Team Leicestershire: Netball Finals

At the end of January, we held the Team Leicestershire Netball Finals night for Years 7, 8 and 10 at Loughborough University's Netball Centre.

All the teams in attendance had qualified for the finals by winning their local area competitions, before progressing through the county wide knock out stages to reach the finals. The winners on the night from each age group were then crowned county champions for 2023/24, receiving a trophy and medals. The runners-up were also awarded medals in recognition of their achievements. All teams were clearly inspired by playing at the home of Loughborough Lightning, as were all the spectators who attended to cheer them on!

The first final of evening saw the Year 7 finalists from Saint Martins and Lutterworth High take to the court, introduced by their team managers. In terms of scoreline, this was the closest match of the evening, with the lead changing hands on several occasions. Both teams played amazing netball and the game was a brilliant one to watch, it most certainly kept us all on the edge of our seats! As the match went into the final quarter Saint Martins built a slight advantage, and despite a fantastic effort Lutterworth couldn't quite pull it back. Congratulations to both teams for performing so well in the final.

Winners – Saint Martins Catholic Academy (14)

R/U – Lutterworth High (6)

Next up in the Year 8 final, Saint Martins again had qualified to represent Hinckley & Bosworth, this time their opponents were Loughborough High representing North Charnwood. Similarly to the Year 7 finals, the opening stages of the match were close, both teams scoring some great goals. The teams had clearly been training hard in the lead up to the final as there was some fantastic passing and receiving skills on show. As the game progressed, Loughborough High started to extend their lead, but to their immense credit Saint Martins didn't let their heads drop and showed great resilience and determination to keep battling throughout the game. Both teams should be very proud of the way they played, as well as the outstanding sportsmanship they demonstrated to each other and the umpires throughout the game.

Winners – Loughborough High (33)

R/U – Saint Martins (16)

Saint Martins made it a clean sweep of finals taking on the Oadby & Wigston qualifiers Gartree in the Year 10 final. Saint Martins started confidently, building a solid lead from the early stages. The shooting skills of the Saint Martins attacking players really stood out, it was really accurate and they were able to score from a variety of positions. The Gartree team demonstrated fantastic resilience throughout the final, continuing to play to the best of their ability against strong opposition. The togetherness of the Gartree really stood out, and they supported their team mates all the way to the final whistle. It was Saint Martins who refused to let go of their lead to be crowned champions for this age group.

Winners – Saint Martins (42)

R/U - Gartree (6)

A huge thanks go to everyone involved in making the night such a success. Particular thanks to Val & Kathy from the Leicestershire County Netball Association and their team of officials and volunteers, as well as Loughborough University for hosting us. Thank you to all the school staff for your hard working in getting the teams to the finals, and all the spectators who were there to support the players.

We hope everyone enjoyed the finals night and we will see you again soon at a future Team Leicestershire County Final event.

You can find the full photo album on our Facebook page.