Despite the BBC News reports of incomplete accommodation and potentially hazardous structures around Commonweatlh Games stadium last week, the first athletes from Team England headed out to Delhi over the weekend and many other nations have announced that they will definitely be taking part in this year’s games.

The 2010 Commonwealth games are being held in India for the first time and are due to take place between 3rd and 14th October. The climate in India at this time of year ranges from a pleasant 17.2 degrees Celsius, all the way up to a hot 31.3 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels are also likely to rather unpleasant and if they hit a seasonal high of 78%, our team better hope the showers are fully functioning!

The way things stand at the moment, the smart money is on Australia and New Zealand battling it out for the gold medal in the final, but that does not mean the girls from the UK should be discounted! Indeed, England Coach, Sue Hawkins, is backing her team every step of the way. The England team have beaten both Australia and New Zealand in various matches since the last Commonwealth Games, which bodes well for a potential gold medal this time around, and she firmly believes that our girls are in with a fighting chance at gold.

The Jamaican Sunshine Girls team is more of an unknown quantity for Delhi. Although England won the first test played in Jamaica earlier this month, the Sunshine Girls took the second test 52-45, and how they perform in the Delhi games remains to be seen.

The Diamonds and the Silver Ferns may be the favourites in Delhi, but we here at Netball Fun have every faith in our girls and we know which team WE will be cheering on as the games progress!

With the recent headlines about the precarious state of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, BBC Sports are reporting that it is becoming increasingly unlikely that Team England will be playing in India. Organisers from Team England, Scotland, and Wales, have all cast doubt on their participation and Team Scotland, who were supposed to be travelling to imminently, have delayed their departure.

Following the collapse of a pedestrian bridge near the main stadium, there has been a great deal of negative publicity about the Games. Many countries are anxiously reconsidering their participation in the event amidst fears about the athletes’ safety. Several countries have also complained about the state of facilities in the athletes’ accommodation following reports of filthy apartments, rubble lying around, and stray dogs wandering through the village.

There were further safety fears yesterday when a ceiling collapsed near the weight lifting area and although Indian officials claimed that this event was “not something to be worried about”, many teams believe that urgent action is required.

Team Wales have already warned that if the Delhi organising committee has not addressed their concerns by the end of today, they would be pulling out of the games. It remains to be seen whether Team England will travel, but with more high profile athletes pulling out of the Games as each day passes, the 2010 Commonwealth Games look like being a non-starter.

Jean Davies, St Austell netball coach has been awarded the prestigious title of 2010 England Netball Coach of the Year at the Netball Golden Globes Awards in Leicester. Davies beat nine other nominees from other regional clubs across the UK to win the accolade.

The judges said Davies, who has been coaching youngsters to play netball for 30 years, had been crowned the winner because of her outstanding contribution to the development of the St Austell netball club.

Here at Netball Fun, we think that is a pretty impressive achievement and we applaud her efforts to further the fantastic sport of netball—well done Jean!

Rather predictable results from Premier League 1 in the first week of play. Old favourites, Surrey Storm, top the league tables, followed by Team Bath who beat NSL rivals Oldham, and Oaksway who came out on top over Bournmouth 7’s Blades. But the closest contest of week was between Linden and Leyton, which was almost goal for goal throughout the entire match. Linden eventually managed to snatch the game by two goals, leaving Leyton disappointed in their first top league game.

Premier League 2 was a different story altogether. The Downs and Wyvern finished joint top after identical match results, with Dudley Leisure sitting in 3rd place after a great win over Essex Open. Thoroughbreds took 4th, while Turnford triumphed over Kent County to take 5th place.

Premier League 3 was exciting as most of the teams had yet to prove themselves. NL Elmdon were beaten in a shock defeat by JustAhead, while Cumberland thrashed Chester at home, leaving the disappointed Chester side to face a long trip back to London. Dominoes won against the Sheffield Stormers and Poole Aquarians beat Comets. But Evesham Reds reigned supreme at the top of the table with 21 goals in hand.

It looks like being an exciting season!

Get your party frocks and tuxedos on for the most glamorous netball fixture of the season! Tickets are now on sale for The Goalden Globe Awards Ceremony. This event is held every year to honour those who annually volunteer their time to help forward the sport of netball in the UK.

