Daventry walking netball group is hosting a tournament at the Daventry Leisure Centre

Two teams of seven players are entering a netball tournament at the Daventry Leisure Centre.

Daventry walking netball group is hosting the special event on Friday, June 16.

Kelly Thomson, 43, England netball development officer from Northamptonshire, said: “Daventry is our longest-standing group. It was formed in 2016 as a pilot program from England Netball. Seven years later, we still have 20 to 30 people turning up every week at Daventry”.

The event will start at 9.30am, with the game finishing at 11am, followed by a well-deserved socialising break.

“We’re just inviting some local teams to come over and do a morning of friendly competition. We do get a lot of competitive ladies and gents that take part,” said Kelly.

The Daventry ‘Diamonds’ and ‘Gems’ teams are set to play in two sections. The social section is called ‘Wiggles and giggles’ and the more competitive one is ‘In it to win it’.

“The team that wins gets a medal,” said Susan Thomas, one of the participants, who has been playing walking netball for over four years.

“It’s a get-together in the community. There’s no age restriction on it. We’ve got ladies that are 92 and ladies that are 18. There are lots of wiggles and guaranteed giggles,” said Kelly.

Jeanie Midson, 70, Daventry walking netball coach, said: “What we're hoping for is to have a good day of netball.”

Everyone is welcome to the event.

“We've done quite a lot of tournaments. It's the friendliest group of women that I've ever been involved with,” said Jeanie.

“The Daventry group is quite a unique group. It’s a really good community. Everybody that lives in that area, they don’t just get walking netball, a coffee, and a catch-up. They go on theatre trips and have lots of social events,” said Kelly.

Daventry walking netball group is providing refreshments. Coffee and cake will be enjoyed at the end of the session.

“Whether you're five or 95, you played at school, it’s a new sport or you just want to be more sociable and meet people, there's no better way than joining the game of netball. Netball is for all,” said Kelly.