Wales Netball

Wales Netball

Pêl-rwyd Cymru
Sport	Netball
Jurisdiction	Wales
Founded	1945
Affiliation	World Netball
Regional affiliation	Europe Netball
Headquarters	Sport Wales National Centre
Location	Sophia Gardens Cardiff
Chairperson	Catherine Hares
CEO	Sarah Boswell
Official website
www.walesnetball.com

Wales Netball (Welsh: Pêl-rwyd Cymru) is the main governing body for netball in Wales. It was originally founded in 1945 as the Welsh Netball Association (Welsh: Cymdeithas Pêl-rwyd Cymru). In 2021, it adopted its current name. It is affiliated to both World Netball and Europe Netball. Wales Netball were founding members of both these governing bodies. It is responsible for organising and administering the Wales national netball team and the Netball Super League team, Cardiff Dragons, as well as local leagues and other competitions. Since 2009, its headquarters have been based at the Sport Wales National Centre.^[1]

History

Season	Key events
1943 to 1945	The exact date when the Welsh Netball Association was founded is not known. Sometime between 1943 and 1945, a group PE teachers, including Marion Morton of the Mary Datchelor School, which was evacuated to Llanelli for the duration of World War II, and Beatrice Williams from Carmarthenshire, formed a small committee to organise netball matches. This committee later became the Wales Netball Association. Morton became the first Honorary Secretary and Beatrice Williams and became the first Chair
1945	In 1981, in the absence of the early records, the executive committee of the WNA agreed to recognise 1945 as the association's year of foundation.
May 1949	The Wales national netball team made their Test debut on 7 May 1949 with a 14–13 win against Scotland. The match was played at the General Electric Company ground on Preston Road, Wembley during the 1949 England Scotland Wales Netball Series. Wales also played England for the first time on the same day, losing 25–3.
1960	The WNA was one of the eight founder members of the International Federation of Women's Netball and Basketball Associations, now known as World Netball
1989	The WNA was a founder member of the Federation of European Netball Associations, now known as Europe Netball
1992	The WNA became a limited company and forms its first board of directors.
2005	Celtic Dragons, later to become Cardiff Dragons, become founder members of the new Netball Super League.
2009	The WNA offices moved to the Sport Wales National Centre. They were previously based at Cathedral Road, Cardiff.[2]
August 2021	The WNA changes its name to Wales Netball[3]
September 2025	In 2025, Wales Netball introduced a new long-term strategic plan titled Ymladd 2030, designed to guide the organisation’s development over the decade. The plan follows a period of organisational challenge and sets out priorities including high-performance development, restructuring of operational functions, and strengthening athlete, coach and official pathways.[4]

Source:^[1]

Board members

Presidents

Years
1940s	Annie Rogers[1]
20xx–2016	Wendy White[5][6][7]
2017–2021	Merle Hamilton[8]
2021–2025	Sheila Cooksley[8][9][10]

Chairs

Years
1940s	Beatrice Williams[1]
2010–2024	Catherine Lewis[6][9][11][12]
2024–	Catherine Hares[13]

CEOs

Years
20xx–2014	Mike Fatkin[5][14]
2014	Mike Watson[15][16]
2015	Alun Davies[17]
2015–2021	Sarah Jones[6][18][19][20]
2021–2024	Vicki Sutton[9][21][22]
2025–	Sarah Boswell[23]

References

1. "Our Journey". walesnetball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
2. "Wales netball contacts". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 August 2003. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
3. "Welsh Netball rebrands to Wales Netball". walesnetball.com. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
4. Netball, Wales (12 September 2025). "The Next Chapter for Wales Netball - Wales Netball". Retrieved 24 November 2025.
5. "Welsh Netball – 2013 Annual Report" (PDF). walesnetball.com. September 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
6. "Annual Report 2016/17" (PDF). walesnetball.com. September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
7. "Welsh Netball Chair Pays Tribute to President Wendy White BEM". walesnetball.com. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
8. "AGM 2021: Sheila Cooksley Elected President of Welsh Netball as Merle Hamilton Steps Down". walesnetball.com. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
9. "Annual Report 2022/23" (PDF). walesnetball.com. August 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
10. "AGM 2025: Jean Foster named interim President as Sheila Cooksley Presidency finishes". walesnetball.com. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
11. "Catherine Lewis - Wales Netball Journey" (PDF). walesnetball.com. August 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
12. "Farewell to Chair of the Board: Catherine Lewis". walesnetball.com. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
13. "Wales Netball Welcomes New Chair: Catherine Hares". walesnetball.com. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
14. "Annual Report 2011/12" (PDF). walesnetball.com. September 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
15. "Welsh Netball appoint Mike Watson as new chief executive". www.bbc.co.uk. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
16. "Welsh Netball: Mike Watson resigns as chief executive". www.bbc.co.uk. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
17. "Welsh netball chief executive Alun Davies resigns". www.bbc.co.uk. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
18. "Annual Report 2017/18" (PDF). walesnetball.com. September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
19. "Wales Netball CEO to leave Governing Body after 6 years". walesnetball.com. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
20. "Sarah Jones: Wales Netball chief to leave post by end of year". www.bbc.co.uk. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
21. "Vicki Sutton Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Wales Netball". walesnetball.com. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
22. "Chief Executive Officer Announcement". walesnetball.com. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
23. "Sarah Boswell Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Wales Netball and Cardiff Dragons". walesnetball.com. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.