Netball Adventure in Malta: a Triumph of Team Spirit

The RGS Netball Tour took place in the second week of Half term and the Netballers enjoyed their trip to Malta. Lower Sixth student, Issy Churchill, writes about her Tour experience below:

“Fifteen excited Netballers arrived at School at 5.45 am ready to travel to Heathrow. It was an early start but worth it and thankfully we arrived in Malta after no delays. Shortly after arriving at our hotel, we headed straight to our first match! It was a fantastic start to the Tour chalking up a win and boosting our confidence. There was some great match play from the team and there was already a strong sense of camaraderie among us.

Day two started with a relaxed morning by the pool and enjoying the Maltese sun before heading out to our first training session. Head of Netball, Miss Gwilliam, set us to work, practising drills for match play and ironing out creases so we were ready for our second match of the Tour that afternoon.

It was a very tough match and a fantastic experience but as some of the opposition played internationally for Malta, we found ourselves on the back foot from the start. Bella, Eden and Zara played really well in defence, and we put up a good fight but sadly ended that match with a loss.

Day three of the Tour was jam-packed with activities. We had an early start as we were off to Gozo by boat. It was a choppy journey, with many of us feeling a little green but soon enough the rough sea seemed worth it as we were able to explore a hidden cave and swim in the Blue Lagoon! We needed to watch out for the jellyfish, which thankfully we all did, and we enjoyed a fabulous barbecue enjoying the weather and scenery.

Day four started with a morning full of exploring the local towns and an enjoyable amount of shopping. After lunch, we had training followed by a match. We really were cementing ourselves now as a strong team, we put our best foot forwards in that match and put our training into action. Our fourth day came to an end with a win before heading out to Cheeky Monkeys for dinner.

The Tour had flown by and, before we knew it, we were waking up on our final day. We went to explore Valletta in the morning and had time to buy a few more souvenirs and then headed to the airport to travel home.

It really was such an enjoyable experience and one we would happily do again. With thanks to Miss Gwilliam, Mrs Harkness and Miss Cameron for allowing us to make memories to last a lifetime and to Maddie for being a great Tour Captain, lifting spirits up when they fell and leading us to victory in many of our matches!”