On Sunday 15 April, teams from across West Wales gathered at University of Wales Trinity St David, Carmarthen, to participate in the West Wales Regional Tournament for the Under 15, 13 and 11 age groups. The winners and runners up from each age group would win a place at the National Competitions and a chance for all-Wales glory!
On the day it was a strong showing from the Carmarthenshire teams. In the under 15 category, Merlins (pictured) came first and Ammanford won a nail-biting final game by one goal to grab second spot. Indeed, the Merlins made a clean sweep by winning all three competitions, with Kidwelly taking the runners-up spot in the Under 13s and Morganite placing second in the Under 11s category.
Mel Msarshalsey, coach of Choas Under 15s from Haverfordwest spoke a bit about her team’s journey to the tournament. She said: “They’ve not played together long, some have had a couple of seasons and for others its their first year. They’ve gelled really well and they haven’t lost any league games – their only defeat was a golden goal against Narberth in the Pembrokeshire league final. Last year they played in the Carmarthenshire summer league and they really developed as a result.”
Hannah Pick, Netball Development Officer for Mid & West Wales was pleased with how the tournament went. She said: “It was a brilliant day of netball in Carmarthen with teams from across the west of Wales coming together to compete, with over 150 players involved throughout the day. I would like to thank the participants, officials, volunteers and parents/guardians for helping to make it all possible. Best of luck to the qualifiers who will represent West Wales at the upcoming national competitions.”
Wales Netball now eagerly anticipates the Under 15, 13 and 11 National Competitions to be held at the following venues on the following dates:
Under 15s – 12 May at Bangor University
Under 13s – 19 May at Cardiff House of Sport
Under 11s – 20 May at Cardiff House of Sport