Our Club:
Wattisham Blades NC was formed in 2012 by a small group of Army Wives based at Wattisham Station. It quickly grew into a successful club which accepts members from 4 to 104 by delivering Bee Netball, Back to Netball and Walking Netball as well as providing high quality weekly training by qualified Level 2 and Level 1 coaches. The club is open to everyone who wants to come and enjoy netball, meet new people and get some exercise. We also hold CAPS Bronze status with England Netball, demonstrating that we are officially a well-run club!
We used to train at Wattisham Station on a Thursday evening, however since the Global Coronavirus Pandemic and limited access to the indoor court, we have had to move to the outdoor courts at Needham Market Community Centre, IP6 8BB. From the end of September we have also had to change our training nights from Thursday to Monday starting 28th September.
We offer several sessions which are as follows:
6:30-7:30pm – 11 and under, following session plans from the Bee Netball programme recently introduced by England Netball to ensure fun and safe environment where all members can be included regardless of talent or ability
6:30-7:30pm – 11-14 year olds, progressing from the skills learnt in the younger group, our youth members start to develop further skills and understanding of the game of netball in this session.
7:30-8:30pm – O14’s and adults, led by experienced Level 2 coaches our second session of the evening is for our league teams and new members to come together and work on new skills, set plays and basic netball fitness
We have three Level 2 and two Level 1 coaches who run the weekly sessions as well as one B Award, two C Awards and five Beginner Umpires who umpire league games for our teams as well as an Umpiring Mentor to support them. The club is always offering Coaching and Officiating opportunities to its members and pays for these qualifications for our members.
We require all our members to become England Netball members each year and in addition to this Under 18 fees are £30 per term and Adults are £12 per month. There are no further match fees required after this has been paid.
Our Kit supplier is STC, a local company based in Stowmarket.
Our Competition:
Our three teams play in the South Suffolk Netball League;
Blades 1 – Division 1
Blades 2 – Division 5
Blades 3 – Division 6
Blades Juniors – SSJNL Div 2
Our Mini’s also have the opportunity to play in the Suffolk U11 League which is held once a month during term time.
Before Coronovirus hit us, we were also offering Walking Netball sessions on a Sunday morning, led by our fantastic Walking Netball host – Kelly. We are hoping to get these back up and running again soon, watch this space!
Our Family:
In addition to the netball we also hold bi-annual fundraisers including quiz nights and Chocolate Bingo, which are always popular and help the club raise funds to help pay for equipment and development of our members. We have also attended several tours in recent years, which have been a lot of fun and hope to take our Junior’s away on a tour soon too. In 2017 we held a 12-hour long netball match fundraiser, raising money for the Royal British Legion and it was a fantastic event supported by other local clubs and players and was extremely tiring! We also have end of season celebrations and awards, when we recognise our players, coaches, umpires and volunteers.
Our Culture:
At WBNC our focus is less about winning (although we like that too!) and more about having fun. We work hard to make sure that our training sessions are welcoming and inviting to new and regular members to ensure that they come back for more and grow our family. Our coaches and experienced players also place lots of emphasis on Encouragement, Support and Empowering all our members to ensure that they are fit, strong and determined both on and off the netball court. We do this by planning structured weekly sessions, congratulating each other on achievements and developments verbally throughout the sessions as well as a weekly “Star of the Week” trophy which is awarded to the players who demonstrate good team-work and support to other members.
