Ex-England captain praises Isle of Man netball tournament

Serena Kersten was part of the team that won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

A new inter-island netball tournament being held on the Isle of Man has been a "brilliant showcase" for the sport, a former England captain has said.

The Island Invitational Netball Games has seen six islands compete at the National Sports Centre in Douglas.

Jersey coach and founding member of the games Serena Kersten said the contest would boost the growth of the sport as it develops.

She also praised the Manx community for "getting behind" the event.

Teams from Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man have competed

The tournament has been created to give the competing teams the chance to face each other, as netball is not part of the Island Games.

The five-day contest, which finishes on Saturday, has seen teams from Jersey, Guernsey, Ynys Mon, Shetland, Orkney and the Isle of Man go head-to-head.

Ms Kersten said the Jersey team have improved in each game

Ms Kersten, now the performance lead at the Jersey Netball Association, won 110 caps for England, three World Cups and was part of the team that won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She said the tournament would be the highest level some of the competitors would ever play, which meant an "incredible opportunity" to represent their island and "find out what they're made of from a physical and mental perspective".

The five-day contest comes to an end on Saturday

"Full credit" to the Isle of Man for a "fantastic" tournament, which has been "organised as professionally as any competition I've ever competed in", Ms Kersten said.

There has already been "a lot of talk and buzz about the next one" and the coach has approached the Government of Jersey about putting the facilities in place to be able to host the next event in two years.

On her players' performance, Ms Kersten said they had improved in every match and "were here to win".

"We're loving being part of it... it's not often netball gets it very own platform", she said.

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