Welcome
Hi all, and welcome to a very special centenary edition of 5TH QTR magazine. 12 February 2026 marked a poignant and historic moment in the history of our sport as England Netball turned 100 years old. It was an honour to celebrate our special birthday with so many members of the Netball Family at the newly opened Here If You Need: 100 Years of England Netball exhibition at Heritage Quay, University of Huddersfield. We spent the day exploring the exhibition and listening as a number of influential voices reminisced on the history of netball, celebrated where it has grown to in the present and looked ahead to a bold and exciting future.
The history of our wonderful sport belongs to every single one of us, and at England Netball we’re committed to bringing the Netball Family with us as we celebrate our centenary year. The exhibition in Huddersfield is now open to public visitors, and will be until August, and I’d encourage anyone who can do so to pay Heritage Quay a visit to learn more about how an organisation established by 230 women in a meeting room in London in 1926 has grown into the governing body of the most regularly played team sport for women in this country today.
Our celebrations will extend beyond Huddersfield too, with a host of events planned throughout the year that will bring the centenary to life in different ways. In July, we’ll be holding a Centenary Masters Festival in Brighton, a national tournament for females aged 35 and older to enjoy fun competitive netball, reminiscent of the old Inter-County Tournaments. Then later in the year we’ll be taking our centenary exhibition on the road with a series of events across the country designed to give as many members of the Netball Family as possible the opportunity to enjoy the exhibition. Finally, our special centenary National ONE Awards will be held in the autumn, bringing some of our most inspiring volunteers together in one room to celebrate all their contributions to the growth of our wonderful sport in our centenary year. To end a year of celebrations, a special England Netball time capsule will be buried in 2027, filled with memories of how the Netball Family came together in 2026 that will become our own history in the years to come.
This centenary special edition of 5TH QTR magazine has been designed to give you a glimpse into the history of our sport, celebrate some of the pioneers who we all have to thank for making England Netball what it is today, and look ahead to an exciting future as we dream big about what we can achieve together over the next 100 years.
Throughout this edition you’ll be able to look back on our birthday celebrations at Huddersfield University Archives, read the reflections shared by England Netball President Eboni Usoro-Brown and former Presidents Jean Robinson and Lindsay Sartori, hear what the centenary means to a number of local volunteers who make netball happen week in, week out across the country, and hear from Jo Harten as she reflects on that wonderful 2018 Commonwealth Games victory which I know stands out as a highlight of the last 100 years in many of our memories.
Before you dive into all of this and much, much more, it would be remiss of me not to say, as ever, a huge thank you to every single member of our Netball Family, be that players, coaches, officials, volunteers or fans. England Netball would not be where we are today without the dedication and passion of our volunteers who are the backbone of the Netball Family, so please take a minute to feel incredibly proud of your contributions and the vital role that you’ve played in the last 100 years of our sport.
I look forward to seeing what we can all achieve together over the next hundred years, and if you’re inspired to get more involved, we are currently recruiting for a new Nominated Director to join the Board of England Netball – check out our website for more information on how to apply.
Fran Connolly, England Netball CEO