Cumberland's blog

Cumberland A team’s triumphant season has not yet come to an end with the girls traveling to Manchester this weekend to take on Dominoes in the semi final of the Challenge Cup plate.

Cumberland were made to work hard against a young and enthusiastic Dominoes team on Sunday 15 June who put in a strong and spirited performance. The first quarter was a very even contest, with Cumberland finding themselves trailing 11-12 at the break.

There were double celebrations for Cumberland Netball Club this week.

This has been another big weekend for Cumberland, with some massive successes and a lot of celebrating.

After more than a season of really hard work, the A team on Saturday convincingly beat the opposition in a round-robin play-off, to win entry into the REGIONAL LEAGUE for next season. This is a huge success for the team, and for the club as a whole. Congratulations to Kelly, George and the girls, to Tony their coach and to all of those who have helped make Cumberland such a great club to be a part of.

Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup is netball's answer to the FA Cup and is the knock out cup of dreams for England Netball. The Challenge Cup offers every affiliated team in England the opportunity to compete against the giants of the Premier League in the sport's only national knock out competition.

Saturday 3rd May saw a combined Cumberland B/C Team take to the court to contest the North London Netball League Rally. With the sun on our backs, we started the first match against a strong Hyde Park A team. The game ended in a draw, a fair result for both teams and a taste of things to come. Strong performances from the 10 woman squad, in particular from mid-court players Jane Spalding, Gillian Turnbull, Natalie Ekweogwu and Karen Carter meant that we won three and lost one of our remaining group games.

PLAYERS from Cumberland Netball Club were in fine form on Saturday when they beat London rivals POLY to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup Plate.

Having already beaten two teams from higher divisions, Cumberland went into their third round match in confident mood. And the ‘A’ team didn’t disappoint as they led from the first whistle, opening a strong lead with a tight defence and an accurate shooting display.

Cumberland A team has secured its place in the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup Plate which will be played on the 1st June following a convincing performance against London rivals POLY A in round three of the competition. Having earlier beaten Tongham Tornados and Hillcrest who are three and two divisions above Cumberland respectively, Cumberland went into the third round knock out match anticipating a fast and competitive game

Cumberland A team played Minchenden A team in their last match of the season in the Premier Division of the Middlesex league. The team led from the first whistle opening a good lead in the first half through tight defence, giving Cumberland attack a lot of opportunities to score. The team extended their lead in the second half with a final score of 61-38 – making Cumberland A team Middlesex County Premier League Champions for the 2007-08 season.

Cumberland Netball Club hosted two South African school teams at the club last Wednesday – Randburg High Schools Under 17 and Under 19 teams. The teams rate in the top 10 schools in South Africa with at least 5 players per team playing in the provincial regional leagues, so they came to give Cumberland a good match!

Cumberland Netball Club has been awarded a Silver CAPS and Clubmark Award on 24 March 2008.

The award entitles the Club to use the logos on club material as a kitemark symbolising Cumberland Netball as a child-friendly and developmental club.

A special thank you to Andrea Johnson and Kirsty Smith for all their hard work in submitting our entry. The judges commented that Cumberland submitted the best Action Plan they'd seen, that it was a great application and that we have a great website.