NAVSFED 2011

Pre Tour message from Corné Dippenaar
“Baie welkom by Navsfed se netball-blog vir Engeland en Wallis. Ons is seker die dogters gaan dit geniet!”

(Welcome to Navsfed's netball blog for England and Wales. We are sure the girls will enjoy it!)

From all at Sports and Corporate
We wish all the girls the best of luck with their netball tour to the UK, taking in Cardiff, Manchester and London. We hope they have a fantastic experience!

Today was the last day in England for the group with them flying back to South Africa this evening! After a late breakfast we headed into London Centre again this time to go to the
London Dungeon where we were told the stories of Jack “the Ripper” Sweeny Todd, fire of London and many more gruesome tales of old. I must say after initial apprehension on entering the dungeon in near total darkness the girls were very brave, even with all the spooks the place threw at them! With the sunshine beaming we decided that it a good end to the tour would be to go over to Hyde park for a picnic and some relaxation before the long flight ahead, and it was perfect.



As I said on the coach it has been absolute pleasure to spend the last ten days with you all creating memories I will never forget. I wish you all the best back in South Africa, and hopefully I will see you all in the very near future.

Louise aka Lou Lou.

Today was the groups last full day and night in London, and we started the day by being dropped off at Westminster Abbey so some of the girls could go inside this magnificent landmark. We then made our way over to Buckingham Palace through St James Park in the glorious sunshine to watch the changing of the Guard ceremony which was a brilliant display! The girls then wanted to take the tube (London underground) to Oxford Street for some serious shopping time and so we walked up through Green Park to jump on the tube which was a first experience for most but they still seemed to enjoy it. After shopping we met up at oxford Circus station again to take another tube to Covent Garden to spend the afternoon there, with its street performers, musicians, artists and shops it was a perfect end to a lovely day….and for once not a single drop of rain!

Today we took a short driving tour courtesy of our coach driver, John driving through central London taking in all the main sights such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament square and Big Ben including interesting and quirky facts. We ended our tour after crossing over Tower bridge to grab lunch at the Tower of London. It was then onto the world famous shop Harrods for the girls to do a little shopping. Whilst driving passed the London eye the group decided hey wanted to take a flight and take in even more sights of london! Before we knew it it was time to make our way to Piccadilly Circus where the girls had a couple of hours free time. For more shopping, dinner and some even getting street artist drawings done of themselves! After a long day it was finally time to get ourselves over to Piccadilly theatre for our show that evening – Grease.
With brilliant reviews the show had expectationsbut didn’t disappoint at all, the girls had an absolutely fantastic time during the show an left singing all the songs!

We left the hotel early this morning ready for the long journey down to London, with a couple of stops on the way and lots of sleeping done by the girls the four hours flew by very quickly. On arrival we travelled to Queen Elizabeth Girls School for the girls to play two matches with other local schools; Finchley Catholic School and Ashmole College. Even though the girls had travelled all day they were still on top form with them winning every single match they played, which was fantastic!
We now had a short journey to our hotel in Watford on the outskirts of London for dinner. Tomorrow is the start of the wind down part of the tour with the group heading into London for sightseeing and shopping during the day and then to the west End in the evening to watch Grease!

Today was the girls second free day and it was decided that the group would head into the countryside instead of the city! So we headed out to a village in Saddleworth called Uppermill for a wander around the village shops and canal. While they were there the girls also attended a morning service at the village church which was very special for them all with them also receiving a small bunch of Daffodil’s each. It was now nearing lunch time so we headed over to the local garden centre for a sandwich’s and cakes! Our intention after lunch was to drive out to Dove Stone Reservoir & Country Park but unfortunately the rain began to pour, as it so often does, so we took a drive through the idyllic Yorkshire countryside instead!
On returning to the hotel most of the girls wanted to head over to the ten pin bowling alley located just over the road which was a lot of fun and a good chance for the girls to relax a little. With lots of strikes and half strikes the scores were high and a great time was had by all! They also found lots of entertainment from the helium balloons given out at a local restaurant! Tomorrow is another busy day so it was early for dinner and bed this evening, ready for their journey to London and the last of the netball games.

