IC Powder Coaters Ltd partner with Netball Northern Ireland U17 Athlete

As we are in the midst of a busy domestic season we are delighted to announce a new supporter of Netball NI and local metal powder coating business IC Powder Coaters Ltd.

A long-standing advocate of Northern Ireland sport IC Powder Coaters Ltd is expanding its portfolio of support, becoming a partner of one of Netball NI’s U17 athletes, Marleigh Coster as she prepares to compete in the U17 European Championships.

IC Powder Coaters Ltd, established in 1985, is a significant Northern Ireland supplier of powder coating services. With a commitment to quality, quick and reliable turnaround times and competitive pricing – made possible by their highly cost-efficient operation, their focus on customer service has ensured a loyal customer base with glowing testimonials.

Ivor Carter, IC Powdew Coaters Ltd

We are delighted to support Netball Northern Ireland, and in particular the U17’s group, who are working hard to prepare for their European Championships. We are passionate about encouraging girls to be active and healthy, embracing competition and look forward to supporting netballers within this age group as they begin their national representation journey.

Helen Stirling, Chair of Netball Northern Ireland:

We are delighted to bring IC Powder Coating on board as a Netball NI partner. Netball in Northern Ireland is growing in profile and increasing our relationships with new industries will support us as we work hard for further growth and exposure to our sport.

Now Recruiting U21 Team Manager

Netball NI are now recruiting for the position of U21 Team Manager.

Check out the job description below for more information on this exciting role.

Deadline to apply is 22 January 2024 at 12 noon.

To apply, please send CV and Covering Letter to Meg Wallace at performancecoordinator@netballni.org

NNI U21 Team Manager Job Description

Under 21 Coaching Team Appointed

Netball Northern Ireland are delighted to announce the appointment of our U21 Coaching Team that will prepare the squad for the upcoming World Youth Cup Qualifiers in September. 

Sachel Grant, will lead the management team as Head Coach, with Lisa Bowman taking up the Assistant Coach role. 

Sachel, will be known to many with her extensive experience at Netball Superleague Franchise, Saracens Mavericks. As Mavericks Pathway Lead for seven years and U21 Head Coach for four years, Sachel brings a wealth of knowledge to the role and an understanding of the programme required to support and develop athletes and teams at this stage in the performance pathway to achieve success and provide longevity and sustainability. 

Lisa, no stranger to anyone in Netball in NI, will be supporting Sachel as Assistant Coach alongside a new role for our performance programme in Northern Ireland, as National Technical Coach. This will include working alongside the Warriors Coaching team as well as across the underage pathway in her specialist capacity.  

The appointments align fully with the Warriors Vision that has been created by our senior squad and management team; 

  • Legacy – To inspire and pave the way for those aspiring to be a Warrior, as well those pioneering to grow the game in NI.  
  • Visibility – Celebrating the success of the Warriors pathway & Netball in NI together, as well as increasing our voice amongst the world’s best. 
  • Warriors – Built with Heart, Play with Grit 

Sachel is an excellent coach and person who I have no doubt will continue to drive the U21 programme forward in 2024. With the World Youth Cup Qualifiers in September this year, Sachel’s experience working in this age group will be paramount to the success of the group.  

I am really excited to develop the Technical Coach role with Lisa who will sit in the vital assistant coach role with the U21 group alongside Sachel, as well as delivering in the Warriors environment. Lisa’s knowledge and continual passion for the development of the Warriors is infectious and I cannot wait to continue to see her grow on the international scene.

I look forward to working with the coaches with the same drive of developing our future senior Warrior athletes.

Sheonah Forbes – Warriors Head Coach

We wish the coaches the best of luck as they begin the new programme and know our Netball Family here in Northern Ireland and beyond, will be behind them. 

Northern Ireland U15 Academy Squads

The Northern Ireland U15 Academy is made up of 72 athletes across 4 different regions.

These squads are training towards a set of competition days in February that will end with one region being the Academy winner.

Congratulations to the selected athletes for this year’s Academies.

Netball Northern Ireland Warriors Selection

A squad of 15 Warriors have been selected for December’s Test series vs ROI Emeralds.

