PLYMOUTH FIREBIRDS NETBALL CLUB

NEWSLETTER - AUTUMN 2023

Message from Chair & Head Coach – Karen Dent

Hello Everyone, We are excited for the new season, we're thrilled to kick things off with a newsletter celebrating our past successes and outlining our vision for the upcoming months. Our shared dedication to netball has brought us together as a club, and we're eager to keep growing and thriving together.

Season Achievements: Last season was a triumph for Phoenix and Hydra seniors, securing an impressive 3rd place in the PDNL. Our junior teams were nothing short of amazing, clinching top positions in U14 Div 1 and U12. Every junior player displayed remarkable dedication, resulting in strong standings across the junior league. A special shoutout to U14 Hydra, who battled their way through higher division matches with determination and skill that made us incredibly proud. U14 Regional Triumph, This past season marked the return of our U14 regional team, who performed brilliantly in Div 2, securing a remarkable 2nd place in the division. A fantastic achievement for all involved!

Club Growth & Gratitude: Jenna has been hard at work securing funding for our club, raising over £1400. These funds have been instrumental in covering court costs and supporting our regional team's training and matches. Speaking of celebrations, our presentation night organized by Jamie, Jenna, and a team of parents was a blast! The silent disco was a hit, and it was heartening to see so many attendees and deserving winners.

Sponsorship: As we look forward, we continue to explore avenues for sponsorship, funding, and grants to enhance our club's offerings. Spread the word among friends and family – a thriving club means exposure for potential sponsors too.

Coaching: We're excited to share that Jamie will soon be a Level 2 coach, joining the coaching team that includes Karen, Jules, and Jenna, with Vicky offering her valuable assistance. If you're interested in contributing to the club, no matter your skillset, we'd love to hear from you. A more diverse coaching team means fresh ideas and better support for our players.

Parental Support: Match days are a team effort, and we're going to need parental support to keep things running smoothly. The junior league's new rules emphasize accurate match sheets, so we'll need scorers and team managers to help with paperwork. This ensures our coaches can focus on coaching during these busy days.

Challenges & Costs: Unfortunately, Plymouth College has informed us of an unexpected increase in sports hall costs, requiring an extra £1640.00. This is a significant financial hurdle, especially as both senior and junior league fees have also risen to play in the leagues. We've worked hard to avoid raising member costs, but due to increasing expenses, training fees will see a modest increase this year. Please see club website and Spond App for fee information.

We're truly grateful for your dedication to Plymouth Firebirds Netball Club. Let's embrace the challenges ahead as opportunities for growth and unity. Together, we'll continue to make our club the best it can be.

SPONSORSHIP UPDATE - Julie Woodman & Jenna Stephens: Our netball club continues to grow, and with both our junior and senior players showing such dedication and passion, it's an exciting time for all of us!

To further our club's potential and to offer the best experiences for our players, we are reaching out to our wonderful community. If you have family members, friends, or even work contacts who might be interested in sponsoring our netball club or any of our individual teams within the junior and senior sections, it would be a tremendous boost to our mission.

Sponsoring our club is not only a wonderful way to support local sports and young talent, but it's also a fantastic avenue for businesses and individuals to gain visibility within our community.

So, let's work together in making this season a memorable one! If you know of anyone who might be interested, please connect them with our dedicated funding and sponsorship representatives, Jenna Stephens and Julie Woodman. They'll be happy to provide more details and discuss the various sponsorship options available.

Let's create lasting partnerships that benefit both our players and the sponsors. Together, we can ensure our club reaches new heights! Thank you for your continued support.

TOURNAMENTS UPDATE - Vicky Smith: My responsibility is to organise tournaments, we aim to attend a few over the year and host one ourselves, so I will be on the lookout for new ventures for our girls, we would love to get the ball rolling for an away tournament in 2024 so keep your eyes peeled for more info! If you want to get in touch regarding anything tournament related, or just to pass on ideas please do.

