Success at Sussex Netball National Schools Round

For the fourth year running, all three of Hurst’s Senior School netball teams have qualified for the National Schools competition regional rounds after impressive performances at the Sussex round.

U14

The National Schools Sussex round is always a tough one for the U14 team, not only because of the lack of training opportunities due to the busy hockey term, but the time to create a team is limited. However, our U14 team worked extremely hard in the run-up to the day with fitting in lots of ‘friendlies’ and a lot of practice during their spare time.

The day started on a high with the U14s winning against Ardingly 11-0. This was a great start to the day and the spirits were up, starting as they meant to go on. The team was extremely consistent throughout the day, winning against Cardinal Newman 7-1, Burgess Hill Girls 7-2, and Downlands 5-2. After each game, the girls were more focused and determined, producing further excellent wins of 14-3 against Eastbourne and an amazing 15-0 against Worth.

The superb efforts of the day led the team to the semi-finals against Brighton Girls, where again they did not disappoint and stole the game 13-4 placing them into the finals against Seaford. The team knew it would be a tough game against Seaford, as they had lost against them a couple of weeks prior. Both teams played a great game, however Hurst was determined and won the game 9-4, securing 1^st place for the Sussex Round!

The girls put on an impressive display throughout the day, with a total of 59 goals through their competitors’ nets, yet they only conceded 8. This achievement was thoroughly deserved.

U16

The U16 team consisted of players from the U15 and U16 teams who hadn’t played together much before the tournament and were aware of the high-quality teams who they were due to play throughout the day. This did not prevent the team from giving their all.

The first few games proved how determined the U16 team was with them defeating Seaford 16-6, Bedes 27-2, Cardinal Newman 26-1, and Brighton Girls 10-5. Brighton College followed which the team knew would be a tough game for them. Both teams put on a fantastic display of netball, with Hurst continuing their winning streak with a score of 14-11.

After a successful 5 out of 10 games, the team was more motivated and raring to take on the next set of competitors. Hurst continued to win the following four games, beating Ardingly 11-5, Warden Park 16-7, Lancing College 14-2, and Roedean 14-7. What a phenomenal accomplishment.

Burgess Hill Girls were the final game of the day for the team, which proved to be the hardest of the day. However, with some fantastic shooting and a vital defensive performance, the team won 13-12! All players took to the court and gave it their all with all 10 matches, not losing a game!

1^st VII

As always, the 1^st VII team knew that it would be a challenge but despite this, the girls were up for a great day and excited to be playing some competitive netball. Most girls had competed in the National Finals for the past two years, so the confidence was high.

Like the rest of the teams, the 1^st VII started as they meant to go on, with the strong defence not conceding any goals winning 13-0 against Lancing College and 14-0 against Seaford. After a successful start, the girls proceeded to play exceptionally well, winning against Eastbourne 17-4, Worthing 14-6, and Ardingly 11-3. There were some stand-out performances by all squad members, particularly in the Worthing game, who were the competition favourites.

This took Hurst to the final game against Brighton College, which they knew would be tough. Despite giving a good game, Hurst fell short of the win 5-7. This was the only loss of the day, but it didn’t dampen the team’s spirits as they had already qualified for the regional rounds! The team is now looking forward to the netball term and the regional round after Christmas.