Sporting girls net a generous windfall

BLACKPOOL 08-03-16
Players celebrate as YMCA have secured a Â£500 start-up grant for a junior netball team, for children in school years three to eight. — BLACKPOOL 08-03-16 Players celebrate as YMCA have secured a Â£500 start-up grant for a junior netball team, for children in school years three to eight.

The Ansdell YMCA Netball Club in Ansdell encourages children aged five to 16 to put down their smartphones and take part in good, old fashioned exercise with their friends.

Lee Denton, 32, who manages Ansdell YMCA, decided to apply for the £500 grant with kit suppliers Netball UK after witnessing the dedication of his young students.

He said: “We had a lot of interest in a netball club because we have the facilities here and we decided to put it out there. A few young girls were interested and from there it has blown up to about 20 consistent members and 40 names in the books.

“They keep coming back for more. It makes sure they get a good workout and they enjoy it.

“Our netball coach worked for Myerscough College in the past and they put us in touch with Netball UK. I sent them my pitch and gave them a call and we were on our way.”

Thanks to the grant, the club was able to splash out on fancy new equipment, including new netball posts, match balls, and proper team uniforms.

They are now looking forward to taking on other netball teams competitively with the help of their dedicated coach Dawn Quinlivan.

Mr Denton said: “We have a long way to go to get recognised throughout the Fylde coast and I hope we can continue to provide netball lessons to boys and girls in the area. Obviously we are working on starting lessons for over-16s which will happen around Easter time.

“I think netball is a great sport. It’s competitive and requires skill, and I think it’s a superb way of getting a lot of people back into doing exercise.”