A brand new netball Super Club team from Wales, named the Celtic Flames, will represent the northern hemisphere at New Zealand’s International Super Club competition in Nelson in July 2-7, 2017.
The Celtic Flames squad members have been announced, along with the Management Team who will lead the newly formed team in their global debut in New Zealand.
The Celtic Flames squad is as follows:
Suzy Drane (supported by MSG Tours), Bethan Dyke (supported by Torfaen Leisure Trust), Clare Jones (supported by TPHS Limited), Kyra Jones (supported by Glamorgan Telecom), Nia Jones (supported by Chester Chain), Chelsea Lewis (supported by Islwyn Pugh Construction/GW Flooring Contract Services), Kelly Morgan (supported by Andy Lamb Media), Lois Rideout (supported by Balance Fitness), Eleanor Roberts (supported by Fostering Matters), and Georgia Rowe (supported by Miller Medical Supplies).
The Celtic Flames Management Team include Head Coach Trish Wilcox (supported by Pro Steel Engineering), Assistant Coach Mel Tuckwell (supported by USW Sport), and Team Manager Donna Crossman (supported by Falconry Services Ltd).
The Celtic Flames are due to fly to New Zealand this Sunday, June 25, where they will then continue their preparations ahead of the Super Club start date of 2 July 2017.
The Super Club competition will be made up of eight teams in total. The top three New Zealand teams from the ANZ Premiership will qualify for the event, as well as Gauteng Jaguars of South Africa, NSWIS of Australia, Marama Vou of Fiji, University of Trinidad & Tobago and of course the Celtic Flames.
The team name, the ‘Celtic Flames’ was chosen by the team members after much discussion of how they would like to identify themselves during the competition.
“I am looking forward to working with the Celtic Flames – a team with a mix of players with Super League and International experience,” says Head Coach Trish Wilcox.
“We are very excited to be a part of this inaugural Super Club competition and competing against International club teams with such a variety of playing styles.
“This is an amazing opportunity for our players to challenge themselves against some of the best club and international players in the world.”
The Super Club event will be held at the 1662-seat capacity Trafalgar Centre and all games will be broadcast live on SKY Sport 4. The Celtic Flames have been drawn into Pool B with two of these qualifying ANZ teams, and Marama Vou from Fiji. Full list of fixtures can be found on the Netball NZ website: http://bit.ly/2rvulsT
Keep up to date on the Celtic Flames via the Welsh Netball website (welshnetball.co.uk), on Twitter @thecelticflames and Instagram @celticflames.
ENDS