It’s been seven years since the Valley Vipers netball team was born; a group of ten women playing on the basketball court behind the school in Saint Jean d’Aulps. Since then, the team has grown into an association and now consists of over forty French and English women who have played across France and Switzerland, even venturing as far as Croatia. However this weekend, netball will be coming home as the Vipers host their first ever tournament, just down the valley in in Saint Jean d’Aulps.
Set to be a great weekend of competition, there will be a range of teams competing, coming from as far as London and Switzerland, as well as three Valley Vipers teams. The action will commence at 9:30 on Saturday and Sunday and there will be cakes, teas and coffees available for whoever comes down and cheer on the teams.
While there are no French leagues nearby to play in, the Valley Vipers have played in plenty of tournaments, and have competed in and won a nearby Swiss league. Thanks to a dedicated team, committee and coaches (coach Joanne Sheppard works as a PE teacher in Geneva and works closely with Netball Switzerland) the team has seen lots of success and got plenty of experience under their belts since their humble beginnings. Fingers crossed their first tournament will give rise to many more so the Vipers teams can play as much as possible.
If you’re interested in joining the Valley Vipers, training sessions take place every Wednesday evening from April until the end of November at 7:00pm in the school sports hall in St Jean d’Aulps, which include a warm up, skills sessions and netball games. Kirstyn Pocklington and Joanne Sheppard are the coaches. Get in touch if you’d like to come along to training and join in the fun.
