12 teams are ready to go head-to-head at the Under 15 National Academies Tournament 2023 which will be contested on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 August at the University of Wolverhampton (Walsall Campus).
Franchise Academy athletes from Manchester Thunder, Saracens Mavericks, North East Phoenix, London Pulse, Severn Stars, Central Warriors, Team Bath, Leeds Rhinos, Surrey Storm and Loughborough Lightning, as well as invited teams Scotland and Wales, will compete for the title.
The tournament replaces the School Games for 2023 to ensure that the U15 age group don’t miss out on a competitive opportunity and will offer more than just on-court action with educational workshops on key topics being run to support everyone’s development on and beyond the court.
2023 will be the second time that England Netball has hosted such an event. Back in 2019, Manchester Thunder triumphed in the inaugural U15 event, formerly known as the U15 Netball Performance Competition, as they overcame Surrey Storm with a dynamic 37-18 display in the final.
The North West side were also the victors in last season’s School Games, beating London Pulse 38-16 in the final, so will be out to continue their winning streak.
How the competition works
Over the weekend, 36 games will take place across four phases of competition.
To begin, the 12 teams will be split into four sections – Section A, Section B, Section C and Section D – for the first phase on day one.
Matches between Manchester Thunder and Saracens Mavericks, and Team Bath and Leeds Rhinos will get proceedings underway at 9:00am.
Once all sides have played their opening two games, teams will be regrouped – Group U, Group V, Group W and Group X – based on their results for phase two in the afternoon.
After an action-packed first day of competition, teams’ final placings within their phase two groups will decide Sunday’s fixtures.
The winners from Groups U-X will compete in the semi-finals while the others will battle it out to decide their final ranking.
The final and third-place play-off will take place at 14:40 on Sunday before the presentation at 15:30.
How to follow the action
All the action will be streamed live on Joymo with passes to watch the full weekend just £7.99.
England Netball’s X account will bring you updates at key points in the competition, e.g. at the end of each phase, both days. You can also follow each team’s accounts.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the event from an officiating perspective, follow EN Officiating on Instagram.
For further information, including all the fixtures and results over the weekend, visit the U15 National Academies Tournament page.
