Year 5 Girls Netball Tournament
Burnt Oak Leisure Centre Tuesday 18th March 2008
Maccabi GB, in partnership with UJIA, held the Girls Year 5 Netball Tournament at Burnt Oak Leisure Centre on Tuesday 18th March 2008. Five schools attended bringing seven teams to the tournament. Despite the freezing conditions all the players were well supported by the teachers and families from the participating schools.
For the initial part of the tournament, the teams were split into two groups and played in a league basis. The group stages of the tournament saw some competitive matches played with some really good netball skills on show. This Tournament was the first Maccabi GB netball event to follow the High 5 netball rules that have been set by England Netball. The change of rules reduces the number of players on the court to five and allows them more freedom on the court, this in turn allows the young players to become more involved in the games.
In group 1 Hertsmere Jewish Primary School’s B Team and Sinai School managed a point each, Independent Jewish Day School’s A team won two of their games to come second, whilst Kerem School won all their games to top the group and progress into the final.
In Group 2 Hertsmere Jewish Primary School’s A team got a well earned point against Independent Jewish Day School’s B team who came second in the group. The group was won by Clore Shalom who won all four matches playing some really positive netball.
The final between Kerem School and Clore Shalom was a great spectacle with both teams winning all their matches up until that point. Kerem took an early lead and looked very tough to break down. Clore Shalom came back strong giving their all and despite scoring from a well worked move, it was not enough to deny Kerem a 4-1 victory.
There was a good show of sportsmanship at the end of the afternoon with both teams joining together for the medals presentation. This tournament provides a unique chance for the year 5 age group to play netball without having to compete against year 6 children. The teachers and parents were pleasantly surprised by the quality on show and will be looking forward to the next academic year when these children will be able to represent their schools as the oldest year group.