next weekend, Surrey Storm will host the third Play-Off and will challenge last night’s winners, Hertfordshire Mavericks for the remaining place in the Grand Final which this year will be held on Saturday 15th May at Nottingham’s Trent FM Arena.
For details and tickets for next weekend’s game visit Surrey Storm’s website and to get your ticket for this year’s Grand Final click here.
Don’t forget you can catch all the action from this weekend’s games on SKY Sports 4, Wednesday 5th May, 6pm.
You’ll be able to keep up with all the Play-Off scores via our Twitter page so click here and start following all the CNSLonSkySports action.

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news/

Hertfordshire Mavericks return South victorious!

Hertfordshire Mavericks made the journey North and will return home to Hatfield having won by one point. The final score was Northern Thunder 45, Hertfordshire Mavericks 46 and throughout the final minutes of the game the crowd were on their feet, biting nails and screaming support for their favourite team.
A full match report will be posted shortly and following tomorrow’s Surrey Storm v TeamBath game, details for next weekend’s final Play-Off fixture will be confirmed.
Watch all the Play-Off action this coming Wednesday, 5th May at 6pm on SKY Sports 4.
You can catch updates from each Play-Off by following CNSLonSkySports on Twitter

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news/hertfordshire-mavericks-return-south-victorious