www.englandnetball.co.uk February 2017 SUPER TEN IS HERE! The wait is over… the 2017 Vitality Netball Superleague has finally started and it’s time for Super Ten! Tomorrow fans are in for a netball extravaganza bigger and better than ever before, as all ten teams will take to the court at Birmingham’s Genting Arena. First up Loughborough Lightning face Severn Stars at 12pm, followed by a clash between Sirens and Celtic Dragons at 2pm. Next up Team Northumbria take on Wasps at 4pm, before Surrey Storm and Manchester Thunder do battle at 6pm. Finally Hertfordshire Mavericks will fight it out with Team Bath at 8pm to tie up an awesome, action-packed day. If you can’t be there to cheer on your netball heroes you can catch the final three games on Sky Sports Mix. Get your squad together, get behind your favourite team and let us know your thoughts online with #VNSL2017. Who will triumph in Birmingham? We’re about to find out! WELCOME Welcome to England Netball’s adding membership benefits to your VNSL 2017 February newsletter. Each package to make sure that you get Netball news month we send you this digital the most out of your relationship newsletter to keep you up-to- with England Netball. We want all Nutrition: date with all things netball from of our publications to represent the Veganuary verdict national and Superleague level, thoughts of our readers, so do let us Fitness: right through to local clubs and know what you think we should be Plank power Back to Netball. talking about by dropping us a line As well as keeping you in the at [email protected]. Tweethearts netball loop, our newsletter includes If you haven’t seen the latest some fantastic lifestyle features, England Netball digi-mag then giving you the latest travel, style and click here. Finally, if you didn’t beauty tips for the coming month. receive last month’s newsletter you On top of all this, we are regularly can find ithere . Whether you’re playing for your country or playing in your local park ... Vitality rewards you for being healthy. VitalityHealth and VitalityLife are trading names of Vitality Corporate Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. VITALITY NETBALL SUPERLEAGUE 2017 IS HERE! The 2017 Vitality Netball Superleague finally got going last weekend with five mighty clashes across Friday, Saturday and Tuesday. First up Hertfordshire Mavericks became the first winners of the season with a 53-48 triumph over SportPhotography: Still Team Northumbria. It was a close match with both teams keen to make their mark but Mavericks edged ahead in the second half and went on to seal the win. The next day saw Celtic Dragons and Team Bath face off at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff. Despite taking the lead in a tight first quarter, Dragons fell behind ROUND ONE – RESULTS and Bath fought back with an impressive performance to secure a Friday 17 February 51-41 victory. Next on court were Loughborough Hertfordshire Mavericks 53 – 48 Team Northumbria Lightning and Manchester Thunder. In a fierce battle Lightning’s defence Saturday 18 February put out a dominant display to see the side steal a 59-45 win over Celtic Dragons 41 – 51 Team Bath Thunder. In the third match of the day Surrey Storm took on Severn Loughborough Lightning 59 – 45 Manchester Thunder Stars. Tania Hoffman’s new-look side impressed to defeat Stars 58-40. Surrey Storm 58 – 40 Severn Stars On Tuesday night two of the league’s new teams went head-to- Tuesday 21 February head in their first VNSL battles. Sirens and Wasps Netball played Sirens 43 – 57 Wasps Netball in front of a sell-out crowd at Glasgow’s Emriates Arena, with Wasps taking the win 57-43. With Round One under their bibs, all of the teams will be keen to take on new opponents and show what they can do. Tomorrow all ten will compete under one roof at Birmingham’s Genting Arena in Super Ten. Whether you’ll be watching from the stands or your sofa, show your support and let us know what you think online with #VNSL2017! Photography: Steve Porter PART OF NETBALL QUAD SERIES DIAMONDS DEFEAT ROSES BY JUST ONE GOAL! The 2017 Netball Quad Series saw England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa compete in Durban, Liverpool and London. Winning all of their matches, the Diamonds triumphed once again – but their final clash against the Roses couldn’t have been closer! England’s performance was outstanding, pushing the Aussies all the way and taking the lead at times. As the final whistle blew the Diamonds were up by one, winning the breathtaking match and with it the Quad Series. This Vitality Netball International