Sheonah Forbes, NI Warriors Head Coach

“I cannot wait for my first test series with the squad, especially with it being on home soil. We have been really busy since I have come into the position of NI Warriors Head Coach and the squad has been progressing well. It will be great to get out there and see the squad on court against our neighbours.” 

Karen Rollo-Stewart, NNI Executive Manager

“I cannot wait to see our Warriors back on court in a home test series. The work behind the scenes from the entire squad, management and performance team has been phenomenal, with huge commitment and buy in from everyone to drive the Warriors forward both on court and off. It will be great to see them do what they love, and we are thrilled to be competing against our close neighbours, ROI Emeralds, who have been putting out some incredible performances over the last 12months.” 

Warriors Squad: 

Name  Club/Franchise   Court Area 
Niamh Cooper  Leeds Rhinos/Eagles NC  Mid Court 
Ciara Crosbie  Oldham NC  Circle Attack 
Frances Keenan  Belfast Ladies NC  Mid Court 
Emma Magee  Leeds Rhinos/The Downs NC  Circle Attack 
Michelle Magee  Leeds Rhinos/Grangetown NC  Circle Defence 
Evelyn McCagherty  Central Warriors/Weston Park Blades NC  Mid Court 
Georgie McGrath  Kingsway NC  Circle Attack 
Caroline O’Hanlon (C)   Leeds Rhinos/Larkfield NC  Mid Court 
Orlaith Rogers  Sirens Development/Northumbria University  Circle Attack 
Fionnuala Toner  Belfast Ladies NC  Circle Defence 
Lauren Walshe  Belfast Ladies NC  Circle Defence 
Maria McCann*  Belfast Ladies NC  Circle Defence 
Lisa Carlin**  Northeast Pheonix/Northumbria University  Circle Defence 
Reserve: Olivia McCloskey  Kingsway NC  Circle Attack 
Reserve: Orla McGeough  University of Liverpool  Mid Court 

*Maria McCann will be selected for the 12 in Test 1 and reserve for Test 2 

**Lisa Carlin will be selected for the 12 in Test 2 and reserve for Test 1 

Management

Head Coach: Sheonah Forbes 

Assistant Coach: Debbie Bleakley 

Team Manager: Beth Healy 

Donate now to our performance squads!

Netball NI is registered charity and thanks to the new enthuse platform, it has never been easier to support our performance squads.

Whether you want to support your sister, aunt, coach, or friend…you can do it now, by simply clicking the link below!

Donation Links
U17 https://netballni.enthuse.com/donatetoNNIU17s
U19 https://netballni.enthuse.com/donatetoNNIU19s
U21 https://netballni.enthuse.com/donatetoNNIU21s
Warriors https://netballni.enthuse.com/donatetoNNIWarriors
Netball NI https://netballni.enthuse.com/donatetoNNI

Netball NI Welcome new Board Directors

Welcome to our new Board Directors

The Summer months saw the Board undertake and complete a thorough recruitment process as they sought to strengthen the performance expertise on the Netball NI Board. We are delighted to announce, that following a successful process, the Board have appointed 2 new Directors, commencing their tenures in September 2023. Shirley McCay takes up the position of Performance Pathway Director and Roisin Murphy the role of High Performance Director.

Joining current Directors;

Helen Stirling (Chair)

Richard Bullick (co opt)

Jade Blair

Jasmine Bennett

Steven Mills

Lisa Venney

Both Directors are household names in the Northern Ireland sports arena, with extensive knowledge and experience in female, team sports across the pathways and into elite performance. Each having attended multiple European and World Championships as well as the Tokyo Olympics as either an athlete or leading the support services teams.

Shirley McCay

From 2007-2021 McCay, was part of the Senior Women’s hockey team, retiring with a record holding, 315 International caps. An inspirational athlete who has the lived experience of progressing in performance sport in NI with the understanding of the challenges and opportunities alike. This, along with her 10 years leading the Ulster Hockey talent programme for boys and girls, makes her the ideal person for Netball NI as we progress the recommendations for our performance pathway programme and infrastructure from the recent performance review.

