Hucclecote Netball Club – one of the strongest clubs in Gloucestershire and beyond – celebrate their 50^thanniversary in 2024.

Theirs is a remarkable story. From small beginnings – they barely had enough players to form a team in the early days – they have gone on to become the biggest netball club in the county, boasting some 300-plus players.

And they play to a very good standard too, with their elite team rubbing shoulders with the very best in the National Premier League.

The flagship side are one of eight adult teams run by the club – the others compete at regional and county level – and then there is the thriving youth set-up which caters for another 12-plus junior teams from under-12 through to under-16, and the minis section for those of primary school age.

The minis cater for another 100 or so youngsters so it’s no surprise when Sue Wainwright, one of the founder members, says: “I’m very proud of everything that we’ve achieved.”

Sue is the only founder member still involved with the club and even though she’s now 70 she’s still very much hands-on.

“I’m still chair and I coach one of the regional teams,” she said. “I’m also team manager for the Premier League team but I support all the teams whenever I can.”

So how did Hucclecote Netball Club come into existence?

“The club were formed by a group of bored girlfriends and wives,” laughed Sue.

“We used to watch Hucclecote Old Boys play rugby on a Saturday afternoon and I said, ‘Why don’t we start a netball club?’”

That was four years after her now husband Tony Wainwright had set up Hucclecote Old Boys Rugby Club and Sue continued: “When we started we only had eight players.

“We played in the County League and I coached as well as played. I don’t think we did very well initially but from there we just grew and grew.

“We’ve come a long way in 50 years.”

They certainly have. Their first games were played at Hucclecote Secondary School, which is where the club get their name.

The school is no longer in existence and these days the club play and train at multiple venues.

They include Plock Court Arena, Barnwood Park, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Cheltenham College, Henley Bank School and Leckhampton High School. 

“We’re spread all over as there’s no one venue that can accommodate all our training needs,” explained Sue. “In the early years Bentham was our home, we trained there and played our matches there too.

“Nowadays we would need a three-court venue if everyone was to play in the same place and it would be used every night of the week for training!”

Even allowing for the fact that they are using multiple venues there is still very much a family feel to Hucclecote Netball Club, something which Sue is very keen to maintain.

“Although we’ve become a performance club, I still want us to be a community club,” she said.

It is planned that everyone at the club, from the oldest to the youngest, will be involved in the 50^th birthday celebrations.

“We’ve got a lot going on,” continued Sue. “At the start of the year we’re going to give every team £50 and give them until Easter to make as much money as they can, in any way they can!

“They can make things, buy and sell things, put on events; anything that they think will make money.”

Money raised will go to the Carly Taylor Trust, a cause close to the club’s heart.

Carly, who is an ex-University of Gloucestershire student and a past Hucclecote player, suffered life changing injuries when she fell from a wall some 12 years ago.

“She broke the third and fourth vertebrae in her neck, and was paralysed from the neck down,” said Sue.

“It was a tragic, freak accident, but Carly has worked hard and she can now sit up unaided and has regained use of her arms, but she can’t walk.

“But she’s never given up. She’s converted her garage into a gym where she works out daily, she’s married and she has a young daughter; she’s truly inspirational.”

The club also have plans to hold a variety of events throughout the year, including a mums and daughters netball tournament, an invitational minis netball tournament for teams of primary school age, and a rounders match for junior players and parents followed by a barbecue.

“The culmination of the celebrations will be a winter ball in November with a charity auction,” said Sue.

That will be for adults only and is expected to attract some 250 past and present players. It will take place at Hatherley Manor and there is plenty of work to be done ahead of their big night.

“We want to track down and invite as many past players as possible,” explained Sue.

“That won’t be easy, we’ve had some famous players play for us over the years, with many past players still involved in the Netball Superleague as players and coaches.”

Chief among those famous ex-players are Jess Thirlby (nee Garland) and Tracey Neville. 

Thirlby, the daughter of former Chelsea footballer Chris Garland, is head coach of England’s netball team while Neville, whose brothers Gary and Phil Neville played football for Manchester United and England, is a past England coach.

Everyone who attends the ball will be welcomed with open arms of course – that’s very much the Hucclecote way – and Sue expects that to be the case for many years to come.

She has no plans to step away any time soon – “I won’t stop until they carry me off the court,” she laughed – and she’s very optimistic about the future.

“We started off as a community club for people in the Hucclecote, Brockworth and Churchdown areas and now we also attract players from the Midlands, the South West and Wales,” she said.

“One of the things that is so nice now is that you can go to Plock Court on a Saturday to see the County League games and nearly every team will have an ex-Hucclecote player.

“That is very gratifying, it’s lovely to see so many people still playing netball with other clubs.

“As a club we want to continue to offer quality coaching and opportunities for youngsters.”

And such is Hucclecote Netball Club’s standing that that is almost a given.

“I do look back and think, ‘How have we got here in 50 years?” admitted Sue. “It’s not just me, we have a great team of coaches, volunteers and parents who have put an awful lot of work in over the years.”