UCLan Netball – End of Season Review
Elite Netball Academy supports The University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) Netball Performance Team and Scholarship recruitment. We take weekly performance training sessions and support at games and tournaments throughout the season as well as assist in the recruitment process.
This is Elite Netball Academy’s second full season in partnership with UCLan. It has been great to have another season in the environment with the players and build on last season.
Head Coach Emily Jagger reflects on the 2024/2025 season – and what a season it was.
UCLAN First team overview:
We had a core of players returning for another year of study, providing some consistency for the first team. The season got off to a rocky start. One player was recovering from a broken arm, and unfortunately, we lost a player to a season-ending injury in the first fixture!
Despite the initial challenges, we gained momentum and racked up some wins in the run-up to Christmas. In the new year, we narrowly lost by 1 against Liverpool John Moores. With two losses, we had to ensure our run into the end of the league was successful to gain promotion. It came down to the final fixture of the season, we had to win to secure promotion – talk about nail biting!. It was a tense game against local rivals Edge Hill and from the first whistle we knew we’d have to be at our best.
We came away with a 58 – 51 win and promotion!
Season achievements:
Quarterfinalists in the Northern Conference Cup
Promotion to BUCS Tier 1
Second team overview:
This season has been one of growth and development for our second team. We welcomed many new faces, meaning new combinations had to be built throughout the squad. Despite the challenges with change, the team showed great resilience and adaptability, achieving five wins, including a convincing 54-42 victory against Keele to finish the season strongly!
I am really pleased that, despite the season of transition, the second team successfully maintained their place in Tier 7 and avoided relegation. This achievement is a real testament to the players’ commitment, teamwork, and willingness to build connections on and off the court. There is a lot to be proud of, and I’m excited to see how we can continue to develop and build upon the strong foundations we’ve laid this season.
Season achievements:
League – Finished 4th in the Tier 7 table
Varsity
The final court opportunity of the season is the varsity fixture against Edge Hill. Edge Hill tested us from the start of the game, but the home crowd encouraged us to step up and that we did. We secured the varsity win to end the season on a high, with a score of 56-49.
Highlights
One highlight this season was welcoming NSL player Nat Panagarry to deliver a guest session, a benefit from this partnership between Elite Netball Academy and The University of Central Lancashire. This was a great opportunity for the UCLan players to receive excellent coaching from a professional player.
We had some individual accolades to celebrate this season, with two scholars achieving selection for The English Universities Squad – Jen Smith & Maisie Rogers. Jen and Maisie have been attending various camps and fixtures as part of the programme, representing UCLan to a high standard.
Scholarships
Now the BUCS season has come to an end, time is spent reviewing scholarship applications for the 2025/26 academic year.
Information about the different scholarship levels can be found here.
The first scholarship application window will close on 4th June 2025.
If all scholarships have not been awarded, a second scholarship application window will open on 14th August 2025 and close 31st August 2025. The panel will meet after each window closes and aim to provide timely decisions.
If you are applying to university and wish to find out more about netball and scholarships, please email ejagger@uclan.ac.uk .
