NETBALL has come a long way in the last 20 years.

With the growth of Regional Leagues and Super League in this country and introduction of professional netball in the southern hemisphere, netball has established itself as an elite sport, with nearly 100,000 members affiliated to England Netball.

The Swindon & District Netball Association has seen widespread success throughout this time, evident by the amount of teams affiliated to the winter league and the number of participants growing on an annual basis. But Swindon Netball has grown in so many other ways, and that is why I am proud to be chair of Swindon & District Netball Association.

For me, netball is very much about including everyone. I will encourage anyone to pick up a ball and join a club or a regular session.

The Swindon Vixens, a club for players with learning disabilities, demonstrates the benefits that physical exercise can have for the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Numerous studies have shown how physical activity can improve inclusivity and quality of life, as well as self-confidence, social awareness and self-esteem.

We have seen this first-hand through the Vixens and the feedback we get from many of their carers and, as a result, we have now expanded our offering to Uplands School in the hope that older pupils will eventually join their sessions.

We also actively encourage those who are no longer able to play in the winter or summer league due to injury to join our Walking Netball sessions.

Swindon walking netballers are pioneers for this sport, with England Netball using the sessions to establish rules when it is officially launched in early 2016.

Along with the ‘This Girl Can’ and 'Back to Netball' campaigns, as well as an eight-week project at Swindon College, Swindon Netball is finding as many ways as possible to include as many different people as possible.

For more information, please visit swindon-netball.co.uk, follow Swindon Netball on Facebook or @swindonnetball on Instagram and Twitter.

DENISE SELL

  •  THERE were no Winter League matches last weekend but Lawn O35’s continued their winning streak, making it four wins out of four by beating Purton 36-5, Lawn’s centre Nikki Carvey receiving player of the match.

Lawn’s Regional League Two squad played Crossbow, who were demoted this season from the Regional League One, just losing out 54-44. Lawn’s youngest squad member, Issy Dawson (wing defence), received the player of the match award.