Wales Netball
September 20, 2019
Wales have named their squad ahead of the 2019 Netball Europe Open Championship taking place in Belfast on 27 to 29 September.
The twelve athletes heading to Northern Ireland are:
Lydia Hitchings, Chelsea Lewis, Georgia Rowe, Eleanor Roberts, Suzy Drane, Bethan Dyke, Clare Jones, Kyra Jones, Lucy Howells, Nia Jones, Christina Shaw and Leila Thomas.
Wales begin their weekend of European competition against hosts Northern Ireland on Friday 27 September at 4pm. On the Saturday they then take on last year’s champions England at midday with the last game being on Sunday against the Republic of Ireland at 10am. Scotland have decided not to participate in this year’s tournament.
There are plans to livestream the competition and information regarding this will be made available as soon as it is released.
Head coach Julie Hoornweg expressed her excitement ahead of the competition. She said: “Netball Europe is the premier international competition in the region and has been the focus of the team for many months.
“We have a team with youth and experience representing Wales. A team that embraces netball – ‘the Welsh way’ and continues to advance their skills and abilities in the quest for high performance.
“Excellence both on and off the court will be the hallmark of this team – united and valued for their culture and performance.”
Rachel Bayley, Welsh Netball’s Head of Performance added her thoughts ahead of the tournament: “I would like to congratulate the squad on their selection for the 2019 Netball Europe Open Championships. I would also like to thank the wider long squad for all of their hard work in training over the last few weeks.
“After the highs of this summer’s successes against Malawi, Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada the Wales senior squad have refused to be complacent and have been hard at work ahead of this year’s European competition. Returning to the world’s top ten was a fantastic reward for the squad and management’s work this year and the team is looking for further success this autumn.
“England’s new-look squad will provide a stern challenge, while hosts Northern Ireland will be battle-hardened after the World Cup. We also look forward to facing the Republic of Ireland for the first time in a while, in what promises to be a great weekend of netball. I wish the team the best of luck!”
