Felsted U19s have secured their place in the National Netball Finals for the first time!

On a cold Exeat Saturday morning, the U19 team arrived at Stanborough School for the East Region round of the School National competition.

The tournament began with a tight game against The Perse, where the girls managed to shake off the early nerves and secure their first win, 7-5.

Next they faced a new opposition, Samuel Whitbread Academy, where the girls excelled themselves and won 17-4. By this time the whole squad had taken the court and had shown their excellent netball skills. 

In Game 3 they faced a well-known Norwich School and with a solid start managed to win 15-3. The girls were giving a masterclass in how to score goals! 

The penultimate game was against The Bishop's Stortford High School, who were also unbeaten and joint top of the pool. This game was the deciding game to see who would be placed top. It was the most challenging game so far and the girls were pushed to the limit with a hard fought 15-12 win.

The final game was against Royal Hospital School and a win was needed to place 1st in the pool. The first half was tight and with a few position swaps and an 8 goal scoring at the end of the match, the girls managed to secure a 15-8 win, finishing them in the best position leading into the semi finals.

The Semi Final was against a local rival, Framlingham. The girls walked onto the court confident and the whistle for the semi blew. 

There were some tight moments where they were goal for goal and it was a nail-biter to the end, but as the hooter sounded Felsted jumped for joy with a win of 11-9, securing a place at the National Finals (the top 18 schools in the country) for the first time ever.

The last challenge of the East Region Final was against a strong looking St Edmunds, who were also unbeaten and it was set to be a good final. Sadly it wasn’t our final to win, and a few late game turnovers meant the girls lost 9-16 against a well executed opposition. 

The team, captained by Holly Earl, demonstrated great skills on the netball court and were all exceptional teammates to each other. They were great ambassadors for Felsted and should all be very proud of their amazing achievement. Thank you to the parent contingent who were great supporters of the team on the day.

We now look forward to the School Nationals on March 14th.

A big well done to the team: Holly E, Fiora M, Caitlin B, Harriet W, Elise B, Charlotte G, Poppy T, Annabel H, Rose S, Clemmie D
Thank you to the coaches: Lindsay Keable & Lucy Barrett