Shirley McCay

‘‘I am delighted to join the board of Netball NI with a specific focus on performance supporting and leading on the pathway for young athletes. I hope I can add value to an already experienced Board, and am really looking forward to getting started.’

 

 Roisin Murphy

Currently Head Physio at the centralised and professional women’s XV Irish Rugby programme at the IRFU, Murphy comes with a wealth of experience having previously led support services for the Irish Women’s Hockey team as they qualified for and competed in the Tokyo Olympics. Prior to this she was part of the inaugural management team at Strathclyde Sirens while also working with the Scottish Thistles. Having implemented strategies across each sport to ensure the holistic health of multiple athletes and teams to support elite performances, Murphy will play an integral role in the High-Performance area of the business.

Roisin Murphy

‘I am delighted to be joining the board of directors at Netball NI as a high-performance specialist. I have always had a passion for driving success of women in sport, especially in Ireland. I have followed the success a small nation like NI has had in netball on the international stage for some time, and more recently been impressed and excited by the steps forward Netball NI has made around high performance and pathway strategy. I’ve worked in Women’s sport at an elite level for many years and hope I can bring my experiences of Olympic sports and other into this role. I am very excited to see what the future holds for NI netball and be a part of the ‘strongest together’ mantra.’

 

Helen Stirling, Chair Netball NI

‘We were delighted with the calibre of applications we received for our vacant Board positions especially at a time with so many Board opportunities open within the sporting landscape in NI. With a need for a clear focus and drive to implement and monitor the performance recommendations, the experience of both Roisin and Shirley in these areas is a huge addition to our Board team. Their professional knowledge of the performance sporting landscape both in NI and beyond will serve to ensure we not only deliver on the recommendations but that we continue to push forward in the performance environment.  I am thrilled to welcome both Shirley and Roisin to the Board and know they will enjoy being a part of the restructured NNI team.

We are sure our members join us in welcoming them and wish them well in their roles.

Netball NI at World Netball Congress by Netball NI Executive Manager, Karen Rollo

World Netball Congress is traditionally held once every two years, coinciding with the World Cup and the World Youth Cup; the two major competition events hosted by World Netball in the four year cycle and where many of the member nations are already in attendance.

Netball NI were represented at World Netball Congress by Chair of the Netball NI Board, Helen Stirling and Executive Manager, Karen Rollo. Northern Ireland also held the proxy vote for our neighbours, Ireland Netball.

World Netball Congress is a face to face formal meeting of the members of World Netball where the World Netball Board and secretariate report on the operational and strategic objectives of the business and where key decisions are discussed and voted on by the membership.

These include; elected members of the World Netball Board, financial management, rules of the game, strategic direction, event locations etc. Sitting within the Europe Netball region, it’s important to represent the views and opinions that will not only support Northern Ireland in our growth and performance, but also that of our region as we collaborate to build a solid and sustainable structure for our sport to reach new participation and performance heights.

 

World Netball Congress Highlights

1.    Reconnecting with those who do our roles across the world, sharing highlights and positive steps within each of our businesses and being able to offer and receive support around the challenges we are facing, which more often than not are actually very similar, if on differing scales.

2.    Being selected as a ‘go to’ country to support World Netball as they launch and work through the role and remit of their charitable arm and foundation. Netball NI have been a front runner in this aspect having gone through this process following our governance review in 2014.

3.    Advancing our collective performance aims with the Home Nations and creating an operational plan to deliver a new competition series with a clear event strategy and purpose to be realised.

4.    Commercial meeting with key partners as we seek to grow our profile and market value products

5.    Re-election of Dame Liz Nicolas President of World Netball for another 4 years.

6.    Being witness to and hearing the stories of the Service Award Winners with their astounding commitment and dedication to multiple roles within our sport.

7.    Seeing the joy our sport brings to so many and the lifelong friendships that have been built across athletes, coaches, administrators and officials

Changes within World Netball

1.    Previous online Congress members voted to amend the articles to enable more independence on the World Netball Board. This Congress saw the approval of 2 recruited Board members, in the Finance and Athlete Director roles, Suri Bartlett and Stacey Francis-Bayman respectively.

