ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥

A ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ student netballer is to represent Wales in an upcoming international competition.

Sarie Watkins has been selected for the Wales Under 21 team for the Under 21 Netball Europe tournament taking place from tomorrow (Friday, October 6) to Sunday (October 8) at the English Institute of Sport, in Sheffield.

“I'm over the moon to have been selected to represent my country doing the sport I love the most,” said the 18-year-old, who is in the first year of a Physical Education and Sports Coaching degree. “I think being with the girls and management team is something I always look forward to because they're all such great people, however I'm also looking forward to seeing what performances we can put out there as a team.”

Teams from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will battle it out for the title over the three-day event. Teams from Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland will compete in a coinciding Challenge Event.

Shooter Sarie’s selection for the tournament follows her role in the senior Wales team’s successful Netball World Cup campaign over the summer in South Africa where they finished ninth. She has also played for Wales at Under 17 level.

Since her arrival in Worcester, Sarie, of Blackwood, in Caerphilly, South Wales, has already done a trial for Severn Stars Netball Performance League Under 21 squad, part of the ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ owned Severn Stars netball franchise, and recently joined Worcester Netball Club, where she is playing in their Premier League 2 team. She also plays for the ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) first team.

Having played since she was around nine years old, a talent for netball definitely runs in Sarie’s family. “My mum also played netball for Wales, and so as soon as I was old enough to fully understand the game she took me straight to my first ever local netball club, and I loved it!” she said. “I like netball because it's just such a great way to make life-long friends, who ultimately become like a second 'family' to you. The amount of opportunities it has given me is a key reason as to why I love netball, and most of those don't come around very often - which is why I'm beyond grateful for them!”

Building on her World Cup experience, Sarie hopes to compete in the World Youth Cup and the Commonwealth Games next. Sarie is receiving support and advice to combine elite training and competing with her studies from the University’s Sports Scholarship scheme. “I'm still trying to figure out the right balance between my studies and elite sport, but so far the University and staff have been so helpful and really accommodating with my sporting needs,” she said. “Not only will the scholarship be a huge help with my finances as a student, but also the scholar staff are amazing and always there if needed which is such a relief, because it can get tough trying to find that 'work': life balance, and that's without mentioning elite sport!”