Guernsey Netball has secured another year of sponsorship with EY to support the Year 7-9 netball Programme.
Currently in its third year, the programme originally started with players from school years 7 and 8 participating and has grown to now include year 9 players. EY’s continued sponsorship of the programme further supports the continued growth ambitions for the GNA.
The programme takes place on Monday evenings and now hosts around 42 year 7s, 50 year 8 and 9s. Due to popular demand, an additional slot for the programme to run on Wednesday evenings, accommodating for another 16 players across the age groups, has been secured. This additional slot will run for 6 weeks.
This year also sees the launch of the EY Young Leaders programme within the sessions, where players can learn to umpire and coach in a safe and encouraging environment, improving their netball skills on and off the court. New for this year, the sessions will end with a 6-week summer league for all participants to show their skills in a competitive environment.
The GNA thanks EY for their ongoing support, providing the opportunity for students in years 7-9 to play more netball and welcome even more people into the sport. Many of the children who participate in the EY Year 7-9 Programme progress to playing club netball and a number of them have been selected into the Island squads at U12 and U14 for competitions this season.
There are a wonderful team of paid and volunteer coaches who help facilitate the programme and create an environment where children can learn new skills, build new friendships and have fun playing netball regardless of previous experience.
Sally Carns, GNA Director of Netball said: “Following a great uptake last season and positive feedback from children and parents, we are pleased to welcome back the EY GNA Year 7-9 Programme for its third season. It is with the support and help of EY that we are able to grow this fantastic youth programme year on year, and offer more opportunities to players in years 7-9 to play our wonderful sport and foster the lifelong love of netball we aim for in the GNA. The sessions continue to be popular with more and more demand for spaces, so we were delighted to be able to offer a second evening and clear some of our waitlists.”
Fiona Morton, Assurance Partner and Talent Leader for EY in Guernsey, concluded: “We are delighted to be continuing our sponsorship of the EY GNA Year 7-9 Programme. It’s been wonderful to see the programme grow year on year and offer so many children a chance to enjoy netball. The addition of the EY Young Leaders programme gives participants a great opportunity to further develop invaluable core skills, from leadership to teamwork and building resilience, all of which are so important both on and off the court.”
