Netball: Island sides take on RAF in pre-season ties

Tournament part of Island preparations for international event next month

Preparations for the Isle of Man's national netball sides for the new campaign are now underway after local teams welcomed squads from the Royal Air Force (RAF) for a series of pre-season friendlies last weekend.

As part of plans to get ready for international commitments next month, three Island sides faced off against their opponents during a one-day competition at the NSC in Douglas on Saturday, 7 February.

The opening tie saw the IoM Under-17's lose out 65-25 against a strong RAF 1st team before the Isle of Man's Under-17 Development Squad fell to a narrow 35-25 loss to the RAF 2nd team.

Following that was the closest game of the day as an Isle of Man Under-23 team faced the RAF 1sts - whilst the Manx hosts took an early lead to go 11-7 in front after the first quarter, their visitors would go on to edge a hard-fought contest by 46-29 scoreline.

The fourth and final match of the series saw the Isle of Man Under-17's face the RAF 2nds with the latter going on to win 44-33 to complete a clean sweep of wins for the travelling team on what was their first ever visit to Manx shores.

More broadly, Isle of Man Netball says the tournament provided 'ideal preparation' ahead of the Isle of Man taking part in the Under-17 Rising Stars Cup on Island next month.

That event will see two Isle of Man Under-17 teams face off against France, Gibraltar, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland in a round-robin competition at the NSC from 5-8 March.