As the cool autumn breeze begins to blow in, the Netball season in Switzerland officially kicked off! This season Swiss Netball introduced a new league format whereby all the clubs head to one venue and play their matches on the same day.
The Matterhorn League
Last year we were promoted to the Matterhorn League (yay!), so on the 15th October, we headed down to Lausanne for our first match of the season against last years Matterhorn Division winners: GIN (Geneva International Netball).
We played our hearts out, working together and developing our skills thanks to our brilliant coach Annette. The game finished 55-28, so a huge congratulations to GIN and we can’t wait for our rematch! Our next match is on 3rd of December in Geneva, where we will take on AGNA (Aubonne Girls Netball Association) at 11:30am. Thank you to all our supporters and players in the league game, we hope to see you there!
October trainings saw a big focus this month on DEFENCE! An essential part of the game that is not only the responsibility of the defenders but also for those in attack. From tips to intercepts to body positioning!
Our New Committee
We recently welcomed 3 new committee members to the club:
Leah (WA, GA) will be taking over events for the club. In her role she will be organising all events during and outside of training. So get prepared to get your nerd on a pub quizzes and other amazing social activities!
Emily (GD, GK) is taking on social media and content creation responsibilities for the club, working with Chiara! We look forward to the upcoming posts and creativity she can bring to our platforms.
Lauren (GK, GD) is taking on keeping our website up-to-date and sending out our comms to our lovely members!
Let’s get Spooky
It’s safe to say October has been a great hit and finished off with our Halloween themed training… spooky! Congratulations to Abby, the winner of our best dressed competition – you can find their great costumes on our Instagram page. If you’re looking for a bit more of Zurich Netball and keep up to date with all the news and events, give us a follow on our Instagram @zurichnetball or if you’d like to get involved at our next training session send us a message and show up on Tuesdays at 19:00 at ICS International School Zurich – all are welcome.
What a year 2020 has been! We haven’t been able to play half as much netball as we wanted to and have had to resort to seeing each other on weekly Zoom fitness sessions but we are happy that all our members have stayed healthy and happy throughout the year.
In the middle of December we held our AGM (online, of course!) followed by a Christmas Quiz. This was very different to previous years when were have been able to enjoy a Christmas party in person and enjoy celebrating the end of the year together.
We did keep to our AGM tradition of handing out awards to members who have shown outstanding commitment over the year. This year’s Award Winners were as follows:
Best Attendance – Jointly won by Lorna Rettig and Claudia Almer
Best Newcomer – Emily Bridgman
Quarantine Quizzer – Steffi Zinsser
Most Festive (for best fancy dress at the AGM) – Lyndsay Lomax
The Committee for 2021 was also announced:
President/Coach – Claudia Almer
Treasurer – Jess Brown
Secretary – Abby Clark / Emma Wickens
Event Co-ordinators – Lorna Rettig / Sarah Hannibal
Social Media – Lyndsay Lomax
Coach – Jess Van Rossum
Think Tank – Kim Weber
… And a huge thanks to Emma Schwarzwälder who did a fantastic job as part of the committee in 2020. Emma will be taking a break for netball as she recently became a mum to gorgeous baby Sophie!
Thank you to all our members for continuing to support us through a difficult year. However, it wasn’t all disappointing news as we have now found a permanent new home which we are excited to use once it is safe to do so.
Our Online Zoom fitness sessions will be restarting on 5th January 2021 at 8pm and members will receive the link to the Doodle to sign up over the next few days. Hope to see you there!
All the best for 2021 and we hope (really, really hope) to see you all on a netball court soon!
Due to the evolution of the current situation, the Committee decided to postpone the launch of our new training venue until a time when it is safe for us all to be together again. We know that you are all as disappointed as we are but hope you understand our reasons for doing so.
The good news is the ‘suprise’ we had planned will not spoil and can also happen at a later date (Hint: the surprise wasn’t cake!). So no one is going to miss out on anything!
Of course, we know that this is a difficult time for everyone and so we want to continue our training and get together on a weekly basis (as if Covid-19 didn’t exist) as planned. From Tuesday 3rd November, we will be holding weekly Zoom sessions for a quick chat and then some exercises to keep our members fit at home!
All members should have received a Zoom link so you can join at 8pm on Tuesday. The session will run for around 40 minutes in total. All you need is your workout clothes, a mat, a towel and a bottle of water – and internet connection. If any member hasn’t received the link please drop us an email and we will forward it to you.
As usual please sign up on the Doodle so we know who we are waiting for. Here is the link to the Doodle.
Also it is now that time of year when we are looking for new members for the Committee for next year so that we can continue to run the club as well as we possibly can. If you are interested, or want to find out more, please drop us a line. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a member of the club, how long you’ve been in Switzerland or how long you’ve been playing netball for. The more people we have, the more fun activities we will be able to deliver to members.
In the meantime, please stay healthy, wear a mask and keep to social distancing rules, as Committee members Jess and Claudia are demonstrating superbly in this picture!
