ISA U13 Netball Regional Champions

By Mrs Hannah Harrison,
Sports Coach

On Friday 24th January, Ipswich High School hosted the U13 ISA East Netball competition. Nine teams from eight different schools from across the region came together and competed for the top four spots to gain qualification into the ISA National Finals. Ipswich High School were the only school to enter two teams.
All the players were a credit to the school and conducted themselves with maturity, sportsmanship, and passion. It was a fantastic experience for all the players and both squads grew in confidence throughout the tournament.
The B team started the day a little nervous but soon settled into their stride winning the first game vs St John’s 6 -0. Throughout the day they grew in confidence, and with each match, implemented the feedback given.
The team were very adaptable and played in a variety of different positions. They secured a second win over St Nicholas 4 -2 and tied a great game 3-3 vs Finborough.
They secured their final win of the day against Gosfield winning 3 – 2, leaving them, at the end of the tournament, in a very respectful 6th Place in a competition of A teams.
As a team they never gave up, worked hard for each other, and played some great netball with strong passing, excellent shooting, and tight defence. The A team had a risky start with a 3-3 draw against Thrope Hall, with goal difference important to the overall standings, the aim for the team was to score,and score quickly!
They then went on to play and beat St Johns and Finborough of which one match had a twenty goal difference. Just before lunch the team faced New Hall which we knew was going to be a physical and challenging game. It was very neck and neck for each goal, however IHS managed to convert a successful turnover from the defence, winning 4-6.
After lunch, the team played Ipswich High School B team and played a great competitive match with a great score line of 6-2. RHS was our next match who were currently having a successful day themselves, and we knew this was going to be tough competition. Ipswich High School took the lead and dominated the half leading by four goals.
However, with some tactical switching at half time for RHS, saw them creep back the score line and were tailing us by one. With two minutes to go and a tactical change from Ipswich High School, we kept possession of the ball well, finishing the game with a 9-8 victory.
The finals few games commenced against St Nicholas and Gosfield, where the team successfully won both and were then crowned the ISA Regional Champions for 2025. A huge congratulations to all the girls involved who go on to play at King’s High School, in Warwick at the end of March.