As soon as Runcorn Netball Club, formerly Sandymoor Swans, had finished taking part in the 2023 Look Good Feel Better Charity Netball Tournament, they knew they had to sign up again for 2024.
“I’d literally been checking the website like every month for ages just waiting for it [the 2024 event] to be announced,” admits club secretary Jenny. “We were so eager to come back.”
From the surprise opportunity to play on the same team as the Vitality Roses’ 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning captain Ama Agbeze and getting top tips from Future Rose Millie Sanders to the off-court atmosphere, the club couldn’t recommend it more to others.
“There was a real kind of community team spirit at the event itself,” added Rachel. “Obviously, it’s competitive in nature when you’re on the court but in terms of the support between all the teams, there was a lot of camaraderie.
“It was a really good environment and one of the nicer, if not the nicest tournament we’ve been to.”
And after registrations open, Runcorn Netball Club were one of the first names on the list for the much-anticipated fifth year of the event on Sunday 17 March 2024 at the University of Warwick Sports & Wellness Hub.
The tournament, in partnership with England Netball, sees like-minded teams from across the UK battle it out on the courts whilst also raising funds and awareness for the cancer support charity, Look Good Feel Better.
“[Taking part] came about through one of our players, Anna Bolton,” explained Jenny. “Her friend Danielle had cancer and she’d been to one of the workshops that Look Good Feel Better ran.
“From that, Anna heard about the netball tournament so we said, well, let’s enter a team and let’s raise as much money as possible for this brilliant cause.
“Anna spearheaded most of the fundraising that we did last year. We did a raffle, we did scratch cards, we went out asking for donations and we had a lot of support from local businesses.”
To date, the tournament has raised over £140,000 since its inception in 2017 which has enabled the charity to provide its support for over 2,500 people living with cancer.
Thanks to their teamwork, spirit and creativity, Runcorn Netball Club were the top fundraisers in 2023 totalling over £1,600 and are now determined to beat that in 2024.
Find out more about everything Look Good Feel Better do here.
