THE INAUGRUAL Severn Stars ‘Super Tournaments’ saw more than 160 players, parents and coaching staff pack into the University of Worcester Arena.
Two tournaments; the Super U16 County Tournament and the Supernova Tournament, ran at the arena which was capped with presentations to England U17 player and Severn Stars training partner Beth Gabriel.
The Super U16 County Tournament was held to celebrate and recognise the hard work of coaching staff and players within the county academies throughout the 2017/18 season.
The tournament was also a selection event for the Severn Stars Nova Academy 2018/19 performance pathway programme with academy teams from Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, South Staffordshire, Herefordshire and Staffordshire all in attendance along with a guest team from Redmaids’ High School in Bristol.
A round-robin format saw the teams placed in two groups and Group A saw Gloucestershire begin strongly and victory in their final game saw them finish top of the group, while wins for Herefordshire against South Staffordshire and Oxfordshire in Group B were not enough to prepare them for the invincible Worcestershire who finished top in style with no other team able to score half against them.
This set up a Worcestershire versus Gloucestershire final which saw all players step up their game given the occasion, however Worcestershire’s fine shooting form continued and they were named Super U16 County Champions despite a valiant effort from Gloucestershire.
The Supernova Tournament was a round-robin between the Severn Stars five Nova Academies; King’s School Worcester, Millfield School, Hartpury College, Birmingham Metropolitan College and Headington School, Oxford.
The closest match of day game between King’s School Worcester Nova and Millfield Nova which saw King’s School Worcester come from behind and steal a last minute winner in the very last second of the match.
However, following consistently strong performances throughout the day it was Hartpury College who were named Supernova Champions 2018, managing to remain undefeated throughout the tournament.
The Severn Stars Super Tournaments also gave players, parents and coaches the opportunity to attend educational talks from Severn Stars Co-founder Anita Navin about the beliefs and values of the Severn Stars Netball Club and the
Severn Stars Performance Pathway and from Ben Young, the strength and conditioning lead for the Severn Stars Performance Pathway.
Severn Stars players Sam Cook, Laura Rudland, Iona Darroch, Becky Oatley and Jodie Gibson also attended throughout the day and it was a great chance for the young talent at Severn Stars to celebrate Jodie Gibson’s and England Netball team’s Commonwealth Games gold medal success.