Netball
How many of you have missed netball? Lots of you I’m sure! It’s hard to believe that only last summer it was the Netball World Cup in Liverpool!
Have any of you heard of Bee Netball?
Bee Netball is a programme designed for U11’s all about friendship, inclusion, fair play and playing together. It’s not about how good you are, it’s about how hard you try to Bee!
Bees themselves are active, hardworking, have a real sense of belonging and that’s exactly what England Netball hopes all its very own Bees (the young players) develop as they are introduced to netball.
Normally, outside of school, Bee Netball can be enjoyed as a group or class in local leisure centres. These are usually run by England Netball coaches, all of whom have been trained in all things Bee Netball. It can also normally be enjoyed through England Netball’s network of brilliant netball clubs.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 England Netball looked at how Bee Netball could continue to benefit children across the country from the comfort of their homes, so the governing body introduced Bee@Home. This involved the creation of downloadable resources and fantastic Bee@Home challenge videos that U11s could easily take part from their living room or garden, keeping them active and engaged in the sport throughout lockdown.
Find out more about Bee@Home here: https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/bee-at-home/
The Government’s guidelines on the safe return of netball means that Bee Netball is allowed to start again in schools and clubs so long as all the safety checks are made.
Find a Club
So if you’re keen to try netball at a club take a look at the England Netball club finder for approved netball providers.
https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/play-netball/find-a-session-or-club/
England Roses
How about the Roses?
Firstly, let’s take a look at the highlights from last season and all the goals from the World Cup.
England Netball’s Roses are currently training at Loughborough as they are now at Stage 2 of the Government’s guidance on what elite athletes are allowed to do.
Stage two – ‘small groups of athletes and staff will be able to interact in closer contact e.g. sharing equipment and defending an opponent.’
Some of the Roses, like Helen Housby and Natalie Haythornthwaite, are contracted to play in the Suncorp Super Netball League in Australia which is the Australian equivalent of the Vitality Netball Superleague and they are able to play matches. Here’s some footage of the UK Superleague from earlier in the year.
Let’s hope some matches can be planned for the Roses before the end of the year.
