PNC Raises £2702 for Beep Doctors
On 26 September, Penrith Netball Club gathered members of its senior section to present a cheque for £2,702 to Dr Theo Weston of Beep Doctors Cumbria. Their fundraising efforts, undertaken throughout August and September involved the organisation of a charity netball tournament and raffle in memory of the late Nichola Jackson, of Penrith, who passed away suddenly in March 2024 along with Rosie Jackson. Nichola was a friend to many, a much-loved member of Penrith Netball Club, captaining the club’s development squad, Penrith Lakers, for several seasons. The charity tournament, held on 07 September at Ullswater Community College in Penrith, welcomed teams from Carlisle as well as Penrith Netball’s own squads to compete at the inaugural event. Competitors and spectators enjoyed a day of glorious sunshine for the tournament, alongside a netball shooting challenge and chuck-a-duck competition. The winners on the day were Penrith Swifts, closely followed by Mavericks Netball from Carlisle who came in second place with the final match of the day being the decider. Penrith Swifts took the game with a score of 14-5. Alongside the charity tournament, Penrith Netball Club organised a fundraising raffle which attracted a huge amount of donations from many local businesses. The club would like to take this opportunity to thank all the raffle donors once more for their generosity, and extend this to everyone who bought tickets as well. Club chair, Caroline Tyson, says “We have been blown away by the support offered to the club over the last few months, and we are beyond proud to have raised such a significant amount of money for the Beep Doctors. The work that the doctors do is invaluable and I’m so glad we can help in this way, especially in memory of our friend Nic Jackson who was such a key member of our netball family.” Moving forward, the club aims to host another memorial tournament in September 2025, and annually thereafter.
Charity Tournament Success for PNC
On Saturday 07 September, we held our inaugural tournament in memory of Nichola Jackson under the blazing sunshine at Ullswater Community College. We welcomed teams from Harraby and Mavericks in Carlisle alongside three Penrith teams who battled it out in short-form round-robin matches. Our thanks go to the players who travelled down to take part, as well as our many event volunteers, including Jane Holme for organising the raffle and refreshments (with the help of Janet Addison), Harriet Holme for managing the competitive elements, Isobel S. for manning our netball shooting challenge, and Jessica & Ellie T. for managing the chuck-a-duck competition. The day started well, albeit very toasty, meaning a change of schedule was required to manage the heat. All teams and players persevered, though, and played some fabulous netball on UCC’s outdoor courts. Penrith 2 and Mavericks took the wins in the first two games, the latter repeating the feat in the next set of matches. In Round 3, Harraby took a convincing 24-13 win over Penrith 3 before falling to Mavericks in Round 4 by a single goal. The top two podium places were decided during the final match of the day between Penrith Swifts and Mavericks. Eventually, it was the Swifts that came away with the win, scoring 14 goals to Mavericks’ 5. The final standings on the day were: Penrith Swifts (20 pts) Mavericks (15 pts) Penrith 2 (12 pts) Harraby (8 pts) Penrith 3 (4 pts) Presentations of prizes for the winning teams were made by William and Harriet Jackson, husband and daughter of Nichola, who also presented the first Nichola Jackson Commitment Award to its first recipient, Katie Blackburn. This award is named in honour of our late teammate and dear friend, and will be awarded annually to the person who has shown unwavering dedication to Penrith Netball Club, as Nic did week after week, coming down to see us even when she was unable to play whilst carrying baby Rosie. Katie Blackburn, is the very embodiment of commitment. She contributes vast amounts of positivity and effort to everything she does on-court and off, and is a crucial member of the PNC family. Moving forward, we aim to build upon this success and organise an annual memorial tournament in September each year. So, watch this space for future updates!
