U6 Pupil, Eva Buckley Competes at the Netball Youth World Cup Qualifiers
December 16, 2024
At the end of September, I was fortunate enough to be selected to represent the Republic of Ireland U21s at the Netball Youth World Cup qualifiers hosted in Cardiff. We narrowly missed out on qualifying and placed 5th overall. The highlights of the week included our win against the Isle of Man (50-22), sightseeing around Cardiff on our rest day, getting my first U21 cap and our best game against the eventual winners of the tournament, Scotland.
Being selected for this squad is one of my biggest sporting achievements to date. Throughout the season I took part in multiple trials and matches as well as training camps in Dublin. There was also the additional challenge of competing for selection against older and more experienced players who were in some cases three years older than me.
Having been reselected for this season into the U21/U19 long squad I am hoping to be selected in December for the U19 Netball Europe event.
I am very grateful to the sports scholarship fund which has enabled me to continue to represent my country and helped cover the costs of training camps, travelling and competition fees. I am also very grateful to all the sport department who have supported me so far with special thanks to Mrs. Ashton.
Mrs. Ashton, Head of Netball comments "I have coached Eva outside of school as part of the County and Saracens Mavericks pathway and knew she was very talented, so I was delighted when she decided to join us for 6th Form. She has been a key member of the 1st VII squad since, and this year is Vice-Captain of the team. I am delighted that we have been able to support her in such a practical way, and we are all very proud of not only her achievements, but also the commitment she shows for her sport".
Written by Eva Buckley




