Cheshire County take the US by storm!

The first club or county team from the UK ever to participate in the US Open Netball Championships, Cheshire County swept all before them in November to be crowned ladies’ champions.

The tournament, which aims to foster the development of American athletes, coaches, and umpires, has been the premier netball event in North America since 2009 with women’s and mixed teams from 24 US states and eight countries competing for the prestigious titles this time round.

Volunteer organiser of the Cheshire County team Phil Owen says: “We are one of the only counties in England who have an U17 squad as part of our pathway programme, allowing athletes to continue training in a high-performance environment. We tour every year: Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar and Barbados as I think it’s really important to expose athletes to a different playing environment and build resilience and self-confidence. When I saw there was a tournament in Arizona, I immediately contacted the CEO of Netball America and said, ‘How would you feel if a team from the UK came over to take part?’ And that was that!”

Road trip to Sedona Desert

The winning squad was made up of Cheshire County athletes who had all been selected for their county, playing as part of the Cheshire County Academy U15 or U17 squads. Aged 15-17, the girls were from clubs and schools across Cheshire, from Chester to Holmes Chapel, Macclesfield to Northwich.

We caught up with captain Ella Cox and vice-captain Evie Adinkra after their stunning success. Ella says: “The whole thing was so cool. The teams – from the Cayman Islands, Santa Monica, New York, Massachusetts, just everywhere, – the accommodation, the people. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Evie adds: “We stayed in the same hotel as a lot of the teams so we made friends too. And went on school visits which were inspirational. It was heartwarming how all the children were really eager to join in because obviously there’s a lot of basketball players and American football players there, so they were already quite co-ordinated with ball skills already. They just sort of threw themselves into it and were eager to play and find out more. I actually had a little girl that came up to me and was saying how she’s going to carry on with netball.”

Tournament Player Caitlin Campbell

Ella adds: “And in one elementary school, after we had visited, a PE teacher came to the venue where we were playing and brought hundreds of letters that the children had written, with beautiful drawings. They’d all signed them and it was quite emotional.”

So what of the tournament itself?

Evie explains: “On the first day we got put in a random pool so they could gauge standards and then on the second we were seeded. We had drawn against one side on the first day and there were some really good teams. We were just delighted to win.”

Trips to the Grand Canyon, a volleyball match at Arizona State University and the red rocks of the Sedona desert meant it was not all work, work, work for the girls.

Phil says: “Both girls did an amazing job both on and offcourt, as did the whole squad. Initially they did lots of fundraising which went towards their tour kit, and also produced a postcard as a memento featuring the squad and scenes from across the North West. And integral to this trip was showcasing the sport of netball in several elementary schools and to students at Arizona State University. All in all, an awesome experience!”

Nikki Kendrick, Player Development Lead at Cheshire County Netball, adds: “We are thrilled to have been the first UK club to have taken part in the US Netball Open Championships and delighted to win the championship. This squad has worked so incredibly hard and their dedication and spirit has shown through – on court and off.”

And asked what the main takeaway of the trip was, the girls are as one. “The big thing was how much sport can affect people and how positive that can be. Seeing all the young children so invested and interested. That was my takeaway, just how influential sport is and how much it can form connections as well, not just across your friendship groups, but also communities and globally. The whole thing was eye-opening and life-changing.”

Next year’s tournament will take place in Austin, Texas in November.