Penrith U16 Take Third Place
Penrith’s U16 team claimed a third place spot at Sunday’s Cumbria Premier Netball League tournament; a fantastic result considering this was their first outing as a team. The day began well, and saw Penrith U16s start their campaign with a win against Meerkats B and keeping them to zero goals. Their second game also brought a toughly-fought win against Kirbky Tigers – a match which finished 9-6 to Penrith. The latter half of the morning brought some more intense games. Penrith took consecutive losses in their final three games against Westmorland Wanderers, Meerkats A, and Kirkby Lions. A full breakdown of Penrith’s results can be seen below. Special mention must also go to Maddy Burke from Penrith U16, who was came in joint second on the Player of the Tournament rankings. After each game, each team must name an opposing Player of the Match; Maddy was awarded the PoM title following three(!) of our five games. Our other PoMs were Hannah Davis and Poppy Sidwell. Our grateful thanks are sent to the tournament organisers, officials, umpires, fellow teams, and parents for supporting this event. We’re looking forward to another round in the new season! Penrith U16 Results Game Opponent Result Score PoM 1 Meerkats B WIN 6 – 0 Maddy Burke 2 KL Tigers WIN 9 – 6 Hannah Davis 3 Wanderers LOSS 2 – 15 Maddy Burke 4 Meerkats A LOSS 3 – 10 Poppy Sidwell 5 KL Lions LOSS 1 – 23 Maddy Burke
Juniors bring their A-Games in Carlisle
Our Junior 1s faced the Carlisle-based Meerkats U11 & U13 teams at Trinity School last Saturday, and truly brought their A-games. The U11s ultimately lost their game, with a close 5-4 finish but dispalyed some brilliant netball up and down the court. The J1s coach, Eleanor Holme, said that “everyone put in a great effort and worked together as a team really well – they should all be proud of themselves!“ The U11s Player of the Match was Abi – well done! Our U13s team came away with a hard-earned victory, ending 16-14 to Penrith. This was a fast and furious game, with lots of to-and-fro from end to end. There was similarly lots to be proud of in the U13 game too, especially in the mid-court which flowed well to move the ball to goal. The U13s Player of the Match was Rosie – very well deserved! Our thanks go to the umpires for the day, as well as Meerkats Netball Club for organising such a great morning! We hope to see you again soon!
Winter League Standings Announced
The Carlisle Netball League’s Winter 2022 running is now concluded. Our thanks to all organisers, umpires and scorers this season. Thanks also to all the other teams for bringing their A-games and pushing us the whole way. The final standings are as follows: A full breakdown of results, player caps and match scores can be found on the CNL Winter 2022 page.
Swifts and Lakers in Round Seven
Penrith Swifts On Tuesday, Swifts played fifth-place Meerkats 3, coming away with a 40-31 win following an intense four quarters of netball. Despite losing the first quarter 8-9, their mighty efforts were rewarded with an unbroken run of six goals in the second quarter, making the half-time score 20-16 to the Swifts. The Meerkats managed to tighten the scoreline throughout the second quarter, but constant pressure from Penrith Swifts paid off and landed them a nine-goal advantage at full-time. The Swifts Player of the Match was Ekeanor Holme. Penrith Lakers Penrith Lakers also put in a fantastic effort in their match on Tuesday evening. During their game against fourth-place Mavericks, the team faced two on-court injuries in the second half. However, it did not faze the squad, and their perseverance earned them wins in the third and fourth quarters. Sadly, this didn’t boost them enough for the overall win, but this does not fully reflect the close contest provided by the Lakers. The Lakers Player of the Match was Katy Aris. The teams next take to the court on Tuesday 31 January (Penrith Swifts v Meerkats 4) and Tuesday 07 February (Penrith Lakers v Stewartry).
League Halftime Round-Up
We’ve now reached the halfway point of this season’s Carlisle Netball Winter League and have our round six games under our belts too. Since our last update following round two, there’s a lot to catch up on! PENRITH SWIFTS Rounds 3, 4 and 5 saw the Swifts take on Meerkats 4, Mavericks, and Stewartry. The first two matches resulted in convincing wins for the Penrith side, who led each game early doors and continued to build upon it right until the final whistle. Round 5, however, brought the Swifts their first defeat of the season so far as they faced off against a so-far undefeated Stewartry team. A slow start in this game gave the Scottish side an early lead, and despite a huge fourth-quarter effort, it wasn’t quite enough. Round Scores/PoM Round 3: Swifts v Meerkats 4 – WIN (38 – 20), PoM: Katie Blackburn Round 4: Swifts v Mavericks – WIN (43 – 27), PoM: Katie Blackburn Round 5: Swifts v Stewartry – LOSS (43 – 30), PoM: Charlotte Ecroyd PENRITH LAKERS The Lakers had a mixed experience in rounds 3-5 of this season’s competition. Their Stewartry game in mid-November brought