Today England Netball hosted more than 200 netball sessions across the country as part of its Biggest Summer of Netball initiative, which aims to get more women and girls active and playing netball.
The Vitality Roses; England’s senior netball team, inspired more than 130,700 people to start playing netball or more netball as a result of the Commonwealth Games in 2018. With the Roses once again capturing the hearts of thousands as they competed in the Vitality Netball World Cup this month, England Netball asked clubs, leisure centres, schools and anyone with access to a netball court, to open them up for free the day after the World Cup so that those inspired by it could take to a court near them.
The tournament, which ran from 12 – 21 July, welcomed more than 111,000 spectators to the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool and saw England secure a bronze medal.
On the final day of the tournament, England Netball experienced a 1000 per cent increase in visits to the England Netball session finder when compared to two weeks prior and has today seen more than 200 netball sessions take place across the country, with 500 due to take place over the course of the next seven days.
Joanna Adams, CEO of England Netball, said: “There was an incredible spike in grassroots netball participation after the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and we hoped that the Vitality Netball World Cup would have another similar impact on this country, and I’m pleased to see that it already has. The turnout at our Biggest Summer of Netball sessions today is evidence of that.
“Whilst the Vitality Roses were gunning for gold at the World Cup, they still came away with a medal and showed thousands of people how amazing this sport is. Thanks to them, coaches, clubs, venue owners and volunteers, plus the likes of Virgin Active who pledged a number of netball courts to this initiative, we’ve been able to create the biggest netball open day ever – so thank you to everyone that helped us achieve that.”
England Netball offers a form of the game for everyone regardless of age or ability, from Bee Netball for U11s to Back to Netball for those that want a gentle re-introduction to the sport and Walking Netball for those that want to play the game but at a slower pace.
If you feel inspired to give netball a go, you can find your nearest session to take part in by going to the England Netball Session Finder.
Courtesy of England Netball
