JustBe Netball Queens!

Meeting each week with the Bromley ladies for our ‘walk and talk’ is inspiring, encouraging, and not to mention fun and a real sense of comradery and sisterhood.

Since last year, we decided our meeting points would be alternate months at Crystal Palace and Beckenham Place Park.  I am always amazed at how each lady arrives motivated and ready to take on the day, no matter whether they have driven, hitched a ride or taken a couple of trams and buses to get to our meeting point on time.

Every walk ends with a “wellbeing” chat where experiences and outcomes are shared including our food and fitness regimes and all sorts. It was from one of these chats, that I shared my love for netball, having played the sport since the age of 9. I suggested to the ladies that apart from walking, netball can also act as an alternate keep fit regime. The game not only increases heart rate but increases our daily steps too without having to think about it (through walking).

To be honest, I put the suggestion out there and then forgot about it. Several months later, several ladies kept asking about it, “So what’s happening about the netball?” Being fully persuaded to follow this up and with Yvette and Alison’s blessing, I set about investigating courts at nearby schools and centres accessible for both Lambeth and Bromley ladies.

On 19th November 2022, a fairly cold, fresh morning, the first JustBe Netball match took place on the outdoor court at Harris Academy Crystal Palace. We were joined by the lovely Vanessa who came straight in, volunteering to sort out the subs. It was lovely to see anxious, willing, fun-loving ladies between the ages of 31-69, all ready to embrace this ‘non-contact ‘ sport which some said they hadn’t played for decades. There was even a point where players were saying how long it was since they had played netball; one said 20 years another said 30 years until we finally heard someone say, “I haven’t played netball for over 50 years”.

It was a great morning. With a team of 12, I was both player/umpire with Marilyn at half time, supplying us all with satsumas. The ladies were fitter than they thought; not a feeble knee in sight.

The morning was such an enjoyable one, going forward, everyone said they would love to squeeze in another match before Christmas and sure enough we did, (indoor this time). So, on 17th December 2022, joined by more Bromley ladies and Barbara and our one and only audacious Audrey from Lambeth, we played out second match.

The matches were tougher than the last one. Many really meant business and with a couple of falls and one broken acrylic nail on the floor, some ladies took the definition of competitive to a whole new level.

On both occasions we were simply the RED TEAM or the BLUE TEAM. No name has been chosen for the team yet and going forward, we are hoping to meet and play for a third time in March 2023. I’m sure by then we’ll have a name for the team.

Karen Powell