a strong start which sadly abated in the second quarter against a tough opponent, and a lack of momentum in the match against Meerkats 4 was not at all reflective of the abilities in this team. The Meerkats 3 game in round five was much more in keeping with the Lakers’ skills, and despite ending in a tight three-goal loss, there were multiple points at which Lakers overtook on the scoreboard. At their next meeting in round ten, it is likely this result will flip and give Lakers a well-earned win. Round Scores/PoM Round 3: Lakers v Stewartry – LOSS (27 – 10), PoM: Lucy Peile Round 4: Lakers v Meerkats 4 – LOSS (7 – 29), PoM: Lucy Peile Round 5: Lakers v Meerkats 3 – LOSS (25 – 28), PoM: Katy Aris ROUND SIX: SWIFTS v LAKERS The most recent match on 10th January brought the two Penrith teams head-to-head again, and as per usual it was a cracker game. At their last meeting in October 2023, Lakers took the early lead, only to be overtaken in the final half, but a different story was told this time around. Swifts started well and maintained a very close winning margin through to the final whistle. Lakers didn’t make it an easy job for them by any means, and fought every step of the way, equalising at various points throughout the game. Final score: Swifts 35 – Lakers 31 Swifts PoM: Victoria Baker Lakers PoM: Lucy Peile
Mixed Bag for Penrith in Round Two
Both Penrith Swifts and Lakers have played their second-round matches of the Carlisle Netball League’s winter season, with Swifts taking a win against Carlisle-based Meerkats 3 followed by a loss for the Lakers with the smallest of margins. PENRITH SWIFTS During their Tuesday night game, both Swifts and opponents Meerkats 3 took their time to get into the groove. Lots of back-and-forth play, interceptions and fumbles resulted in a very low-scoring 8-4 first quarter and 16-11 second, both to Swifts. The motivational half-time talk must have done the trick as Penrith came storming out of the blocks to keep Meerkats to only five goals in the third quarter whilst netting themselves 12. The final score was stretched further, ending 40 – 22 to Swifts. Penrith Swifts’ Captain, Eleanor Holme, wrote “I was really impressed with everyone during this match; everyone put in such great efforts. We were able to settle into the game through the first two quarters which really paid off in the second half.” Swifts Player of the Match: Millie Coates PENRITH LAKERS Despite the mightiest of efforts during their game, Penrith Lakers were pipped to the post by Mavericks to take a one-goal loss. Despite Mavericks initial seven-goal lead, Penrith were able to not only catch up, but overtake at several points during the third and fourth quarters. This eventful game brought injury to a couple of Penrith players and led to a quick exchange of bibs. In the dying minutes of the game, both teams upped the ante, going goal-for-goal, but it was Mavericks who finally beat the buzzer to win 18 – 19. Lakers co-captain, Nichola Jackson, said “The team had a slow start, but once we got our heads in the game, we started to work as a team to get the ball down court. Some great interceptions and well-drilled play were had by all.” Lakers Player of the Match: Nichola Jackson Thanks are extended to the umpires and scorers for both games. The next game for both teams will be 15 November: Penrith Swifts v Meerkats 4 at 6pm, followed by Penrith Lakers v Stewartry at 7pm.
Penrith Teams Launch Winter League Campaign
The evening of Tuesday 18th October saw the two newly-named Penrith netball teams, Swifts and Lakers, take each other on in round one of the Carlisle Netball League’s winter competition. A hard-fought game ultimately saw Penrith Swifts take the win with a final score of 32-23. Both teams took time to settle into the game in the first and second quarters. The excitement of playing against their usual teammates left everyone flustered as shown by the small, unforced errors that peppered the first two halves. Lakers were able to compose themselves ahead of their opponents and, boosted by their incredible Jackson/Aris shooting duo, they ended with a lead of one goal at the half-time whistle. A change of personnel in the third quarter lifted both teams, Swifts especially. Although Lakers kept the pressure on to start, Swifts hunkered down and took a win in the quarter of nine goals to three, pushing the score line to 22-17 with only 11 minutes to go. Still not a cut-and-dry game for either side. The final quarter saw both teams power on and fatigue in equal measure; the latter more noticeable in the final five minutes. After going goal-for-goal for a short while, Swifts were able to build upon their five-goal lead, extending it to nine by the time the final whistle blew. Special mention must go to the Players of the Match for each team – Jo Richards (Penrith Swifts) and Lucy Peile (Penrith Lakers). Thanks are also extended to the umpires and scorer for the evening. Penrith Swifts take to the court in two weeks’ time as they face Carlisle-based Meerkats 3, and Penrith Lakers follow the week after (8th November) against Mavericks.