KIT UPDATE - Kelly Hewings: My responsibility as club kit woman is pretty self-explanatory, so feel free to contact me regarding anything kit related. I aim to make sure that every member of our firebirds team looks as smart and professional as we play. We want all of our squad to wear our kit with pride, so if you have any issues concerns or worries, please reach out to me.

Club kit link. https://kitworld.uk/product-category/netball-clubs/firebirds-netball/

MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE - Jamie-Leigh Garratt: I don’t really need much introduction tbh as most of you have come through me for one thing or another when you’ve just started or been at club a while! My official role is membership secretary and social media GURU. I also organise everyone and I am Karen’s sidekick…unofficially! I love this club so I’ll do what I can to make sure we’re as successful as we can be!

My role as membership secretary is making sure you are all on engage correctly this means you are insured via England Netball to play and train if you’re not, club can receive a fine. So please get this done in a timely manner. I also make sure training fees are paid and that everyone is registered at club. My role as social media rep I love specifically getting our club players fabulous faces out there by supporting and organising our unofficial club photographer Damian for club/team pics and game day pictures. Please contact us if you do not wish for photos to be taken and I will not post you/your child. If any parents can help getting pictures this season please forward these on to me via email or Spond App.

Our netball club continues to grow, and with both our junior and senior players showing such dedication and passion, it's an exciting time for all of us!

WELFARE & SAFEGUARDING UPDATE - Naomi Campbell: My responsibility as a committee member is welfare. I am also the senior player representative for the club. My experience and training as a primary school teacher provide me with a wealth of experience in dealing with matters regarding welfare and safeguarding. With regards to welfare, I am responsible for dealing with any wellbeing concerns related to players (junior and senior), ensuring we are following safeguarding procedures (as set out by England Netball), ensuring we follow the England Netball code of conduct, as well as guaranteeing our practices are inclusive of all players - both junior and senior. Also as senior rep, I present the views of our senior players and captains at committee meetings. Please note we uphold England Netball rules and regulations therefore all players need to be netball ready for training and matches to ensure we are all safe. This includes short nails, hair back unless above shoulder length, appropriate attire i.e. sports trainers, strictly no jewellery and please note if you are considering ears being pierced do this at the end of the season July time as you all jewellery has to be removed for matches.

Please make sure to contact me with any concerns regarding safeguarding and welfare or present senior member’s views and opinions to be raised at committee meetings.

WEBSITE & FIXTURES UPDATE - Julia Trapp & Jillian Pearn: As we blast headlong into the season, we will be keeping you updated via our website. The new season’s fixtures are all there along with club information and useful links. If anyone is not a signed up member of the club on the website, please do complete that at your earliest convenience. We are looking forward to publishing regular match reports on the site and welcome contributions from across the club. If you are promoting us to your friends as an adult or junior club, please ask them to complete the join us application form on the website and we will respond to them.

Club website- http://www.plymouthfirebirdsnetballclub.co.uk/

Junior Results - https://netballresults.uk/pdjnl/

Senior Results - https://netballresults.uk/west-devon/

 

Contact Information

Chair & Head Coach – Karen Dent [email protected]

Treasurer – Jo O’Daley [email protected]

Welfare & Safeguarding, Senior Rep - Naomi Campbell [email protected]

Membership & Coach – Jamie-Leigh Garratt [email protected]

Performance Coach & Website/ Fixtures - Julia Trapp [email protected]

Sponsorship / Funding & Coach – Jenna Stephens [email protected]

Sponsorship & Funding - Julie Woodman [email protected]

Website & Fixtures – Jillian Pearn [email protected] 

Tournaments – Vicky Smith [email protected] 

Junior Rep – Lexie Garratt & Elsa Llewellyn-Rees

Events Support Team : Rhiannon Sweet, Amy Irish, Pippa Squire, Kelly Hewings, Vicky Smith, Jenna Stephens, Jamie-Leigh Garratt, Karen Dent.

 

Please get in touch if you would like to volunteer or support our club within any of the above areas.