2.    Rules changes  – Following a 12 month consultation process the WN Rules Advisory Panel presented proposed changes to Congress, which following an additional meeting outside of Congress for further clarity, were voted in favour by members.

3.    Launch of Foundation – experienced and knowledgeable trustees were recruited who launched the foundation and have begun consultation with members to determine needs and support available.

4.    Change to bid process for major events.

5.    CEO is beginning process to recruit successor after 10 years in post.

 

Cape Town Highlights

A full day of travelling to get there is totally worth it! A vibrant, multicultural city that fully embraced hosting the World Cup, the people were friendly and extremely welcoming.

From Table Mountain to the Waterfront with Robben Island, Vineyards to Game Drives, the city and its suburbs, offer a host of activities that are affordable for visitors and give insight to the history of the region.

Having visited in the South African Winter, it was pretty chilly and wet, but thankfully on the day we took the Cable Car to the top of Table Mountain, there were clear skies and we got to experience the amazing panoramic views of the city and marina landscape below.

A trip to be remembered and one I hope to take again.

World Cup Competition Highlights

In a stadium of 5000 seats, the compact nature only enhanced the atmosphere in the main arena, which when an African team was playing took the noise to another level! Barely a seat sat in throughout those matches with singing, dancing and cheering at every pass.

Widely promoted as the most open WC for years, it really did not disappoint and while we have ultimately seen Australia take another title, the disappointment felt by those who ran them close, shows just how far the sport has come. With the largest broadcast deal for any netball event, the performances of the teams on court delivered the calibre and contest the viewers were hoping for and it was a privilege to see these athletes perform at their peak.

Next up, is the World Youth Cup being held in Gibraltar in 2025 when we hope to be cheering our NI U21’s!

In summary, World Netball Congress, like many clubs and indeed our own AGM, can be admin heavy and appear daunting with so many people in the room that you are not quite sure how things will go – but one thing that happens in all our settings, the people present love our sport and are passionate about driving it forward and helping others to see and experience all the things we love about our game.

It is hugely empowering and rewarding to be surrounded by people from all over the world who value what we all do and understand the various situations we all find ourselves in whether they be positive or challenging! Each of us have a network we call our own ‘Netball Family’, World Congress is absolutely an extension of that and a valuable one that Netball Northern Ireland will continue to attend, both to support their work and voice opinions on matters that impact us and the place of our sport in NI and the World platform.

Northern Ireland Netball Warriors Long Squad & Emerging Warriors Announced!

Northern Ireland is thrilled to announce the athletes selected for the new cycle of NI Warriors Long Squad.

After a period of uncertainty while completion of the recruitment process for the new Head Coach was completed, (Read more about Sheonah Forbes, new Warriors Head Coach here) we were delighted with the response to trials. A significant number of athletes registered and left an indelible mark on the court.

The trials were designed to assess the athletes’ skills and potential thoroughly. A full day of movement, skills, and match play allowed the selection panel to evaluate the candidates’ abilities in a variety of scenarios. After careful consideration, 15 talented individuals were selected to form the core of the Northern Ireland Netball Warriors Squad. Furthermore, the opportunity to expand the squad to 18 remains open, as there are still nine registered athletes who are yet to be evaluated.

In addition to the Long Squad, a group of seven outstanding athletes has been chosen as the ‘Emerging Warriors.’ These individuals demonstrated exceptional potential during the trials and will receive specialised support through focused training sessions. The Emerging Warriors will have the opportunity to train alongside the full Warrior group, providing them with valuable experience and exposure to the highest level of play.

Northern Ireland Netball is excited about the future and the potential this talented group of athletes brings to the team as we build into a new cycle of netball and aim to perform on the world stage. With the Long Squad finalised and the possibility of expanding it in the near future, the coaching staff is optimistic about the success that lies ahead. Congratulations once again to all the athletes who have been selected, and we look forward to witnessing your growth and accomplishments on and off the court.