Hey Nesties,
Big news: an incredible team from netball clubs around the Netherlands has been working to create a monumental change: the first netball league in the Netherlands.
Here's what you need to know about the upcoming matches and (best of all) how you can take part.
📒 How the league works
The league is a pilot and is, therefore, a social competition. We're not playing the Netball World Cup, so it's an awesome chance to have fun, meet people from other teams and cities, and play the game we all love.
As such, a win isn't everything — but there are prizes like Most Valuable Player and a Fair Play Award up for grabs. 🏆
You should also know that:
👫 The league is mixed
💪 The league is for all skill levels
So who will be our friendly competition? Great question! Teams from Maastricht, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam will all be taking part. Den Haag may also be available for friendlies.
Each match is a standard full match length: four quarters of 15 minutes each. Intervals between quarters are four minutes, except halftime, which is eight minutes.
Our position in the league is based on wins, losses, draws and forfeits:
Win = 3 points
Draw = 1 point (per team)
Loss = 0 points
Forfeit = 0 points
The team with the most points at the end of the season is the league winner. There will also be an overall MVP and Fairest player at the end of the season. 🏆
📆 The league schedule
Each team will play four games in the first season, with an equal mix between home and away matches.
Utrecht is currently scheduled on the following dates:
Date | Home team | Away team |
January 31, 2024 | Utrecht | Rotterdam |
April 7, 2024 | Amsterdam | Utrecht |
June 8 or 9, 2024 (TBC) | Utrecht | Maastricht |
June 15, 2024 | Brussels | Utrecht |
🏐 How you can sign up for matches
Keen to play? You can sign up in the Spond app as matches become available, but first, you need to fulfil some conditions:
You must be a member of Utrecht Netball Club
You must be a regular attendee of weekly training sessions
Excited? So are we! If you have any questions, throw them in UNC's Spond group chat where we'll answer them as best as possible!