‘Dream come true’ as university duo earn World Cup selection

Two University of Gloucestershire students have been selected to play for England at the Netball ‘Nets’ World Cup.

19 year-old Kellie Hull and 20 year-old Thea Thompson will represent their country at the Under 21 Netball ‘Nets’ World Cup that will be hosted in Wellington, New Zealand, between 20 and 27 August.

Both students made it through trials in Bristol and London in March to make the final cut – a squad of 12 players.

‘Nets’ is a version of netball that is played indoors on high-tensioned netted courts, where the ball doesn’t go out of play.

Gloucester-born Kellie is a first year student studying Sports Development and Coaching. Kellie Hull said: “I saw videos of Nets and was interested instantly. The idea of having no ‘out of court’ as well as the opportunity to score 2 points from outside the ‘D’ was really appealing to me. I didn’t know what to expect from trials but when I heard I had made the England World Cup squad it was like a dream come true.”

“I started playing netball at school when I was 9 and fell in love with the sport straight away. I now play for Worcester Reds who are in the National Premier League Division 2 and the University of Gloucestershire first team.”

Thea is a second year student studying Primary Education and hails from Barnard Castle in county Durham. Thea Thompson said: “I’ve been through trials, made it into the long squad initially and so I’m absolutely delighted to be called up for the World Cup squad. I can’t wait to get out to New Zealand and represent my country.”

More information about the squad can be found on the England Netball website.