Apart from everything else, Covid-19 left Zurich Netball Club homeless. Not having a home was okay during the summer months with the nice weather and the light evenings but it wasn’t going to be a solution forever.
The Committee have worked very hard over the past few months, trying to get a suitable venue so that our club can continue to play and raise the profile of netball in Switzerland. It was looking likely that we weren’t going to find anywhere to play this winter but at the final whistle, we managed to find a new permanent home.
This means that from next week we will be training for the first time in our new home. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to find a venue on the same time and day as our previous home. We realise this might not be convenient for everyone in the short- and long-term but faced with this and no netball at all (**faints**) we had to take the only option we had.
See our How To Find Us page for more details of how to get there! And please remember: NO OUTDOOR SHOES to be worn in the hall.
As there is still a risk presented by the Covd-19 situation, please:
Sign up on our Doodle to let us know you are coming or update it if you are no longer able to attend
Please do not attend if you are feeling unwell (for your and your team mate’s safety)
Wear masks in the entrance hall and in the changing rooms as per the current guidelines
We also have a super exciting suprise for all members who have paid their subscription this year. So make sure you are there!
We are very much looking forward to our ‘hall warming’ and hope as many of you as possible are able to attend. It’ll be lovely to see (half) your faces again!
And here are a few photos of the sessions we ran over the summer to get you back in the mood for netball!
Since March, Zurich Netball Club have been keeping their minds sharp during lockdown with a monthly virtual quiz. Questions on art, science, sport, movie and even celebrity deaths (!) have been posed to our members, who have been more than happy to show off their brains. Congratulations to the winners of our lockdown quizzes: Julie, Lakshmi, Claudia and Lorna!
A busy night at the Zoom-ikon Arms Pub Quiz
Now our brains are finely tuned, it is time to get back on the netball court… almost! Summer fitness sessions will begin next Wednesday 15th July at 7pm until 8pm outside at Sihlhölzli (Manessestrasse 1, 8003 Zürich) until 26th August to help lose those lockdown kilos before proper training begins in again in September.
If you haven’t already signed up yet, add your name to the Doodle by clicking here so we know to expect you!
Due to the current circumstances, we will be adhering to social distancing rules and the recommendations of Swiss Netball and Swiss Olympic. The main rules that we ask everyone to stick to are below:
1. Do not attend if you have any symptoms of COVID-19
2. We will need to take attendance for each session
3. Everyone washes/disinfects their hands at the beginning/end of training
4. Everyone maintains physical distancing throughout the training (2m / 10m2 per person)
5. There will be a defined responsible person to ensure the above rules are followed
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact a member of the committee and we get back to you as soon as possible.
The Committee are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible in real life on Wednesday!
As you will already be aware the Coronavirus pandemic is having huge consequences around the world and Zurich Netball Club is no exception to this.
The Club Calendar has now been updated to show that all club trainings until 19th April have been cancelled, as advised by the Swiss government. We hope that we will be back to training as soon as possible after this date but we will have to see how the situation is nearer the time. Of course, we will let you know when the information is available.
It does mean that we have also cancelled the ‘Bring a Bloke’ night and the ‘Easter Extravaganza’ and socials that were planned for the beginning of April. It is super disappointing but it’s far better that everyone stays healthy and safe.
The Committee have also made the decision to cancel their next meeting on the 2nd April. But the minutes for the last meeting on 5th March are now available to view in the Calendar so you can find out what the Committee have been discussing.
As the world is slowly grinding to a halt, we will still be posting photos and videos on social media (because we have already taken enough to last us for the next 3 seasons) and we will be soon start publishing the Player Profiles for 2020 so you can get to know your teammates better!
Also to help you stay fit for netball, a ‘Netball at Home’ email will be sent out to all email subscribers each Wednesday so that you can get your netball fix. No excuse!
In the meantime, we wish all our members, alumni and followers around the world the best of health. Stay Safe and Stay Positive!
Can anyone believe that it’s already March? We are glad it’s here because March is going to be a super exciting month for everyone at Zurich Netball Club. There is so much planned for this month that you will have to forgive us for getting giddy with excitement.
We kicked off March at our first training session working on dynamic movements off the ball to help create space and options for passing followed by some intense competitive match play.
All fully-paid up members at the session also received a super cute ZNC badges at training. Only available to current members and returning members at training, make sure you come to training and pay your subs to get your hands on one. Not available in the shops!
Next week on 11th March we will be hosting a Bring A Bloke night. As the participation of men in netball is at an all time high, we are doing our bit to encourage the men of Zurich to get involved as well. Members are invited to bring the man in their life or a friend or colleague so they can discover for themselves why we are so crazy about netball. Absolutely no experience is necessary as full training and rule explanations will be given!
Member at training proudly showing their cute and exclusive Zurich Netball Badges
For the rest of the month we will being continuing our preparation for the Peppermill tournament which is organised by Swiss Netball and will take place in Geneva. We now have a confirmed squad for the tournament but members are still able to join via the Doodle to join the waiting list in case of injuries to members of the current squad.
