Men’s and mixed netball is on the rise across the UK. In Scotland, Highland Fever have become the first men’s club and are competing with the top domestic clubs as an invitational entry in the inaugural National League.
Sunday saw the first run out against Edinburgh side Dunedin at Perth UHI which was neck and neck right up until the final whistle tying the final score 42-42.

Team captain Hendrick Lessing said after the match
“It was a very good game, the competition from Dunedin was very physical which we enjoyed. It was nice to come back from behind, the boys showed a lot of character on court.”

“We kept our cool and worked as a unit, we are happy that we were able to push Dunedin for the full 60 minutes.”

23/10/22 – UHI – Perth
Highland Fever v Dunedin
© Craig Watson

Dunedin head coach, Frances Youngson added:
“We came into this game and knew it would be a different style that we would be playing against. We had a game plan and we stuck to it for the first 3 quarters, i think tiredness came into play and we weren’t disciplined enough to implement it through all four quarters.
It was a really well contested match, and we have to say well done to Highland Fever, I think they showed great skill.”

23/10/22 – UHI – Perth
Highland Fever v Dunedin © Craig Watson

Looking ahead to their first National League match 27 Nov, Youngson adds:
‘This league is a real step up for us, we know how strong our competition is. The physical battle of todays match was great preparation, we have to fully commit to our feeds and passes or we will be knocked off the ball so from that perspective this was a great training match.”

Next fixture

Supporting the growth and development of the Men’s and Mixed game in Scotland

As part of our Equality Strategic Objectives, Netball Scotland has set out a key focus on encouraging the growth and development of men and boys’ participation in Scotland.

Although our priority will remain on developing the game for women and girls and rebuilding our sport as we emerge from the pandemic, we are passionate about attracting new audiences and communities to take part in our sport, ensuring it is inclusive and welcoming for all.

Our vision is to sustainably grow and develop the men’s and mixed game in Scotland, by supporting the growth of local, regional, and national opportunities for participation. The development of a Men’s and Mixed Strategy will feature as part of our next 4-year strategic plan, taking us to destination 2027.

We are very much at the beginning of this exciting journey and as part of this project, Netball Scotland is supporting the recruitment of a coaching team, led by a passionate and experienced Lead Coach who will take a Men’s Scotland Representative Squad to the UK Championships, hosted by England Men’s and Mixed Netball Association in August 2022. This coaching team will lead the trials, selection, and preparation of a squad of male players from across Scotland who will compete in the competition in Loughborough.

The key dates for this project are as follows:
Trials – Saturday 21st May, Emirates Arena, Time TBC
Netball Scotland Pathway Competition – Saturday 16th July, Emirates Arena, Time TBC
UK Championships Competition – Friday 26th August to Monday 29th August, Loughborough

If you are interested in being a part of this exciting new programme, we would welcome a note of interest and a CV sent to Daniel Lewis at the email address MenMixedNetball@netballscotland.com by Wednesday 18th May 2022. We are particularly interested in coaches who are looking to progress through the pathway to elite coaching and have experience, passion and the appropriate qualifications to lead this programme over the next four months. If you have any questions, please contact Daniel or Natalie Cassells at Natalie.Cassells@netballscotland.com.

Lead Coach Job Description
Assistant Coach Job Description
Team Manager Job Description