The latest netball season will always be remembered for Coronavirus and its impact on leagues and clubs. However, the last 12 months has seen plenty to celebrate, not least Welsh Netball reaching over 10,000 members for the first time in its history. It is important that the pandemic does not let this massive achievement go unrecognised as it represents the hard work of the netball community across Wales.
This phenomenal growth illustrates the ever-growing popularity of netball, as well as countless hours of volunteering from club, league and association personnel. Membership of netball clubs across Welsh Netball’s four regions has seen record growth in recent years and this shows how our sport is catering for increasing numbers of women and girls who want to engage in physical activity.
Ben Williams, Welsh Netball’s Head of Community Development reflected on how netball has grown in recent years. He said: “I have been in post with Welsh Netball for just over 4 years and the growth of the sport I have witnessed in that time has been nothing short of exceptional.
“Welsh Netball’s membership continued on an upward trend this year with a 2.5% increase on the previous season. This meant that we broke through the 10,000-member mark for the first time in our history.
“Over the past 4 seasons, we have seen each region in Wales grow by at least 23%, with one region almost achieving 40% growth over this period. It’s fantastic to see netball thriving in our clubs across the whole of Wales, without whom none of this would be possible.”