Series saw highs and lows for Tracey Neville’s side, but in Wembley they could hold their heads high having kept all of the SSE Arena on the edge of their seats with a dazzling performance. The Roses have shown what they can do. Here’s to the next battle… RESULTS 28/01/17 – Durban, South Africa Photography credit:Photography Steve Haag Australia 57 – 50 New Zealand South Africa 55 – 60 England (aet) 31/01/17 – Durban, South Africa Australia 62 – 46 South Africa Photography credit:Photography Wills Paul 02/02/17 – Echo Arena, Liverpool England 37 – 61 New Zealand FINAL STANDINGS 05/02/17 – The SSE Arena, Wembley 1st: AUSTRALIAN DIAMONDS 2nd: NEW ZEALAND SILVER FERNS England 46 – 47 Australia 3rd: ENGLAND ROSES New Zealand 70 – 39 South Africa 4th: SOUTH AFRICA PROTEAS The International Junior Netball Festivals at Disneyland® Paris October 2017 & Easter Holidays 2018 Five Days Experience competitive netball tournaments from with international players’ coaching masterclasses! £455 Under 12s, 14s & 16s ENGLAND U21s SOUTH AFRICA TOUR This January the U21 Roses visited South Africa where they faced four of the five top teams in the world. After defeating Kingdom Stars 72-18, the girls took on the senior teams of South Africa Proteas (lost 41-47), England Roses (lost 35-59), New Zealand Silver Ferns (lost 41-74), Australian Diamonds (lost 39-79) as well as South Africa U21s (drew 50-50). Head Coach Emily Perry says: ‘The South Africa tour was a fantastic experience. The girls enjoyed the opportunity, played with freedom and performed well. We were delighted to have scored nearly 40 goals against each of these teams. The pace and intensity was a great lesson and we responded well to this, particularly in the second half of the games against the senior teams. It was also fantastic to get all 14 of our players on court to experience the different styles and to develop our combinations. We set out to win the game against SA U21s and naturally we were disappointed to finish with a draw. However, we learnt a lot about ourselves under pressure and showed real grit and determination until the final whistle. It has also shown us the areas we can build on over the next five months leading into the Netball World Youth Cup in Botswana in July. Overall we are very happy with what was achieved from the tour.’ The International Junior Netball Festivals at Disneyland® Paris October 2017 & Easter Holidays 2018 Five Days Experience competitive netball tournaments from with international players’ coaching masterclasses! £455 Under 12s, 14s & 16s VEGANUARY What’s it like to go vegan for a month? Ever thought about going vegan? This year saw Veganuary become the latest ‘New- Year-new-me’ trend, with people giving the plant-based diet a go to hopefully make some positive changes to their overall health. But just how hard is it? And what are the benefits? Natalie Morris gave it a try and here’s how she found it… THE POSITIVES: • Creativity in the kitchen. Being vegan forced me out of my comfort zone and got me experimenting with different ingredients and recipes. • I felt great. I’m not sure if it was psychological – but I definitely felt healthier on a vegan diet. I felt energised, slept well and my body just felt good. I think that’s an inevitable and welcome side effect of eating more than 10 portions of fruit and veg every day. • It’s cheap! Sure, you can go mad buying expensive vegan products (vegan yoghurt, vegan sausages etc) but you don’t have to – the basics of most vegan meals are incredibly cheap and easy to cook in bulk. THE NEGATIVES: • It takes a lot of thought. If you work, play netball, have kids etc, it can be a lot of effort to also think of a vegan dinner that will fill you up. It’s also tricky to buy lunch on-the-go; so there’s a lot of prep involved. • Eating out can be tough. It’s a serious test of strength to order a salad when everyone else is having burgers and cheese-fries. • The alternatives just aren’t the real thing! As a notorious cheese-lover, vegan ‘cheese’ just did not cut it for me. I really missed eggs and I’m not keen on any diet that deprives you completely of the things you really love. THE VERDICT: Veganuary was a fantastic challenge that really made me think about my diet and put more effort into eating healthily. Going forward I will definitely use some of the principals in my everyday diet and continue to eat less meat and dairy – but I could never give up cheese for good! The benefits of veganism • Health benefits: plant-based diets can be rich in protein, iron, calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals.