Do you know netball? Created around 1890 in England, this sport is a variant of basketball, originating in Commonwealth countries. “It is played nowadays by more than 20 million people in 80 countries with a smaller ball than in basketball. The goal is to score baskets while passing without dribbling. A team has seven players and only two. have the right to put baskets. In fact, each player has a dedicated area on the field. This sport is developing more and more in France. There is one club in Paris, four in the Paris region and three others in the provinces with Lyon , Biarritz and a team of players from Oceania in the South of France “, explains Alexandra Faure, secretary of the Netball Toulouse-Léguevin (NTL) association, founded in 2012 and the sole representative of the discipline in the department. .

“It’s a sport practiced by a lot of girls and women in England. Suddenly, when five English women, married to Airbus employees, landed in the Toulouse region, they wanted to get together. The Toulouse Netball club has We saw the light of day. Subsequently, we recognized ourselves at the Léguevin multipurpose hall to become the NTL which is 100% female with around forty graduates, aged 11 to 60, most of whom are English. User-friendliness takes precedence. everything, ”said President Alexandra Hull.

A desire for diversity

Nevertheless, among its medium-term ambitions, the association wants to turn towards diversity. “Currently, we are considering three women’s teams, with French women among others: juniors aged 11, young adults aged 14 to 16 and adults aged 17 and over. To achieve this diversity, we intend to approach universities of Toulouse “, underlines Alexandra Hull.

In terms of competition, the NTL turned a corner at the end of September in Paris, during the first Coupe de France. “The tournament brought together 200 participants, divided into eighteen teams and three divisions. We took part in two of them: the juniors and the D2 in adults. The adult team, after the group matches, was at a point of “Valley Vipers”, club of the Paris region, beaten in the final “, details Alexandra Faure. Note that next June, the NTL is organizing a new edition of its international tournament.