EMMNA U25 Trailblazers Singapore Tour Dec 2023

Hi, my name is Jack and I have been selected to represent England Men's and Mixed Netball Association U25 Trailblazers in an International tournament in Singapore in December 2023, against 5 other teams from around the world, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Having the opportunity to represent my country and be able to play the wonderful sport of netball. is an honour and a privilege and I am so proud to be part of the U25 Trailblazers programme. What an experience it is going to be, amasing!

So a little about my netball journey………… Having played netball on and off since the age of 6/7 for Reckitts Netball Team in Hull, I was forced to give up playing the sport I loved at 11, as boys were unable to participate after reaching this age, so took up umpiring for a short while, not for me though!. At 16, I was given the opportunity to step back on the court briefly and play netball again, thanks to Hull's social league, which allowed me to play alongside my Mum and her team….. Mum’s fault I regained the netball bug!

At the age of 19, I joined the Northern Titans Netball Team based in Leeds, being the closest men's netball team to my hometown of Hull and my home in Cottingham. Travelling weekly to Leeds for training sessions and weekly/weekends for games and tournaments around the country, including Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The annual EMMNA Nationals showcases the best men's netball over 2/3 days with teams from around the UK taking part and this year (2023) we finished 5th overall out of 12 teams... a great result.

I still play occasionally in Hull's social leagues, which now sees many male netballers taking to the court, and a new men’s team, East Yorkshire Vikings Netball, being formed. The future of men’s netball is an exciting prospect.

Unfortunately, as EMMNA is a relatively new venture there is very little funding or sponsorship available, and the majority of the costs have to be met by the players themselves: travel, hotels, sportswear, nutrition/drinks, food etc. The upcoming trip to Singapore will cost each player £2600+…. This is where I would appreciate any help you may be able to give, any donation would be greatly appreciated.

Fundraising events, such as netball competitions, quizzes, karaoke, tombola, bus stops etc., have taken place, a big thankyou to all who have supported.

All funding/sponsorship/donations will go towards my Singapore trip and would help me so much with my England and netball journey.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you can help in any way, thank you... It will go a long way to keeping my England Netball dream alive.

Jack

(if you prefer to donate in person just let me know)