Netball team 'devastated' at loss of court

A netball team is campaigning to keep a full-sized netball court at a council-run leisure centre that is being redeveloped.

The Back to Netball team from Easton, Bristol, says it will no longer be able to play at Easton Leisure Centre, which is run by Everyone Active on behalf of Bristol City Council., because it will no longer have a full-sized court.

Susan Anderson, 62, from Hartcliffe, has been running the training sessions for 14 years and said the team was "devastated" as it had already had to relocate twice before.

City councillor Stephen Williams, chair of the public health and communities committee, said he understood the disappointment but a small court would still be available.

The Back to Netball sessions, run by Netball England, are designed to encourage women back to the sport.

More than 20 women attend the sessions in Bristol – including women from diverse communities and backgrounds.

The team says it was not consulted in the decision to redevelop the court.

Ms Anderson said: "There is a real community spirit amongst these girls.

"They just keep moving us and, everywhere we go, they keep taking the courts away.

"They offered us another venue, but we want to stay here."

Janie Randell, 42, from Fishponds, has played at the club since it started and said she would "fight" for the club because they were "such a great family".

"Even on my lowest days, I come here and I feel so much better knowing I am around people and doing something good for myself," she said.

The team says it will have to find a new court to play on from 21 April.

It says the Easton Leisure centre court worked well because it was completely private, which it says also enabled Muslim women to play in a women-only environment.

Ayan Mussa, 33, from Eastville, is one of them, and said: "This netball club means the world to me as a mum of four young kids.

"It's a really nice inclusive session where all women from all communities and backgrounds come together.

"Without it I don't know what I would be doing."

She added she was not sure she would be able to carry on attending sessions if they were not at the leisure centre.

Another player, Merriel Waggoner, 57, from Ashley Down, said: "I have never known something so joyous, it's laughter from beginning to end.

"I think it's a beautiful example of what community sport should and could be."

Williams said as part of a 15-year contract with Everyone Active, the council had invested £8m in five of the city's major leisure and sporting facilities.

"A dedicated women's only gym, additional studio space, refurbishment of poolside areas, improvements to the reception area, and a new soft play facility will be delivered as part of the £3.3m upgrade for Easton Leisure Centre," he said.

"We understand the disappointment of the team impacted by a reduction in the sports hall space and netball court size.

"Following these refurbishment works the new court, although no longer full-size, remains available for use and we are working with our leisure operator to identify appropriate alternative venues within our leisure sites and across Bristol's community-owned and managed facilities."

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