Colchester Open Netball Tournament 2009

Sunday 3 May 2009

The tournament, organised by the Sports Centre to compliment the University's Alumni weekend events, attracts the best netball teams in North Essex and is one of the most popular tournaments held in the area. The sun shone once again for the fifteen teams who took part in the tournament. A team of current students along with an alumni team took part and for the first time, a staff team also entered. Their determination and good sportsmanship was commendable and they raised money for Cancer Research UK along the way.
	For the first time in many years, the victors of the tournament Haart, came a close second in their pool, picked to the post by 3 points by Crystal Palace A. The two teams from Surrey (Palace A and B) arrived bright and early for the tournament and coped with the astroturf surface easily.
The second pool saw a more convincing win by Kats Lightning, 7 points ahead of Kats Blizzard - two of the four Kats teams entered in the tournament.
The first semi-final was an all Kats affair, with Lightning winning by 5 points. Haart took on Crystal Palace A but the Surrey team also won by 5 points. In the final, Crystal Palace A took a quick lead, with the score being 7-2 at half time. Lightning pulled 3 goals back in the second half, but Crystal Palace were victorious at the final bell with 10 points.

Hopefully, Crystal Palace will be back to defend their title next year!

Winners: Crystal Palace A		Runners up: Kats Lightning
Thanks go to everyone who took part in the tournament, along with their supporters. A special thanks to the umpires who have a doubly tiring day - without them the tournament would not be possible. Finally, to Sue and Emily Carter - the team that run the table and keep everyone under control - thank you on behalf of the Sports Centre staff and all teams. Next year's tournament will take place on Sunday 2 May - hope to see you all in 2010! Tournament score sheets [PDF file 58.76KB]

Further information

Alumni Weekend