On Thursday 2 May, Wales Netball hosted its annual Primary Schools National Competition at Merthyr Tydfil. Fifteen primary school teams from across Wales who had made it through their respective regional qualifiers made their way down to Merthyr for an intense day of netball, hoping to make it into one of the four the semi-final spots.
Hundreds of children participated in at least seven games of netball throughout the day and there were some very closely contested games. In the end, Y Bont Faen Primary School (Vale of Glamorgan), Ysgol Gynradd Cwm Derwen (Caerphilly County), Howells (Cardiff) and West Park Primary School (Bridgend County) made it to the semi-finals, with one spot being decided on the narrowest of goals scored/conceded ratios.
In the semi-final between Y Bont Faen and Howells, it was the latter that won, 5-2 to book a final spot. Meanwhile Cwm Derwen beat West Park 9-5 to make it into the cup game.
The final was a very tightly contested affair. Despite conceding two early goals, on the full time whistle it was 2-2 as Cwm Derwen battled back. Extra time was called for and eventually, the Oakdale-based Cwm Derwen showed excellent clutch to score two unanswered goals and take the spoils. Likewise, the third-fourth play off also required extra time as West Park Primary School from Nottage won the consolation contest.
On winning, Amy, the Cwm Derwen captain said: “It’s amazing! We didn’t think we would get this far so to actually win is just amazing!”
Ms. Sullivan, Cwm Derwen HLTA who looked after the team on the day added: “Their spirit was fantastic and they’re such team players – even after losing their first game they bounced back and didn’t give up.”
Wales Netball would like to thank all of the teachers and school staff who prepared their teams for this year’s competition. All of the participants were excellent ambassadors for their schools. Wales Netball would also like to thank all of the day’s volunteers and umpires. Llongyfarchiadau i Ysgol Cwm Derwen!
