Barbados Netball Team Captain, Rhe-Ann Niles; Singapore Netball Team Captain, Vanessa Lee; Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh, Councillor Tim Morrow; Chairman of Council Leisure and Community Development Committee, Alderman James Tinsley; Republic of Ireland Netball Team Captain, Niamh Murphy; Northern Ireland Netball Team Captain, Caroline O’Hanlon at reception at Lagan Valley Island.

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council held a reception for netball teams from across the globe that recently competed in the Summer Quad Series Netball Tournament hosted at Lisburn Racquets Club.

The Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Councillor Tim Morrow and Alderman James Tinsley, Chairman of the Council’s Leisure & Community Development Committee, welcomed the athletes, umpires and tournament delegates from Barbados, Singapore, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to the Lisburn & Castlereagh area.

The Summer Quad Series tournament saw competing teams fight for their ticket to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the girls in green proved that dedication certainly pays off. The Northern Ireland Netball Team excelled from start to finish of the tournament, placing them in the all-important top 12 teams in the world, qualifying them for the upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia. Beating Barbados 35-33 in an exciting match that kept spectators on the edge of their seat ranked NI Senior Netball Team, in standings published on Tuesday 4th July, 10th place in the world.

Speaking about the reception event at Lagan Valley Island, the Mayor said: “It was an honour to welcome and talk to such talented athletes from Northern Ireland, Singapore, Barbados and the Republic of Ireland. We were pleased to welcome the teams to our council area and are extremely proud of how well Northern Ireland have done. We look forward to watching their future success and will follow their journey to the Commonwealth Games.”

Alderman James Tinsley, said: “It is always a delight to welcome visitors from across the world to the City of Lisburn & Castlereagh. I would like to congratulate all the participating teams on their success and particularly Northern Ireland on their outstanding achievement in securing a place in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. It is certainly a great moment for local sport and an exciting time for Netball in Northern Ireland.”