Welcome

After another brilliant summer, I can’t believe we’re here again already, at the absolute best time of the year: the start of the netball season. Fresh netball trainers, the smell of new balls, team WhatsApp groups starting to ping again; we’re all ready to get back on the court, whether that’s to play, coach, officiate or volunteer.

We haven’t got to this point just by magic though, it’s thanks to the hard work put in by volunteers across the country to make the game happen. I always like to take the start of the season as a chance to send a huge thank you out to our amazing volunteers for everything they do year in year out for our sport. Netball wouldn’t exist without you.

This start of season looks slightly different for me as I’m going back into my first season post-partum after having baby number two. I’ve joined a wonderful team who don’t mind that this wing attack completely believes she can get that interception, despite my body being about a second behind where my brain thinks it is. I’ve leant on the NETBALLHer resources to guide me through this return to court and speaking to a female health specialist has massively helped to support me as I grappled to rebuild a netball ready pelvic floor. As ever, I wouldn’t have got through maternity without my gorgeous gang of netball girls. Whilst we don’t have ‘a village’ in the traditional sense any more, the regular WhatsApp check ins, turning up on the doorstep with hot drinks and getting score updates on a Saturday were more important than ever. It’s something I hope to pay forward in the future, how lucky are we to be part of a sport that forges such amazing friendships.

Here at England Netball, this is a particularly exciting September as our wonderful Netball Development Officer network sets to work getting Bee Netball flying in primary schools. When we consulted on the launch of our Adventure Strategy, we knew that taking this child-centred programme into as many state primary schools as possible was really important to our members. Over the summer we’ve carried out research in collaboration with Loughborough University, establishing why small-sided games are the best way to introduce children to netball. This, coupled with our commitment to putting the personal development of every little girl and boy at the heart of their experience, will set netball apart from other team sports and hopefully thousands of children will fall in love with the sport as the new term starts.

Something else we’ve been working hard on behind the scenes to support the Netball Family is our Dedicated to Difference Action Plan, which has now been submitted to Sport England. Led by our senior leadership team and engaging with touchpoints from elite performance all the way through to Bee Netball, the plan is there to support the whole Netball Family to deliver netball through an inclusion lens and we’re looking forward to launching this important piece of work later this season.

This edition of 5TH QTR magazine is jam-packed full of updates. We’ve rounded up all you need to know about the upcoming Vitality Netball Horizon Series which will see the Vitality Roses take on the Jamaican Sunshine Girls, caught up with Pinehurst Netball Club who have just celebrated a landmark milestone and have all the latest from the Netball Super League, and so much more. I hope you enjoy catching up with all the netball news as you get excited about stepping back onto court very soon!

Katy Ryan, Director of Development