NETBALL AROUND THE WORLD

Two of IFNA’s top ranked Members yesterday submitted their bids to Host the World Netball Championships 2015. Australia and England submitted bids to host the event in Sydney and Manchester, respectively.

England last hosted the championships in 1995, while Australia last hosted them in 1991.

The championships involve the world’s top 16 international teams competing over a period of eight days and will next be held in Singapore in July 2011. Singapore will release further tickets for the event later this month. The 3 Day Gold Package will be released on Friday, 16 July at 10.00am (GMT+8). This is your chance to get your tickets to catch the finals in action over the last 3 days of competition. Log onto www.wnc2011.com for more information now.

Vanuatu Netball Association played a key part in the country’s first ever sports festival this week, with exhibition matches, plus coach and player training and development sessions organised for more than 250 attendees, many of whom were trying netball for the first time. (pictured above) Save the Children and the Vanuatu Department of Health used the event as an opportunity to promote womens health and social issues during the event, while more than 80 players took part in a netball festival organised in age groups from U12 upwards.

South Africa’s Proteas returned home this week after a successful overseas tour, which culminated in a two test win over Samoa. The Proteas won the second test 66-49, after a 54-46 victory in the first match, and also benefitted from two weeks of intensive training and coaching in New Zealand prior to the test matches.

The Asian Youth Netball Championship, a test event for the Commonwealth Games, will be held at the Thyagraj Sports Complex in Delhi from July 3 to 10. Six countries -- hosts India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand have confirmed their participation in the seventh edition of the championship, which will be used to test the capabilities of the complex and its staff ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Malaysia, winners of the past three Asian championships, are favourites for the competition.

The Guyana Netball Association has this week launched a new national U23 championship, to increase participation and competitive opportunities for players across the country. Although only five sides have entered the first competition, it is hoped that the opportunity that it presents will encourage more players to remain in the game after the U16 age group, and provide a transition to senior netball. The finals will be played on Monday 5 July.

Adelaide Thunderbirds shocked the previously undefeated Sydney Swifts in the major semi final of this year’s ANZ Championship, scoring an impressive 52-38 over the table toppers to secure their place in the Grand Final. In a bruising encounter, which saw Swifts captain Catherine Cox sidelined with a broken nose after an accidental collision, Thunderbirds’ defensive pressure was telling, with Geva Mentor, Mo’onia Gerrard and Sharni Layton closing down the space for the usually free-flowing Swifts attacking line.

The Sydney side now has to regroup ahead of this weekend’s preliminary final with the Waikato/BOP Magic, 50-42 victors over New Zealand rivals Southern Steel in the minor semi final. At stake, the second Grand Final spot. Veteran Magic GS Irene Van Dyk was once again in stellar form, netting 41 goals from 46 attempts and dominating the circle, while centre Laura Langman combined well with Jade Clarke and Frances Solia to control the midcourt at pace.

The CEO and Global Development Manager are heading to USA for the IFNA Board Meeting and a meeting with the Chairs of the Panels. Watch this space for an update on key decisions from the Board Meeting.

NETBALL AROUND THE WORLD:

England’s international squad has arrived in Australia for a training tour ahead of selection for the Commonwealth Games. TeamBath squad member Lindsay Keable has been called up for her first tour at this level, which will see England play friendly matches against ANZ Championship sides,the NSW Swifts (pictured above with England players) and Adelaide Thunderbirds, as well as replicating the training and playing pressure conditions that the squad will face in Delhi later this year.


35 year old veteran defender Georgia Gordon has received a surprise call up to Jamaica’s pre-selection training programme, after impressing in Tivoli A’s title winning run in the JNA Berger Superleague competition earlier this month. Gordon, who represented her country at the World Championships in 1995, 1999 and 2003, returned to Jamaica in March after studying in New York for 11 years. She now joins the Sunshine Girls’ training squad ahead of selection for a three match test series against Australia and two against New Zealand in August.

South Africa’s Proteas are now en route to Samoa after a series of successful training matches in New Zealand. Despite losing to ANZ Championship side the LG Mystics 51-56, the South Africans defeated local sides Baytex Panthers 63-35 and Waitakere 70-42 and also benefitted from clinics conducted by former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering.

Jodi Carreira, the founder of Netball Israel, was honoured with an award for Outstanding Service to European Netball at the European Festival of Netball in Malta last week. Carreira, who was the driving force behind the establishment of competitive netball in the country, was overjoyed with her country’s performance in the competition, which saw them finish middle of the table against more established netballing nations. The semi finals of the inaugural Israel Netball League start next Tuesday with Ra’anana facing Modi’in and Ma’aleh Adumim playing Jerusalem. The league finals will be held on 21 June.

