Isle of Man Netball staged the second annual Judi Clark-Wilson Charity Cup Day at the National Sports Centre on Sunday.

This event is a celebration of netball in the island, providing an opportunity to come together and enjoy the sport: whether you’re on court, coaching, umpiring, officiating or spectating, netball is for everyone and it was wonderful to see so many people there to watch the games.

It is a day to reflect and celebrate the life and memory of the late Judi Clark-Wilson who sadly passed away in December 2020.

Judi founded the Manx Netball Association (now Isle of Man Netball) in 1984 and, for more than 36 years, her dedication and passion to local netball was unwavering; she was a friend to many and a supporter of all thing’s netball.

Everyone involved in the sport is fortunate for Judi’s hard work over the years and indeed to all those who have contributed their time to provide the wonderful association in place today.

Isle of Man Netball was delighted to welcome Judi’s husband Alistair and some of the family for a second year to present the medals at the end of each match. All funds raised on the day will be going to Reach IOM and thanks go to Adam Hudgeon from the charity for attending the event.

Division Two

Route 1 Volts 30,

Ramsey Reds 24

Both teams started with a few changes to the season’s regular line-ups, so the beginning of the contest was more about the players getting used to the game.

It didn’t take long for the sides to settle and the shooters started to get opportunities, with both goal attacks Ealish Baxter (Volts) and Ellie Johnston shooting at 100 percent for the first quarter, therefore the scoreline was level at eight goals each at quarter-time.

The second period saw a change in the WA position for Route 1 as Aalin Mayers took to the court and worked well with Kate Doran at centre, allowing Volts to take a small lead going into half-time at 16-14. This may have been a larger lead but the relentless defence of Reese Dalugdugan (GK) for Ramsey under the post restricted the chances for the shooters to convert.

Ramsey Reds were not going to let the game go out of their reach and made a change of their own which saw Claire Pullen take to court in the WD position. She assisted well in the attacking role, helping her side gain a goal back to go into the final quarter down by only one. In the fourth quarter there were some lovely feeds from the eventual player of the match Kate Doran into Sue Webster and Volts opened up a comfortable lead, with the eventual scoreline standing at 30-24.

Division One

Castletown Celts 20,

Ramsey Blacks 28

The game started off fast paced, with both centres Rebecca O’Neill and Amber Pullen dictating play through the mid-court.

With Castletown having 10 attempts at goal this quarter and converting five, it was Ramsey with nine attempts and seven goals that took a small lead into the second period.

The next quarter saw a change for Castletown, with Hayley Duffus taking to the court in the WA position. Celts’ shooters began to settle and, with some key interceptions from Holly Renshaw (WD), Castletown took the lead 15-13.

The defensive duo of Charmer and Dunne for Castletown worked tirelessly to keep turning the ball over for the team, but it was met by similar hard work at the other end from Ramsey GK Rachel Andrew and Emily Craig.

With turnovers met at each end, the midcourt had to put in a shift with the constant end-to-end play and the quarter ended 20-20.

The score remained unchanged for a while but Ramsey’s defence put pressure on Castletown’s shooters and they soon created vital interceptions.

The northerners’ shooting duo of GS Bryony Callow-Thomas and GA Ariana Kerruish managed to capitalise and their positive momentum helped in their play for the rest of the game.

In the end it was Ramsey who claimed victory over the league winners by 28-20, with a well-deserved player of the match going to Rachel Andrew (GK) for Ramsey Blacks.

Championship

Atla Group Pumas 25,

Thompson Travel 2 - 22

With both teams fielding strong sides, this was always going to be an exciting game and it didn’t disappoint.

The match started off fast with the long feeds going into the circle early for both teams. There was some fast play from Thompson coming out of defence by Emily Rawlins who linked well with Natalie Christian.

This while both shooters for Thompson started the game strongly, holding their shooting stats at 100 percent for the quarter and helping their team take an early lead going into the second quarter.

With Atla Pumas trailing by three going into the second, they knew they had some ground to gain and they started by winning the second quarter by one goal which left them trailing by two going into the third quarter.

Having not lost a game all season, spectators knew that Pumas would have more in the tank so what could they do in the second half?

The third quarter saw a shift in the shooting stats and it was in this period that the Atla Puma shooters showcased what they are capable of by not missing a single shot.

Thompson continued to fight back and the fast pace of the game was great to watch. Defensively the strength of Shimmin-Mann and Harkin was impressive and really restricted opportunities for the Thompson attack to score what they needed to in the final quarter, therefore Pumas took the game.

This was a great, fast-paced affair with Rawlins earning herself the player of the match award for Thompson.

Premier Division

Simcocks Red Eagles 51,

Suntera Global Ballasalla 20

The final game of the day was the cup final and, with all to play for, both teams put out strong line-ups.

The match started in the hands of Simcocks who took the first centre pass to goal, before Ballasalla replied by doing the same on their centre pass.

There was some fast play down the court by Simcocks who managed to take an early lead.

Simcocks’ defensive duo of Kenzie Pizzey worked extremely well with Natalie Swales and began restricting options for the Ballasalla shooters, which resulted in Simcocks taking an early lead at 12-5.

Simcocks stepped it up another gear in the second quarter, scoring a massive 17 goals to Ballasalla’s four which saw the overall score sitting at 29-9 at half-time.

Ballasalla decided to make some changes going into the third quarter, with Sarah Long coming into the game at goal attack and duly shooting at 100 percent which is an impressive set of stats for the young player.

With the game sitting at 43-13 going into the fourth quarter, both teams decided to play their bench which saw several new players enter the contest.

One of these was Poppy Irving for Simcocks who was playing for the first time in the Judi Clark-Wilson Cup which is played in memory of Poppy’s grandmother so it was a wonderful moment for her.

The final score was 51-20 to Simcocks who clinched the trophy, with player of the match going to Rachel Johnstone for Eagles.