Netball tournament honours former student

Keen sportswomen from throughout the Tees Valley gathered at the University for an annual tournament held in memory of a former student.

The Jill Bainbridge Netball Tournament, now in its 22nd year, involved the University team and various college teams from around the region. Pip Bell, Sports Development Officer at Teesside, said: ‘Jill Bainbridge was an ex-student at the University and a keen netball player herself who tragically died in a car crash. We have played the tournament every year since then.’

The tournament, on Wednesday 22 April, was well attended, with Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College coming out on top and beating the University team 11-6 in the final.

Volunteers offer a helping hand The netballers were not the only ones to benefit from the tournament, as a number of University and college student volunteers on SUNEE’s Podium 2012 scheme helped to organise and run the event.

Sarah Whalley, of Prior Pursglove College, was one of the students involved in the organisation of this year’s Jill Bainbridge Netball Tournament.

She said: ‘It’s great experience to help out at different events and help to manage and organise them.

'We took part in a two day course not long ago which taught us some vital skills and this was all about putting them into practice.’

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