Isle of Man Netball announces squad for Netball Europe Open Challenge 2021

Isle of Man Netball has announced its selected squad for the Netball Europe Open Challenge, set to take place in October in Gibraltar.

The challenge (7-10 October 2021) will see the following teams compete: Gibraltar, Switzerland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Malta and UAE.

Northern Ireland will be attending and competing against a number of teams including the Isle of Man in stand-alone ranking matches throughout the 4 days.

The following athletes have been selected to represent the Isle of Man (Manx Rams):

BRIDSON, Aalish
CROSS, Alice
GALE, Chloe
HALL, Ashley (Captain)
HEMPSALL, Rebekah
JOHNSTONE, Rachel
KEELING, Katrina
PIZZEY, Cassidy
RYDER-CLAGUE, Jane
SHAW, Lydia
SKILLICORN, Paige
STAWNA, Vivia (Vice Captain)
SWALES, Natalie

“I’m delighted to announce the squad to represent our Island at what should be the first international tournament for the Manx Rams since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The group are really looking forward to competing again and we’re busy preparing for what should be a fantastic, competitive tournament,” said Claire Battye, Head Coach for Manx Rams.

The Isle of Man are currently ranked 23rd in the world.

The last Netball Europe Open Challenge event took place in May 2019 when the Isle of Man took home the title in front of a home crowd, with the event held at the NSC.