A free netball festival catering for children with disabilities and additional needs has been hailed a major success.
The Sunshine Sports Festival, the first of its kind in the North East, was organised by England Netball and The Chronicle Sunshine Fund. It was held at Sport Central, Northumbria University, and involved 40 children.
The festival aimed to introduce youngsters to a sport they had not been able to play before due to access needs. Children attended from schools including Cedars Academy, Collingwood School, Dryden School and Beacon Hill School.
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At the event, there were skill stations offering the young people a chance to learn and practise netball skills such as passing, defending and shooting. And the day ended with a fun-filled match.
Gemma White, North East community coach for England Netball, said a lot of work was being done in the community to provide opportunities for people to play netball. Speaking about the festival, she added: "Today we've got the event on, which is our ParaNetball event. It's the first of its kind in the region, so we're really excited about that.
"We've got 40 kids here today, all from different schools across the region, all different disabilities. It's great to see them all on court together and all getting involved. And the kids are having a brilliant time. What's lovely is to see them celebrating each other's successes as well.
"The main thing from today is that everybody has been able to take part in all of the activities that we've done. It's the first opportunity where they've seen and played netball, which is great for us to see. It's great to see that we've got new people getting involved and we've also got our partners here today from Consett Steelers, who are our co-inclusive netball club."
Jade Featherstone, North East regional officer and team leader at England Netball, said: "Celebrating each other's wins and team work is definitely something they (the children) will take out of it, and just enjoying the different opportunities.
"We had our whole team out today. We had all the England Netball staff and young volunteers from Whitburn and Gateshead College, who have given their time to help us out. Our role at England Netball is about making netball accessible to everyone. So we want to continue making sure that events like this can happen."
Amanda Pickering, from Cedars Academy in Low Fell, Gasteshead, came with a class of Key Stage 3 children. She said: "This was a fantastic opportunity to get out into the community and mix with other schools, and be part of a fantastic netballing activity.
"To take the children out of the context of the classroom and put them into more of a social setting has allowed them to really develop their inter-personal skills and their wellbeing. Some children don't integrate with others depending on their need and ability but today has really shone through for me how they can get past those barriers.
"They have all partcipated and it's just really made me proud to see them individually do this to get through these barriers. More things like this is definitely the way forward."
The type of equipment used at the festival included pop up accessible netball posts that were adjustable and adaptable for all as well as traditional netball equipment. The charity Smile Through Sport provided some of the equipment, which was funded by the Sunshine Fund several years ago and is still in operational use.
Smile Through Sport also provided advice ahead of the event on how to help children participate and play netball. Managing director Rachel Miller explained that they had a connection with the Sunshine Fund - her husband Stephen, founder of Smile Through Sport, is a patron for the charity.
Siobhan Sargeant, Sunshine Fund charity director, said: "The Chronicle Sunshine Fund were thrilled to be involved and supporting this netball event by working closely with our school and education partners to bring this event to our region.
"Netball isn’t a sport that we would often see in disability sport, overshadowed by basketball and football. However when we put this event out to our partner schools and education providers the response was phenomenal, thus proving the passion for netball is there.
"We would like to say a big thank you to England Netball who organised the event and were integral in its success. Thanks also to all their volunteers who came and supported the festival, and Rachel from Smile Through Sport.
"Without Smile Through Sport, we would not have had the equipment that we needed for the children to have this wonderful experience but also to have kept it as a free event. We also thank all the schools that attended and Sport Central. And the young volunteers have been absolutely fantastic."
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