Manchester Thunder were crowned champions of the 2021 School Games National Finals after a thrilling competition took place at Loughborough University campus.
Thunder defeated Surrey Storm in a tense final on Sunday 5 September. They overcame their opposition by nine goals and were deservedly awarded gold medals after the full-time whistle.
Earlier in the day, Wasps secured a bronze medal. They defeated Loughborough Lightning in a tense third-place play-off with a scoreline of 20-23.
It was the first edition of the tournament in more than three years and featured 10 U15 teams including nine from Vitality Netball Superleague sides.
Proceedings got underway at 10am on Friday 3 September with our two finalists overseeing Severn Stars and Saracens Mavericks.
With all games being streamed on YouTube, fans were able to see several days of high-quality netball. At the end of the first day, it was Thunder and Storm who were on top of their respective groups.
Then it was time for the semi-finals. Thunder narrowly saw off Lightning by five goals while Storm defeated Wasps by eight.
The final was a thrilling encounter which saw Thunder go into half-time with just a two-goal lead. Their quality and resilience against a talented Storm side saw them over the line, however, eventually winning by nine.
The full 2021 School Games National Finals are as follows:
- Manchester Thunder
- Surrey Storm
- Wasps
- Loughborough Lightning
- London Pulse
- Team Bath
- Severn Stars
- Saracens Mavericks
- Leeds Rhinos
- North East
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