With one week of the regular season remaining, ahead of the play offs series, the NSW Swifts stand on the brink of making ANZ Championship history. With 12 consecutive victories already under their belts – a championship record – the Swifts face finals contenders, the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel on Monday night in Sydney with the chance to become the only team to negotiate the regular season undefeated should they win. But with the Steel one of three teams in contention for the two remaining play off spots, the result is not a foregone conclusion.

With the Adelaide Thunderbirds sitting in second place on the table and secure of a play off spot, the other two teams in contention are the Queensland Firebirds, who face the West Coast Fever and the Waikato/BOP Magic, who travel to face the Thunderbirds. And with the Firebirds’ superior goal difference, the stage is set for a tense weekend of netball and potentially some hard calculations before the finals’ line up for the 2010 competition is confirmed.

Netball’s Wow Factor is coming to Liverpool!

This year the Echo Arena Liverpool will host the World Netball Series. IFNA announced the decision today on behalf of the event’s stakeholder group which includes England Netball, Liverpool City Council, Manchester City Council and the North West Development Agency.

The three day competition will commence on Friday 19th November and will conclude on Sunday 21st November with a celebratory Gala Dinner on the Sunday evening. Molly Rhone, President of IFNA commented. “I am delighted to confirm that this year’s World Netball Series will be held at the Echo Arena Liverpool. This event has been fantastic for showcasing the sport of netball and IFNA is looking forward to building on the success of last year’s inaugural event. Spectators will once again be given the opportunity to witness this thrilling Fast Net competition between the top six netball teams in the world.”

The six countries competing in the competition, in IFNA World Ranking order are; Australia, last year’s champions New Zealand, England, Jamaica, Malawi and South Africa. According to the IFNA World Rankings the top teams in the world have shifted slightly with South Africa replacing Samoa. This is the only change to have been made to the top six since last year’s tournament which took place at Manchester’s MEN Arena.

During last October’s three day event, more than 17 thousand spectators attended and an income of over £1.3million was generated. Liverpool City Council is planning to build on last year’s success; Lord Mayor Councillor Mike Storey said of the announcement, “On behalf of Liverpool City Council I’d like to express gratitude to IFNA for choosing Liverpool to host what promises to be a fantastic event. Having recently hosted The Co-operative International Netball Series we’re excited to have Netball return to us here and as 2010 is our Year of Health and Wellbeing we’re also looking forward to working with the event’s stakeholder group to develop the event’s Legacy Initiatives .”

On confirmation that England would host the new competition Manchester launched the initial 2009 event, Liverpool will host 2010 and in the final year for England to host the event, 2011, it will return to Manchester. Since its conception last year the World Netball Series has adopted a legion of fans and the rules of Fast Net, the new format of the game, have been adopted by netball players around the world.

England Netball has taken the lead this year for the commercialisation of the event. Any parties interested in working with England Netball to deliver the commercial objectives of the stakeholder group should contact Joanna Adams, England Netball’s Head of Marketing joanna.adams@englandnetball.co.uk

Tickets for the event go on sale Monday 7th June with 10% discount available for early-bird bookings and 15% discount for England Netball members. To purchase your tickets and for further details visit www.worldnetballseries.com

NETBALL AROUND THE WORLD

Photo: STACY SQUIRES/The Press


Jamaica's netballers have begun preparations for the next four months with the first training camp to be held at their new netball "house", the Sunshine Chalet in Barbican, St Andrew. The three day camp, held last weekend, aimed to hone the team's physical and mental strengths, as well as formulating a programme for the busy months ahead. Defender Kasey Evering has rejoined the Sunshine Girls after a three year break.

New Zealand has retained the International Schools Girls Challenge title, edging out Australia 29-23 in the final in Adelaide. New Zealand trailed the home side throughout the first half, but produced an heroic fight back in the second half of the game to take a six goal victory, inspired by sterling performances by Sophia Fenwick, Kirsten Hurley and Sulu Tone Fitzpatrick. Despite losing to Australia in the round robin stages of the competition, New Zealand regrouped to beat

Indigenous School Sport Australia 55-6, Bukit Jalil Sports School Malaysia 54-16, Aotearoa Maori 36-22 and the Pacific Rims 40-36 in section play before going onto beat Aotearoa Maori in their cross over match 36-24.

A shortage of funding means that Fiji's netballers may fail to qualify for the 2011 World Championships, after it emerged that the country's netball association had not paid for the squad's air fares to the forthcoming Pacific Cup. Coach Una Rokoura has appealed to Fijian business for financial support for the side, which is scheduled to play Samoa, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands at the competition, the qualification for the 2011 Singapore competition.

