World record wait for Jersey netballers

Monday 13 July 2015

A massive team of netballers is waiting to hear if they smashed a world record this weekend.

They attempted to break the record for the most number of players in an exhibition match at any one time, which previously stood at 75 - but in a marathon session on Saturday, the Jersey team believe there were 113 players.

That now needs to be confirmed by Guinness who set stringent criteria for world-record attempts, and the team faces an anxious wait of up to three months to find out if they are world-beaters. The attempt was part of a 24-hour 'netballathon' to raise money for Team Jets, who will face high travel expenses to compete in Premier League 2 next season, the second tier of English netball, after clinching promotion in play-off games two months ago

The whole event had to be videoed, and included rolling substitutions to make sure that so many players could all take part in the two-hour game - each one wore a special number to make sure they could be identified on the video. Guinness will now confirm that all the criteria for an official 'record' have been met.  

It all took place at Le Rocquier School this weekend, and coincided with a family fun day in aid of the charity Philip's Footprints, which supports families who have lost a baby.

In total on the day, the events raised £4,250.50, with £3,187.87 going to Philip's Footprints, and £1062.63 going to the Jersey Netball Association, with some sponsorship still to come in - the weekend was sponsored by Tamarind Indian Restaurant, Sports Bug Jersey, G4S and SGB. 

Organiser and charity founder, Jo Nash, says that the money raised will be used to help train health professionals to better spot the warning signs of a baby who might be in distress before birth, and also to support families through further pregnancies, if they have previously suffered the loss of a child. The charity recently paid more than £3,000 to support 35 health professionals from the Channel Islands to take part in a special training course.

Jo commented: "It was an absolutely fantastic day, with a truly great result at the end of it. It shows what can be achieved when you are part of an amazing team!"

The family fun day included a range of activities from stalls and mini-football to bouncy castles, large slides and face painting.

Pictured: Philip's Footprints founder, Jo Nash (centre), flanked by Trustees Jo Prouten (left) and Vicky de Veulle.