In the May half term, 49 girls from Years 7-9 travelled to Spain and Gibraltar for the Eltham Netball Tour, the first abroad girls’ sport tour in Eltham College history! We were very fortunate to have two days of fixtures arranged against Gibraltar Netball whom many of their players go on to compete internationally representing Gibraltar in Netball Europe competitions. The netball courts we played on were located right next to the famous Victoria Stadium, home to Gibraltar’s national football team. The standard of netball on display was fantastic and it was a very even match up in terms of ability which allowed for some exciting games, with Eltham College winning four out of six matches on both days.
The U12As scored the most goals across all teams, with 43 successful shots in a 40-minute game, winning both of their matches with ease. The U12Bs made an impressive comeback after a narrow loss in their first fixture to come out with a strong performance, resulting in win, in their second. After a comfortable win on the first fixture day, the U13As played the oppositions’ age group above in the second round and narrowly missed out on the win by two goals – the noise in the building from both sets of supporters was electric! The U13Bs put on a great display of netball saving their best performance until last, coming out with an impressive win after going down in the first quarter. The U14As solidified attacking and defensive units resulting in outstanding levels of play, winning both their matches and the approval of some Gibraltar Netball coaches. Finally, the U14Bs, despite narrowly losing their matches, displayed some of their best netball to date which leaves them in a good position heading into next season. Win or lose, the girls had some very proud coaches of whom all agreed that this was by far the best netball we have seen them play and most importantly, the girls thoroughly enjoyed their playing experience and learnt huge amounts.
Off the netball court, the girls got a taste of the Spanish culture, exploring Gibraltar, cruising out at sea with the dolphins, and racing down the slides at the Waterpark in Benalmádena. We very much look forward to more sports tours in the future as the girls’ sport and netball programme continues to grow and develop in the coming years!
