On Sunday 2 December, Welsh Netball hosted its first National Competition of the 2018/19 season at the Cardiff City House of Sport.
Nine teams from across Wales came to compete in the inaugural Under 19s National Clubs Open Competition and there were some outstanding performances from the teams involved. The final was fought between local team Leckwith Netball Club and travelling North Wales team, Deeside Netball Club with the latter coming out on top 21-14. The losing semi-finalists Merlins and Treforus 1 played-off for third place, with Treforus winning 22-18.
The competition was the first since Welsh Netball’s Competitions Review, which has resulted in the change of the National Competitions age categories to Under 19s, 18s, 16s, 14s and 12s.
Victoria Roberts-Burt, Welsh Netball’s new Events and Competitions Officer reflected on a great day of netball competition. She said: “It was great to get the competition season off to a start with a competitive and spirited Under 19s competition. I has been great to have entries from across all four Welsh Netball regions and I would like to congratulate Deeside on winning the final.”
Roberts-Burt added: “I would like to also thank all of the umpires and officials who helped to make the competition possible. I look forward to working with you again on another exciting season of Welsh Netball National Competitions.”
Also in attendance at the competition was Celtic Dragons head coach, Tania Hoffman. Tania was casting her eye over the players in attendance and noted some good performances. She said: “It was great to witness some of the excellent work being done at the grassroots to develop netballers in Wales and I was very taken by some of the performances on show at the competition!”
Welsh Netball would like to thank all teams for their participation and thank all volunteers who were involved in making the day possible.
Under 19 National Clubs Open Competition placings:
Position | Team Placing |
Winners | Deeside |
Runners-up | Leckwith |
3rd Place | Treforus 1 |
4th Place | Merlins |
5th Place | Holywell |
6th Place | Risca |
7th Place | Treforus 2 |
8th Place | Carmarthen |
9th Place | Beacons |