Netball inter-insular to return in March after four-year break

Organisers have agreed on the weekend of 4 and 5 March for the 2023 inter-insulars, which will take place on Jersey soil and be the first edition of the usually annual spectacle since 2019.

After two editions tumbled to the Covid pandemic, late travel problems foiled plans for the comeback event that was supposed to take place this spring.

Guernsey Netball Association participation director Anna Trump is helping organise the event and knows how important it is for players to have a target.

‘We are all keen to get the fixture back up and running again,’ she said.

‘Netball in the island has only really picked up again this season from September.

‘As the GNA, we are in a transitional period and Jersey have a really solid set-up.

‘They will be really hard opponents, but it’s a fixture we love to play – we need to start again and this is a great opportunity to do that.’

Organisers are looking at staging up to eight matches across the age groups, ranging from under-11s to seniors – A and B – and veterans.

Several of the junior age groups have already begun training.

However, for the seniors, the hard work will resume after Christmas as players prepare for a return to representative action – which has been sorely lacking since the first lockdown – in a fairly short timeframe.

This includes the occasional fixture between players of different age categories, incorporated within the general Winter League structure.

‘We are pretty confident, as we’ve got five really good squads in the “Prem” [Premier Division], a lot of which are over 18,’ Trump added.

‘Even if we do not have a huge amount of training time, there are players that have been playing and training for years, so we are confident we can make something gel.’