Ray Lowe Sporting Foundation https://www.raylowesf.com

The Ray Lowe Sporting Foundation supports a number of clubs and organisations in Guernsey who provide sporting opportunities for young islanders. That includes the U16 Guernsey Panthers, a local netball team, who Jenny and Olly saw at the Grammar School earlier this week. They witnessed one of their training sessions and were encouraged by the energy, enthusiasm and team camaraderie of the players and coaches.

Speaking to a few of the players during training they highlighted how they were originally introduced to the sport, citing school try outs and parental influences. Harriet likes being part of a team and enjoys the competitiveness of the games she plays at home and away. She enjoys representing her island and looks forward to being a member of the island team when she is older.

A number of players we heard from highlighted how much they enjoyed the away trips. Charlotte has benefited from playing against UK teams, and has recognised that they are faster on court and better prepared both mentally and physically. Hattie said that they drew their last two games, which is unheard of in the sport, and playing UK opponents on a regular basis is a great experience as they are frequently up against teams of a higher standard, something she relishes as that level of competition isn’t available in Guernsey.

Alicia was introduced to the sport at school and has been playing since she was 7. She recognises that her team mates are always on hand to encourage and support each other. Overall they all win or lose as a team.

We have provided individual support to a number of players that regularly train away with UK Netball Academies, and that included Lilly who we managed to catch up with during training. It was encouraging to hear how dedicated she is, as she travels to the UK fortnightly to train with Surrey Storm.

Overall we were both encouraged by the energy at their training session and thanked them for inviting us along. We will definitely be popping down to support them at their next home game.

We wish them the best of luck for the remainder of the season!