Today was netball netball netball!
The day started with a short transfer to Bury Grammar School for the girls to take part in a training session run by Suzy Chapman – a Northern Thunder Coach. Suzy put the girls through their paces teaching them the importance of team work and decision making as well as a fast paced warm up game that I’m sure the girls will use again. The main core of the training session was to teach the girls to front cut defenders instead of using long paces to make sure the game flows quicker. All the girls came away having really enjoyed themselves and learnt a lot too. The afternoon was spent wandering around Bury Town centre including ‘The Rock’ shopping centre and the world famous Bury Market. It was then time for us to take a seat at the leisure centre to watch the northern Thunder v Celtic Dragons Superleague netball game, and what a fantastic display of netball it was with the scoring ending 58-40 to Northern thunder! After the game the girls were also given the opportunity to choose player of the match for Northern Thunder and present Sara Bayman (C) with the award.
In addition to this the whole team also joined the girls for a photograph as well as some having pictures with Sara Bayman, who is also an international netball player for team England! Everybody headed back to the hotel feeling great after a netball filled day!

A very early start for us all today so we could set off for our four hour transfer up to Manchester from Cardiff. With the traffic flowing we had a clear run up so were able to stop for a short break at a service station for the girls to stretch the legs, on arrival in Oldham we stopped at a café for a while for some rest before the days matches at Hulme Grammar School, Oldham.
We were welcomed at the school with light refreshments and some brilliant entertainment from some of the children in the kindergarten performing a short dance to the Lion King soundtrack, which everybody found adorable.
The girls returned this by joining hands with all the children and singing to them which they really enjoyed. It was time to wander down to the sports centre for the matches to begin! First up were the U16’s who were narrowly beaten by the Hulme team, next up were the U18’s and what a nail biter it was with both teams scoring and defending brilliantly with the final score ending 20-21 with a win for NAVSFED. Finally the U15’s played which was also another good game to watch but they were sadly also beaten. After the games the girls thanked the coaches and teachers of Hulme for puting everything together and also presenting them with an African basket which I’m sure will be on display soon! Overall another fantastic day of netball and hopefully some long term connections formed with the Hulme Grammar School girls very keen on travelling to South Africa sometime in the future!

We woke this morning to some very windy weather but this did not stop the group wanting to explore more of Cardiff on their first free day on tour. We headed over to Cardiff Bay to have a look around to kick start the day and the girls but it did prove to be a little too windy with hats flying off and a couple of umbrellas turned inside out! After a few photographs and a full walk around the bay we headed back to the coach for a short drive out to Barry Island to give the girls a look at the Welsh seaside which proved a good decision as the sun finally made an appearance.
Some of the group were extremely brave (ignoring my insistence that it would be freezing) by going for a paddle in the sea, and as I imagined returned with very cold feet! It was hot chocolate and coffees all round to warm up before heading back into Cardiff city for some lunch and shopping!
After a walk around the outside of Cardiff Castle and a look at the many Daffodils in full bloom (Welsh national flower) we headed to take a look at the impressive Millennium Stadium.

The rest of the afternoon was left free for the girls to shop in the city centre and many returned with shopping bags filled with Welsh souvenirs and JJB sportswear!
The girls had a busy evening of packing followed by an early dinner ready for their early departure to Manchester and their second tour fixture….Good luck girls.

After an early night the girls were refreshed for breakfast this morning and ready to head to their training session at a community sports centre located close to the hotel.
After a quick break in the hotel the girls set off for their first tour fixtures at Coleg Gwent in Capherilly against teams from the college and Newbridge School. We were taken for a short tour of all the sports facilities at the Coleg which the girls thought were fantastic and they even managed to catch a glimpse of a Newport Gwent Dragons Rugby team photo shoot that was taking place at the time!
The first game up was NAVSFED U16’s v Coleg Gwent U16’s and what a brilliant game with the scores ending at a nail biting 18-18. Next up was NAVSFED V Coleg Gwent U18’s and the girls were on top form with NAVSFED taking the win with a final score of 31-28. Finally NAVSFED U15’s played Newbridge School with the final score ending in a loss for NAVSFED (7-42).

All the girls played really well and the hospitality from the Coleg was fantastic with them providing lunches for the girls and Newbridge school giving the girls a traditional welsh cake each!

The girls arrived at London Heathrow early this morning probably feeling tired but not showing any signs!

After locating the coach and John our driver for the tour we set off on our way to Cardiff, firstly making a stop at the impressive Stonehenge. The audio tour guide of Stonehenge was rich in historical detail about the sight and everyone found it very interesting. Once the tour was over the girls couldn’t resist the gift shop and after a couple of purchases we were back on the road for the second leg of the journey to Cardiff.
On arrival the rain was pouring but this did not stop the girls heading down the main street of Cardiff City to take a look at the grand Cardiff Castle. Then hunger and the lure of the city’s shops drove everyone back down the main street to source a late lunch and a quick glance around the shops. After checking in at our hotel just outside the city centre the girls were straight off for a light training session before some rest time and dinner.

Overall a busy but brilliant start to the tour that has left the girls ready for an early night in preparation for their training and match fixtures tomorrow.