On Wednesday 1 August, Wales Netball took part in National Play Day 2018 by hosting its netball inflatable at Active Merthyr’s sports village in Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil.
Active Merthyr, who are responsible for sports development in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, hosted a range of free sports activities for young people enjoying the school holidays. National Play Day occurs on the first Wednesday of every August and is aimed at encouraging and celebrating children’s right to play as recognised in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Play has a wide range of physical and emotional benefits and that was clear to see in the case of netball with just under 400 children taking part in the inflatable netball game.
Local resident, Alison Walter, mother of two keen little netballers enjoyed her time in the sports village. She said: “It has been a great afternoon out with the kids and free family activities like these are a blessing in the holidays. They loved the netball game it was definitely their favourite!”
Laura Rees, Netball Development Officer for the Central South region was pleased with how the day went. She said: “It was great to see hundreds of happy faces playing netball today. Activity days like these are so important, especially in areas which suffer from deprivation. They give young people a chance to experience new sports and see the range of opportunities available to them to stay active.
She added: “I would like to thank community coach Gemma Jones for her help running the inflatable today. She has helped us to run dozens of games for hundreds of children today!”