Netball in Wales
Netball in Wales is organised by Wales Netball. The Wales national [netball team] regularly competes in international netball competitions such as the Netball World Cup, Netball at the Commonwealth Games, the Netball Europe Open Championships and Netball World Cup Qualifiers. Since 2005–06 [Netball Superleague season|2005–06], Wales has also effectively competed in the Netball [Super League (United Kingdom)|Netball Super League], initially playing as Celtic Dragons and later as Cardiff Dragons.
Early history
There is evidence that netball was played in Wales in the late 1930s when a Miss George of the YMCA, organised matches in South Wales for the Coalfield Federation and a Miss Pugh Williams arranged matches in Cardiff. Sometime between 1943 and 1945, a group PE teachers, including Marion Morton of the Mary Datchelor School, which was Evacuations of civilians in [the United Kingdom during the Second World War|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. In 1944–45, Marion Morton also formed the first county team, Carmarthen, which began competing in English inter-counties tournaments.Governing body
is the main List of [sports governing bodies in Wales|governing body] for netball in Wales. It was originally founded in 1945 as the Welsh Netball Association. 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 local leagues and other competitions. Since 2009, its headquarters have been based at the Sport Wales National Centre.National team
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 England Scotland Wales Netball Series">England national netball team">England Scotland Wales Netball Series. Wales also played England for the first time on the same day, losing 25–3. They have since represented Wales Netball in various international netball competitions.| Debut | Tournament | Best result |
| 1963 [World Netball Championships|1963] | Netball World Cup | 6th |
| 1993 World Games|1993] | Netball at the World Games | 6th |
| 1998 | Netball Europe Open Championships | 1st |
| 2002 Commonwealth Games|2002] | Netball at the Commonwealth Games | 6th |
| 2007 | Netball World Cup Qualifiers | 1st |
| 2010 | Netball Singapore Nations Cup | 1st |
Cardiff Dragons
Since 2005–06, the Wales national netball team has also effectively competed in the Netball Super League, initially playing as Celtic Dragons. Since Netball Super League season|2024], they have played as Cardiff Dragons.International tournaments
Wales has hosted the following international tournaments.| Tournaments |
| 2000 World Youth Netball Championships |
| 2006 FENA Open |
| 2010 Netball Europe Open Championships |
| 2014 [Netball Europe Open Championships] |
| 2017 Netball Europe Open Championships |
Competitions
Wales Netball National League
In 2023, Wales Netball, launched a new national league. It began with six teams and later expanded to eight. The teams represent the regions of Wales. Players who are included in the Wales, the Cardiff Dragons and other Netball Super League squads are ineligible to play in the national league.| Team | Region |
| City Flames | Cardiff Capital Region |
| Coastal Heat | Swansea Bay City Region |
| North East Inferno | North East Wales |
| North West Fury | North West Wales |
| Powys Sparks | Powys |
| South East Blaze | South East Wales |
| Valleys Volcanoes | South Wales Valleys |
| West Wales Phoenix | West Wales |