On Saturday 23 November, Welsh Netball in partnership with South Wales Police, hosted the first ever Unity Shield Community Cohesion competition in Swansea.
Over 100 women and girls were in attendance for a fun day of netball, playing alongside officers from South Wales Police. Teams came from communities across the region and had a minimum of 50% of their players coming from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. There were 12 teams in attendance in total, with ‘Wings and Tings’ from Cardiff finishing the day as competition winners.
Ben Williams, Welsh Netball’s Head of Community Development said: “The first ever Unity Shield competition has been very successful with over 100 participants from a range of backgrounds getting involved in a fun day of netball.
“South Wales Police’s officers have worked very hard to recruit players and set up training sessions and the effort from teams today has reflected all the hard work that has been put into preparing for today’s competition.
“Today’s inclusive tournament really demonstrates the power of netball and shows how our sport can reach out to under-represented communities across Wales. It also shows the immense value that can be found in working in partnership with organisations outside of the sporting sector to deliver tangible benefits for Welsh communities.”
Welsh Netball would like to congratulate all of the teams for helping to make the Unity Shield such a success and thanks go to South Wales Police for their work and support in helping to make the event possible.