FIVE netballers from North East Wales will help the country to qualify for next year’s Netball World Youth Cup in Fiji after being included in the National Under 21 squad for 2020.
Welsh Netball announced the 26-player squad on Tuesday, with the Flintshire and Wrexham quintet of Ellice Gallagher, Ellie Blackwell, Katie Aindow, Mollie Underhill and Sapphira Fisher making the cut.
The five players currently ply their trade in North East Wales, with Ellice Gallagher and Ellie Blackwell a part of Mold Netball Club, Katie Aindow a member of North Dragons Netball Club, and Mollie Underhill and Sapphira Fisher at Deeside Netball Club.
Following the announcement of the squad, Wales Under 21 head coach, Nikki Lloyd, said: “I was really looking forward to seeing the next generation of athletes at trials in January and they didn’t disappoint.
“The strength, depth and variety of backgrounds and playing styles of the trialists made selections a challenging but exciting job for the selectors.
“With World Youth Cup qualification just nine and a half months away, this is a key year for our Under 21 athletes with the event in Fiji in 2021 providing invaluable international overseas competition experience for our young athletes.
“I would like to congratulate all those selected and now look forward to a strong start in our first session on 9 February as we continue on our road to Fiji.”
The group will now turn their attentions to helping Wales to qualify for the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup in Fiji later in the year as they seek to improve on the 13th place finish they achieved last time out in Botswana, 2017.
In that tournament, Wales lost out in group games against Trinidad and Tobago, England, and the future host nation Fiji, before convincingly beating Grenada in their final match.
The full Wales Under 21 squad for 2020 is as follows:
Alanah Heath Drury, Caris Morgan, Carys Llewellyn, Catrin Roy, Charlotte Jennings-Evans, Darcie Dunn, Ellice Gallagher, Ellie Blackwell, Elysse Haywood, Esme Cornelius, Georgia Hellerman, Georgia Jenkins, Katie Aindow, Lauren Francis, Macey Lane, Macy Morgan, Malkia Beadle, Mari Enoch, Martha Scott, Mollie Underhill, Nan Williams, Nia Evans, Rhian Evans, Sapphira Fisher, Sophie Margetts, Tia Davies.
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