In this week's round of ANZ Championship matches, New Zealand's Haier Central Pulse has scored only its second win in the competition's history, a gritty 45-43 victory over fellow strugglers Canterbury Tactix. Inspired by 27 goals from 29 attempts from Silver Ferns shooter Paula Griffin, the Pulse led by eight goals at one stage, but allowed nervous errors to creep into their game, before regrouping to take a vital win. Elsewhere in the competition, the Southern Steel shocked local rivals, the highly rated Waikato BOP Magic 52-47, while the Adelaide Thunderbirds held on for a thrilling 53-51 win over the Queensland Firebirds. Former Jamaican international Carla Borrego continued her impressive return to top level netball with 38 goals from 41 attempts, while Adelaide's defensive unit of Mentor, Gerrard and Layton were impressive in closing down the space available to the Firebirds' fast-moving attacking unit. The NSW Swifts defeated the West Coast Fever 61-52, with England defender Sonia Mkoloma (pictured above) putting in a match winning performance to unsettle Fever's international shooter Caitlin Bassett.

In Botswana, the new Spar Good For You Netball League is now under way, with first round victories for UB Crystals, Jungle Queens, Notwane and BDF Cats. The second round of matches will take place this weekend.

Africa Netball

Here is a picture of the Delegates who attended the first Africa Netball Meeting in Johannesburg on 15th May. Spot the new IFNA Board Director, Tebogo, multi tasking whilst on the phone.

The CEO attended this meeting and then flew to Australia where she had valuable meetings with Netball Australia, the ANZ and the Australian Sports Commission. She also spoke at the IWG Conference.

New Advert from Netball Australia on YouTube

Netball Australia this week launched the game’s first brand advertising campaign, which recognises the sport’s biggest assets – the players and all the people associated with it. The “Ode to Netball” campaign was shot in Adelaide and involved a cast of 400 real netballers, umpires, parents and coaches from 13 clubs across South Australia, as well as the Australian Netball Diamonds. The campaign will run on Australia’s TEN Network from now until the end of August, and can be viewed at Netball Australia’s YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/user/NetballAustralia

Netball around the world - Update

Preparations for the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore are going well, with the organisers reporting “healthy demand” for platinum ticket packages. Costing S$550 each (approx $390 US), 1,100 of the 1,300 packages have already sold, and it is anticipated that the lower value tickets will sell fast when they are released by the tournament co-ordinators in January 2011.

This year’s FairPrice Foundation Singapore Netball Superleague title has been won by the Malaysian Arowanas (pictured), who finished the competition with an undefeated record of 12 wins, after edging past local favourites Mighty Manna 49-44 in the final. Arowanas’ towering 16 year old shooter Norashikin Kamal Zaman was named the player of the tournament.

Singapore’s coach, Kate Carpenter, and the national selectors used the competition to pick a squad of 17 players for the 2011 World Championships, which will now compete in the Australian league, before playing in December’s Nations Cup.

City School Nazimabad defeated Trinity Girls College 17-15 in the final to win the fourth session of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Netball Coaching and Tournament Programme at Nazimabad Mini Sports Comple, Pakistan. The event was organised by the Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) in collaboration with the Australian Sports Commission and the Sindh Netball Association and is the latest in a series of netball festivals designed to increase participation and improve skills levels across the region.

In the UK, reigning champions TeamBath cruised into the Grand Final of the 2010 Co-operative Netball Superleague with a 57-42 thrashing of Surrey Storm, the side which had finished the league section of the competition at the top of the table. A stunning start gave the champions a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and with England defenders Stacey Francis and Eboni Beckford Chambers in stunning form, Storm could do little to weather the challenge. The Surrey side now needs to defeat former champions Mavericks in the second play offs in order to qualify for the Grand Final.

Wales’s netball international players, past and present, now have their own unique numbers following the introduction of a new recognition system. From the first caps awarded in 1949, every player who has taken the court to represent Wales in an official international has been numbered according to the sequence in which they made their first appearance. With three new players – Stephanie Murphy, Emma Thomas and Sophie Morgan – making their international debuts at the Netball Europe event last weekend, the total number of players to have worn the Wales dress now stands at 189. The next new cap will be number 190. Players already capped will have their number embroidered on their dress for the match or tournament in question.

Grenada’s annual National Netball Tournament opens this weekend with an exhibition match between the island’s U23 side (currently in training for the OECS tournament in June) and a selected senior squad. Across the Caribbean, in Jamaica reigning champions Jamalco line up against Tivoli ‘A’ in the Berger Paints / JNA Superleague this weekend with both sides currently locked at the top of the league table. Waulgrovians currently sit in third place in the competition, but have a game in hand, against Windalco, which will be played later this week.


In the ANZ Championship, reigning champions Melbourne Phoenix suffered their second loss in as many weeks, going down 56-42 to the Sydney Swifts in front of a record crowd of 6,928 at the ACER Arena in Sydney. Vixens were once again without influential centre Natasha Chojklat, sidelined with a calf injury, and have now slipped to third in the table, behind the undefeated Swifts and the Waikato / BOP Magic, who finally overcame the Northern Mystics 49-46 in a thrilling encounter in Hamilton this week.