On Wednesday 25th the U19 girls took on a tournament at Rainham. Lizzie M the XII team captain wrote:

“Arriving at a very rainy Rainham school for girls, the 1^st team were eager to showcase their skills. The morning featured 8-minute games against 4 randomly drawn teams, meaning we had to give everything from the start. After a tough first game against Bromley High the team went into the next game against Newstead Woods with newfound determination. With impressive turnovers from Darcy H in defence and great conversions from Matilda S and Lizzie M we secured a solid 7-2 win. An excellent link up between Niamh S and Freya G helped us take a comfortable lead against Blackheath, showcasing some impressive netball from all. Our final game of the morning was against a competitive Ashford side. We dominated the match early on, maintaining a 4-0 lead for most of the game. Excellent connections between the whole team allowed us to take a 6-2 win, capping off a strong morning performance. We finished top of our group and advanced to the highest-seeded bracket for the tournament.

Following a quick lunch break, we headed into the 10-minute afternoon matches. Our first opponent was Highworth and despite some early turnovers, Lotty C and Mathilda F’s defensive efforts brought us back into the game. In a closely fought second half, we narrowly lost 10-9. Following this, we played Cranbrook. Although the girls fought hard, and some excellent netball was on display Cranbrook pulled away with a 11-4 win.

With a much-needed boost of energy from Miss McConnachie we went into our next game revitalized. Rachel F and Bella D provided some excellent feeds for Matilda and Lizzie to convert. Despite our effort, we couldn’t secure the win losing closely 7-4. Our penultimate game against TOGGS saw an early lead slip, despite stellar defensive work from Darcy. Finally, we battled hard against Benenden, they were a very strong team who pulled away with a 13-5 win.

Overall, the tournament was a great experience for the team with forty schools taking part, helping us to boost our confidence for the season in January. A big thank you to Miss McConnachie for her unwavering support throughout the day.”