Feeling the burn with core strength exercises at the end of training
Swiss Netball have confirmed they will not cancel the tournament because of coronavirus unless told to by the cantonal authorities in Geneva. We are keeping everything crossed that the tournament goes ahead. 2020 is the first time we have entered the tournament and we are keen to take part in it again.
Watch out later in the month for the long-awaited return of the Player Profiles. How well do you know your teammates? Find out more on the Player Profile section of the website later this month.
With celebrations for Fasnacht fast approaching, it was time to kick off training in February with a Fasnacht-theme. All members were asked to come in their best carnival costumes, or something bright and colourful, to scare away winter. Because, let’s face it, we all want it to be summer so we can play on the outside courts!
It was a great turnout and everyone put in a great effort into their outfits. It isn’t every Wednesday that we can say we had a zebra, clown, frog, penguin and a hula girl turn up for training. It was tricky for some to train in their costumes but we still managed to get through some tough ball skills and a mini tournament.
Colourful for Carnival!
In 2020 we are re-introducing a monthly social after training. It seemed a shame to keep our excellent costumes a secret so we decided to share them with the clientele at the Outback pub. There’s nothing unusual about being dressed as a frog in the pub on a Wednesday, right?
It was also a cause for celebration for Kim, Lakshmi, Lorna and Lyndsay who had full attendance at training in January and were the winners of our Jump Into January competition. Well done Ladies!
Members (and Julie’s coat) enjoying a well-earned post-training drink
The committee also had a meeting for the second time in 2020 on Thursday evening when items on the agenda included tournaments, coaching and where on earth the first aid kit has disappeared to?!?
The committee will next meet on March 5th. If you have any items that you would like to be discussed please let us know by email or just grab one of us at training. The agenda and minutes will be uploaded to Club Calendar when they are available.
If you would like to find out more about the committee, please click here.
Advance notice: there will be no training on 19th February due to school holidays.
It’s been another busy week for everyone at Zurich Netball Club.
On Monday the newly-elected committee met for the first time in 2020 to start planning for the season. Different topics were discussed including: tournaments to enter, social events for the year and (everyone’s favourite part of being a member of a sports club) the possibility of new kit.
Claudia, Lorna, Jess, Lyndsay, Emma and the other Jess (!) are very excited about the plans for the season and helping all members enjoy their netball as much as possible. If you’re not sure who we are or what we do, you can read more on The Committee page.
Going for goal!
As discussed at the AGM in December, we are now using the Club Calendar on the website as the go-to place for all things Zurich Netball. It has been updated with training dates for the whole year. Monthly socials after training are back on the agenda, which will be combined with a special themed training night. The first one will take place on 5th February, when we will be celebrating Fasnacht – start planning your costumes now!
On Wednesday night we were training as usual and, after a warm-up and a few drills, we had a mini-tournament with three teams battling it out to win a delicious, Swiss chocolate bar. Lots of new members have joined us in January, some of which are completely new to netball, so it was great to see everyone getting stuck in, learning something new and enjoying playing matches.
It was also a great opportunity to practice umpiring and scoring which are important parts of the game.
The joint winners of the round robin tournament were the Blue and Green team who both won two games each. In a cruel twist of fate (and because we hadn’t planned on there being a tie for overall first place), the Yellow team were awarded Swiss chocolate for their efforts!
The traditional post-training selfie!
We still have one more training session left in January and quite a few people are still on course for full attendance for the month, meaning they will enjoy a drink on the club at the next social event. Hope to see you all next week at training!
On Wednesday Zurich Netball Club were back to training for the first time in 2020. We had a fantastic turnout for the first session back. It would be great to think that everyone was super keen because they had playing netball over the festive period but some (myself included) were glad to be doing something active after indulging too much over Christmas!
After warming up we focused on ball skills in pairs to get us used to catching and throwing again. The drills were a combination of lobs and chest passes as well as mini-competitions to see which pair were the fastest without dropping the ball.
Practicing ball skills
Then we split into two teams for match practice. We mixed it up a bit by selecting a bib at random so lots of us were playing positions that were new to us. This meant we had to use our brains and we learnt something about other positions on the court.
To finish we managed the dreaded cool down/core training which was difficult after such a long absence. Hopefully this part of training will get easier in the coming weeks.
It was so nice to see everyone after the winter break and some new faces to the club came to training as well. New members are always welcome to join. If you would like to come along and try netball for the first time or even get back into a sport that you used play, please get in touch with the committee at zurichnetball@gmail.com or send us a message on Facebook.
Next week on 11th March we will be hosting a Bring A Bloke night. As the participation of men in netball is at an all time high, we are doing our bit to encourage the men of Zurich to get involved as well. Members are invited to bring the man in their life or a friend or colleague so they can discover for themselves why we are so crazy about netball. Absolutely no experience is necessary as full training and rule explanations will be given!
Zurich Netball Club 