Emily playing for Team Bath NPL

Captain Call Up!

Partnership Bursar and EUNC 2^nd team Vice-Captain Emily Becconsall has recently been named captain of Team Bath’s Netball Performance League (NPL) U19 squad.

First year BSc Geography student Emily trialled for the U19 NPL squad this year, having previously represented Bath at U17 and U19 level in both the NPL league and end of year tournament. Having made the final squad for the 2019-2020 season, Emily has also been given the job of captaining the side.

Speaking of this achievement, Emily said “It was a very nice surprise to find out that I was named captain, but I am so excited to be leading this team into the upcoming season. I hope that I will be able to support the team through our matches this season.”

Since being initially named in the long squad for Team Bath U19 NPL, Emily has fully embraced the programme. Speaking of her experiences, she said “The Team Bath U19 NPL team is a very welcoming, friendly and competitive environment. I love training with all the players, and each session we are always pushing each other to our limits. I am really excited to be part of the Team Bath squad this year and I am looking forward to contributing to a successful season.”

Emily is also a member of the University of Exeter Netball Performance Programme and has been awarded a Partnership Bursary through the Sport Scholarship Scheme, enabling her to access the Team Bath programme with support for sporting expenses including travel for training. Discussing the benefits, Emily outlined, “without the partnership bursary I would’ve found it hard to be able to attend all the training that is happening. We train once a week in Bath and every other week at Millfield School. The University has allowed me to get a parking permit on campus which has then allowed me to drive to the training sessions where they have supported me financially with petrol money to get to the sessions. As well as this, the extra kit that I have needed for Bath along with the fees has been helped with the bursary all making it possible for me to be in the position I am in now. It has also been great to have 1 to 1 meetings with the performance sport team and be able to talk to them about any worries I have. For instance, if I have clashes with my academic course and netball, they are able to help me communicate with my lecturers to work out what is best for me.”

The University of Exeter has a partnership with the Team Bath Netball Franchise and hosts both an academy and hub at the University. This allows talented netballers from Devon and Cornwall to access the Team Bath Performance Pathway closer to home. University of Exeter Head of Netball Denise Ellis coaches both the academy and hub as well as leading on the University performance netball coaching. The access to Team Bath on top of the University of Exeter Netball Performance Programme provides a quality opportunity for talented netballers to combine their academic studies with a well-supported Netball Performance Programme.

To read further around the Partnership Bursary and the wider Sport Scholarship Scheme, please follow the link here.

Date: 29 November 2019