Goals make all the difference at netball finals

The last few weeks have seen the culmination of the annual South Cambs High 5’s Netball Leagues with a record breaking 57 teams taking part in two divisional rounds at their local secondary school before qualifying for one of three finals nights; The A Team Shield, A Team Plate or B Team Fianls.

Sixteen primary schools competed in the last of the three finals, the A Team Shield which was held at Impington Village College on Thursday 27th April. At stake was the title of South Cambs Champions 2017 and a chance to qualify for the county finals, where the top four schools on the night would go forward to represent the South Cambs area and take on the best school teams from across Cambridgeshire.

The schools were split into four pools, with each team playing all of their rivals within that group to determine whether they qualified into Division 1, 2, 3 or 4 for the next round of matches. The teams from Coton and Linton Heights both won all of their group matches on their way to qualifying for Division 1 where they were joined by Steeple Morden and Pendragon schools.

The final matches were closely contested with an extremely high standard of netball on display. Three teams finished the division with 2 wins from 3 games but with 1 more point and a superior goal difference it was Coton Primary that claimed the winners shield and the title of South Cambs Champions 2017. Linton Heights finished as runners up with Pendragon in 3rd and Steeple Morden 4th. All four of these teams now go forward to represent South Cambs SSP at the County Finals on Thursday 6th July.

Oakington Primary School who finished 5th overall received a special ‘Spirit of the Games’ award for their great team spirit, their support of one another and the respect they showed to the umpires and opposition.

The A Team Plate final is for those teams who finish in the lower half of their local league and was established to make sure all schools get the opportunity to compete in a finals night. Played earlier in the week at Comberton Village College this featured 13 teams with The Vine, Melbourn, Burrough Green and Meldreth the four teams making it through to the top division. Again it went down to goal difference with Meldreth coming out on top having scored more goals than The Vine who finished as runners up.

The B team final was played before the Easter holidays on a lovely sunny afternoon at Impington Village College with 18 schools taking part. Winners of this competition were Barton Primary who won Division 1 outright with 2 wins and a draw separating them from runners up Swavesey.

Partnership Manager, Claire McDonnell said, “Our annual High 5 Netball League is our most popular competition of the year with a record number of 57 teams from 32 schools taking part in the league rounds this year, it really does just get bigger and better. The standard of netball in the A team shield finals this year was exceptional, I don’t think I have seen primary school netball played to such a high standard.

The children really enjoy the opportunity to represent their school in inter-school competition and it is nice for them to get the chance to play in the league rounds before experiencing one of the finals nights which are played in a friendly yet competitive spirit. There is a nice atmosphere and a real sense of occasion as parents gather to cheer on their children.

I must thank Impington and Comberton Village Colleges for hosting the finals nights and of course our amazing sports leaders who gave up their time to help umpire all of the matches and manage the score table. They really did an outstanding job this year. We always have a core group of leaders from the host schools but this year we were delighted to have young umpires join us from Bassingbourn, Cambourne, St Bedes and Swavesey Village Colleges as well as members of our County Young Coach Academy. Its great of them to give up their evenings and to volunteer their time in support of events such as this, I’ve said it before but we really couldn’t run competitions like this without them.”

Anyone wanting to play more netball can sign up to one of the May half term camps being run by South Cambs District Council at Impington Sports Centre. Further details here. Or why not check out the list of local junior netball clubs which can be found on the South Cambs SSP website here.