Generously sponsored by California Prunes, the Awards Ceremony will be taking place Saturday 18th September at the beautiful Art Deco Athena in Leicester and everything kicks off around 6pm. Guests can look forward to cocktails and canapés at the Pre-Award Party before moving into the banqueting hall for a 3 course dinner, drinks, dancing, and music (we hope that the beverages will not be including prune juice!).

Just to make the evening even more exciting, the England National squad will be stopping by to garner some extra support on their way to India for the Commonwealth Games, plus there will be a special performance by Strictly Come Dancing Latin experts, Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova.

Tickets for the event cost £36 each, or if there is a large group of you, splash out on a table to seat 8 people for £280. If you are interested in attending, you have until tomorrow to book your tickets. It looks like being a fantastic evening, so make sure you book your tickets today!

This year’s IFNA  World Netball Series will be hosted at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. The three day competition will start on Friday 19th November and conclude with a celebratory Gala Dinner on the evening of Sunday 21st November.

There will be six countries competing in this year’s championship: last year’s winners, New Zealand, plus Australia, England, Jamaica, Malawi, and South Africa (who have replaced Samoa in the top six ranked teams).

Over 17,000 people attended the championship last year and it was viewed as a phenomenal success, with more than £1.3 million generated as a result. The city of Liverpool is hoping to capitalise on the expected success of the event and having recently hosted the Co-operative International Netball Series, they have plenty of experience.

The championship event looks like being a fantastic opportunity to enjoy some world class netball action, so make sure you get your tickets soon!

Just to prove the point that you are never too old to play Netball, one enterprising team from a care home in Warrington, Manchester, has an average age of 90–and the oldest player is an unbelievable 101!!

Co-ordinator and coach, Christine Carroll, apparently got the idea from an exercise session when one of the residents threw a ball as if she was shooting into a net. The other ladies began to swap stories of netball prowess from their younger days, and the team was born!

Ethel Lee, former wedding dress maker, has helped to make the kit and each player has their position stitched on the back in glittery doilies.

Over the last few weeks, the ladies have improved their game enormously and have begun using taller nets as their throws become stronger. They are now hoping to find other care home teams to play against so that they can form a league.

As team member, Ivy Robinson says, “You’re never too old to do anything. Just because we’re getting old it doesn’t mean that we can’t join in!”

The England girls’ netball squad are to play their first game against the Sunshine Girls from Jamaica today. The Caribbean team are their opponents in a crucial two match test series and the second match is scheduled for Friday 3rd September.

The Jamaica team are definitely no push-over and the games look set to be good team practice in the all important run up towards the Commonwealth Games in October.

This is the first time the England team have hit the court in a Test Match since their crushing defeat against the Aussie team back in February, but the girls have since shown excellent form and Head Coach, Sue Hawkins, will be hoping they show their mettle against the Jamaican squad.

But with the Sunshine Girls from Jamaica currently ranked fourth in the world, the England girls will have their work cut out this week!

If you missed the live action today, you can catch the next match via, for the first time ever, a live twitter feed.

Australian netball coach, Nora Plummer, has finally announced her Diamonds team for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Dehli. The girls have been on tenterhooks for weeks as Plummer waited to announce her final team, but the waiting is finally now over and, as expected, Plummer has decided to go with a proven formula.

The three players who have been dropped for the Dehli games are shooter Kate Beveridge, centre court player Maison Brown, and defender Amy Steele. Since these three are the youngest players, it did not come as too much of a surprise that they have been omitted from the final team. Following extensive experimentation with various team formations of late, Plummer is now convinced she has the winning team. When asked about her decision to drop the three younger girls, Plummer commented that they have plenty of time to make their mark on the world of International netball in the future.

Plummer will now be hoping that her team has what it takes to steal the gold medal away from previous winners, New Zealand…

For those of you who thought Men don’t play netball, think again!

The word from down under in New Zealand is that The Silver Ferns will be looking for blokes when they play Adelaide tomorrow in the run up to New Zealand’s first test match against Australia on Sunday.

Just in case your mind has drifted off on a tangent at this point, no, the Kiwi side isn’t planning on a wild night out on the pull in Adelaide–the girls often play against men’s teams to prepare them for the physical challenge of a tough Aussie team.

The girls’ firmly believe that playing against men in practice is great for experiencing the pressure of a tough game during competitions and midcourt player, Liana Barret-Chase says, “It’s exactly what we need”. We’re presuming she means men to play NETBALL with…

Silver Ferns Coach, Ruth Fern, will be shipping men into the players’ camp to “help them out.”

Go girls!