Hi, I’m Lily a third year PPE student who is involved (and LOVES) both college and uni netball. For those who aren’t aware, York is split into colleges. You can compete in different sports against other college teams. I am in Anne Lister College and have played for Lister Kato Netball Club for all three of my years at uni. I also play for UYNC. This is where I represent the University in matches against other unis (on a BUCS Wednesday).
University v College netball
Whilst these two parts of my netball life are very different in many ways, I love them both so so much. In first year I didn’t really get on with my flat. It was honestly one of my main fears when coming to uni as I knew for many people this was the main way that they made friends. However, this wasn’t really an issue for me as I quickly joined both UYNC and LKNC. Uni netball is much more intense with a lot more training. So I quickly made super close friends through that and actually ended up living in a netball house in my second and third years. Uni netball is a little more exclusive with trials and a relatively high standard, however my experiences of college netball have offered me many of the same benefits. So don’t worry at all if you don’t quite make the uni squad. I have met some of my best friends through college netball and actually hope to live with them in my fourth year. I’ve decided to stay at York for a masters (simply couldn’t leave)!
Umpiring
Another great thing about netball is the number of officiating opportunities. This is a great way to get involved with the netball community and make some money! I am a C award umpire and have had lots of opportunities to umpire at both BUCS and college. I was even voted as Student Official of the Year across all college sports in my first year! Now I am heavily involved in the organisation and umpiring at the college level which I greatly enjoy.
Committee roles
I have had quite a few committee roles in my time at York for both college and uni netball. These include club captain for LKNC in my second year as well as social sec and 2s captain for UYNC. I am currently Vice-President for UYNC too. All these roles have been super rewarding and I have enjoyed them all a lot. A couple of my highlights of playing netball at York have come through these such as successfully gaining promotion with LKNC 1s and being nominated for club of the year at the college sport awards. Another highlight for me has got to be winning at Roses (our huge varsity tournament with Lancaster) with the 3s in first year and the 2s in second year. Fingers crossed for the treble this year!
Why netball is fabulous!
All in all, I think many people would describe me as a netball fanatic. It is basically all I do (apart from my degree of course). But honestly it has been the most important part of my university experience. I couldn’t recommend getting involved at either a uni or college level to a new fresher more!!
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