World Netball Championship Pool Draw

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World Netball Championship Pool Draw
Singapore to face South Africa, Botswana and Jamaica in Pool C

Sunday 12th December 2010: Molly Rhone, President of the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) was in Singapore today to make the draw for the much anticipated WNC 2011 pools. The Championship will be held at Singapore Indoor Stadium from 3rd – 10th July.

The format of play for the World Championships will see the 16 competing teams divided into four pools of four. The top five countries from WNC 2007 and hosts Singapore had previously been seeded and divided amongst four pools with the remaining 10 countries drawn from two groups- those who had qualified first and the five second qualifiers from each region.

Australia, who finished in first place in WNC 2007 will be placed in Pool A, New Zealand in 2nd place will be in Pool B, Jamaica in 3rd place is in Pool C and both England and Malawi as 4th and 5th respectively comprise Pool D. Singapore as host is also allocated in Pool C.

Following the draw, Pool A teams will compete against each other in the round robin qualifiers with Pool B, C and D also competing within their respective pools to decide the top and bottom eight teams. The top and bottom eight will then compete against each other in respective quarter and semi finals. A Grand Final series will be contested by the top eight teams.

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND JAMAICA ENGLAND
Sri Lanka Trinidad & Tobago SINGAPORE MALAWI
Northern Ireland Fiji South Africa Barbados
Samoa Wales Botswana Malaysia

Commenting on Singapore’s Pool C line up, National coach Kate Carpenter, said: “It is a very tough draw. In terms of those nations – Jamaica, South Africa and Botswana, they are very tall, very athletic players. Especially to get two African nations - we haven’t played South Africa or Botswana recently so we will have to learn more about their style of play but it is an opportunity to compete more against different types of play.”

IFNA President, Molly Rhone praised Singapore’s preparations for next year, saying, “Singapore have been very efficient in preparation. I don’t think there has been a country that has hosted the Championship that has been this prepared. I am looking forward to a really great Championship next year”.

Final fixtures for the round robin play will be released in Q1 2011. Tickets for the games can be purchased online from SISTIC with Silver (8-Day Season Package) and Bronze packages (3-Day Finals Series Package) going on sale on 1st January 2011.

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About WNC 2011

Event : World Netball Championships 2011 Singapore
Venue : Singapore Indoor Stadium
Date : Sun, 3 July to Sun, 10 July 2011
Teams : Top 5 teams as per final results of the WNC 2007 and host
Australia
New Zealand
Jamaica
England
Malawi
Singapore
Top 2 teams representing the following regions
Africa - South Africa and Botswana
Americas & Caribbean - Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados
Asia - Sri Lanka and Malaysia
Europe - Northern Ireland and Wales
Oceania - Fiji and Samoa

Qualifier 1 teams Qualifier 2 teams
Fiji Barbados
South Africa Botswana
Sri Lanka Malaysia
Trinidad Samoa
Northern Ireland Wales

Format of Play: 16 Teams will be divided into 4 pools of 4. Round robin games to decide top and bottom 8 teams to compete in respective Quarter Finals and Semi Finals. Grand final series between the top 8 teams.

Past Winners: 2007 – Australia
2003 – New Zealand
1999 – Australia
1995 – Australia
1991 – Australia
1987 – New Zealand
1983 – Australia
1979 – Australia, New Zealand,
Trinidad & Tobago (Joint Winners)
1975 – Australia
1971 – Australia
1967 – New Zealand
1963 – Australia

Organiser: Netball Singapore

Ticketing Details: Phase 3 Packages
Silver (8-Day Season Package) SGD300
Bronze (3-Day Finals Series Package) SGD200

Tickets can be purchased through SISTIC form 1st January 2011.
*Package price includes Goods & Service Tax (GST) but excludes SISTIC booking fee of SGD6.00.

Website: www.wnc2011.com

About International Federation of Netball Associations

Over 20 million people play Netball around the world in more than 70 countries.

The International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) is the sole, internationally recognised, governing body for Netball, affiliated to the General Association of International Sports Federations, the International World Games Association and the Association of Recognised Sports Federations, receiving funding from the International Olympic Committee.

Currently, close to 60 National Netball Associations are affiliated to IFNA, grouped into 5 Regions - Africa, Asia, Americas, Europe and Oceania - each with a respective Regional Federation.

Regional Federations are an integral part of the global governance structure and assist in the implementation of IFNA policies and development of the sport in their respective regions.

About World Netball Championships

The World Netball Tournament was an early initiative by the International Federation of Women’s Basketball and Netball Associations (now IFNA), established at a 1960 conference called by the All England Netball Association (AENA).

The Chelsea College of Physical Education, in Eastbourne on the south coast of England, had the honour of hosting the first World Championships in August 1963. Eleven teams played each other in round-robin fashion over 13 days. In the title-decider, Australia beat New Zealand 37-36, so beginning a tradition of fierce trans-Tasman rivalry for netball’s premier championship.

Since its inauguration, netball-playing countries have come together every four years to compete for the title of World Netball Champions.

Year 1st 2nd 3rd Host No of Teams
2007 Australia New Zealand Jamaica Auckland, New Zealand 24
2003 New Zealand Australia Jamaica Kingston, Jamaica 16
1999 Australia New Zealand England Christchurch, New Zealand 26
1995 Australia South Africa New Zealand Birmingham, England 27
1991 Australia New Zealand Jamaica Sydney, Australia 20
1987 New Zealand Trinidad & Tobago Australia Glasgow, Scotland 17
1983 Australia New Zealand Trinidad & Tobago Singapore 14
1979 Australia,
New Zealand,
Trinidad & Tobago
(Joint Winners) Port of Spain,
Trinidad & Tobago 19
1975 Australia England New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand 11
1971 Australia New Zealand England Kingston, Jamaica 9
1967 New Zealand Australia South Africa Perth, Australia 8
1963 Australia New Zealand England Eastbourne, England 11

Event website: http://www.wnc2011.com/home/index.php

About Netball Singapore

Netball Singapore is the national body for netball in Singapore. It is a well-established organisation, which has progressed dramatically since it commenced in 1962. It has become a professionally run National Sport Association which generates a proportion of its expenditure through sponsorship and other streams of revenue-generation. The association supports 66 multi-team club members and over 330 schools have netball in their curriculum.

Our mission is to encourage, promote and develop netball in Singapore. Singapore are currently ranked 19th in the World and will be proud hosts of the next World Netball Championships in 2011.

For more information on Netball Singapore, log onto: www.netball.org.sg

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