I am privileged to be a member of Maulden Netball Club and I am excited about our coaching trip to the Gambia in April. I am looking forward to sharing my love of the game and teaching netball skills to girls in local schools whilst we are there.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn the game of netball from an early age. Through the support of my coaches at my local netball club I have developed my skills over the years and have gone on from playing for my school to play for Maulden Netball Club, at Regional level with MK Dons and for Bedfordshire County. I am now also enjoying being a Young Leader at Maulden Netball Club, helping to coach girls who are embarking on their netball journey.

I appreciate that I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity both in school and in my spare time to be able to play a number of sports for fun and competitively. I value the friendships I have built working as part of a team, the new skills I have learnt and the love of sport that has developed. I would like to be able to contribute, even if just a little, to helping girls in Gambian schools enjoy netball too.

As a netball club we are fundraising to supply sporting equipment e.g netball posts, bibs, balls, cones, coaching packs etc. to the Gambian schools we will be visiting, to enable the girls to play netball and to be able to continue with the game after our visit in April.

A small group from Maulden Netball Club are travelling together and we are all responsible for raising our own funds to get us there, £950 each! So far I have helped coach at a netball camp, undertaken additional chores at home and saved pocket money. I am also very grateful for all the donations made so far, thank you! I still have a long way to go however to reach my target.

On 15th January I am embarking upon a marathon along with all the girls travelling with me. We will each be completing the marathon in different ways; walking, cycling, swimming, rowing etc Our combined distance will be approximately the whole length of the Gambia!

Any sponsorship/donation, large or small, towards this project would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to telling you all about the coaching trip on my return.

Thank you very much for your support.

Amelia x