150 young netballers have been selected to compete in netball at the 2018 School Games National Finals – a national multi-sport event for the UK’s most talented school-age athletes taking place at Loughborough University from 30 August to 2 September.
Over 1,400 athletes will compete across 11 sports at the School Games, five of which include disability disciplines. This year the School Games has introduced four new sports (Canoeing & Rowing, Laser Run, Netball and Triathlon). The event will give many young people, across a variety of different sports, an experience of high-level competition in a multi-sport environment similar to an Olympic or Paralympic Games.
After England’s success at the Commonwealth Games and ahead of an exciting 12 months for the sport, with a World Cup to come on home soil in the summer of 2019, Netball comes to the School Games for the first time with plenty of momentum. This year’s event will feature 12 teams competing over three days of competition. All teams are Under-15 squads, with representation from eight Vitality Netball Superleague teams, plus London Pulse, Yorkshire and home nations Netball Scotland and Netball Northern Ireland.
The competition will feature four stages, the first two will see four groups of three teams playing in single round robins and final positions will determine the groupings for the next stage of the competition. Stage three will feature three groups of four teams, where groups one and two will be battling for standings to play in placing matches for position’s 1-8, whilst group three will be competing for 9-12. Stage four will be a final placing game for each team to determine the final positions for the competition.
At the event, the UK’s brightest young athletes will experience the excitement of competing at the highest level, living in a dedicated Athletes’ Village on the Loughborough University campus, taking part in a School Games ceremony and performing in front of huge crowds of spectators.
“The School Games National Finals provide a great opportunity for talented young athletes,” says Ali Oliver, Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Sport Trust. “Competitors get a real taste of what it’s like to be part of a world-class sporting event at the amazing sporting venues of Loughborough University, and the event is a great way to see our future sporting champions in action today.”
The 2018 School Games is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and Home Country Sports Councils and is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust.
Tickets for the event are available now, at https://www.schoolgamesfinals.org/buy-tickets/
