Mixed Netball Nationals Inspires King’s Teachers

On Saturday 27th August and Sunday 28th August two of our teachers, Mr Blakemore and Ms Herdman, took part in the England Men’s and Mixed Netball Nationals at Loughborough University.

The England Men’s and Mixed Netball National Association hosted 24 teams in two competitions, in this their X year of mixed national netball. Group matches were played on the Saturday, followed by play-offs on the Sunday. The Groups ranged from long established mixed teams to recently formed ones. A large number of ex-Super League, current Super League, and International players took part in the event, which was streamed live on Sideline TV with commentary provided by the QTR Time Podcast.

At the tournament Mr Blakemore played for the South West Hawks while Ms Herdman, a current Super League Seven Stars and England Mixed International player, represented the England Invitational Team. Both Members of staff enjoyed playing in a tough but rewarding tournament.

Ms Herdman commented on her experience playing mixed netball, as a Super League Netballer,“The nature of a mixed event and the variety of high standards provided challenge and opportunity.”

Inspired by their experience playing at the Nationals, Mr Blakemore and Ms Herdman have now launched a weekly mixed netball session for our Sixth Form students, with the aim of encouraging more engagement in mixed netball.

Mr Blakemore commented, “We hope that by raising the profile of mixed netball we can encourage more young people to explore this as a pathway into sports.”

Staff and students enjoyed their first session last week, which was well attended and offered a fantastic opportunity for our Sixth Form students of all netballing abilities. The plan is that this will extend into the younger year groups throughout the academic year.

Mixed sports teams have become more popular at King’s over the last few years with girls and boys having the opportunity to play together in a range of sports including Netball, Hockey, Tag-Rugby and Cricket.