Netball Superleague

For other uses, see Netball Super League.
Netball Super League
First season2005–06
No. of teams8[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
Most recent
champion(s)		Loughborough Lightning (2nd title)
Most titlesTeam Bath (5 titles)
TV partner(s)Sky Sports
Related
competitions		British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship
Super Cup
Official websitewww.netballsl.com

The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England, Wales and Scotland. The league was commenced playing at the 2005–06 season, replacing the Super Cup as the elite netball competition in England. From 2016-21 the league was sponsored by VitalityHealth and, as a result, it was known as the Vitality Netball Superleague. Since 2022 it has been known as the Netball Super League.

Historically the league's most successful teams are Team Bath, who have won five titles, and Saracens Mavericks, who have played in seven grand finals. In more recent times, Surrey Storm won successive titles in 2015 and 2016 and Wasps have played in three successive finals, winning two titles, between 2017 and 2019. In 2019 Manchester Thunder won their third title. Umpire Gary Burgess made history in 2018 by umpiring his 10th consecutive Netball Superleague final between Manchester Thunder and Surrey Storm. Loughborough Lightning won their first title in 2021, beating Team Bath, following this up with their second title in 2023.

Teams

[edit]

Current teams (2025 onwards)

[edit]
Team Coach Home venue/base City Debut season
Birmingham Panthers Jo Trip Birmingham 2025
Cardiff Dragons Reinga Bloxham Cardiff City House of Sport Cardiff 2005–06
Leeds Rhinos Liana Leota Leeds Beckett University Leeds 2021
London Mavericks Wembley Arena London 2005–06
London Pulse Sam Bird Copper Box Arena London 2019
Loughborough Lightning Vic Burgess Loughborough University Loughborough 2005–06
Manchester Thunder Karen Greig National Basketball Performance Centre Manchester 2005–06
Nottingham Forest Netball Chelsea Pitman[2] Motorpoint Arena Nottingham 2025
Notes
  • ^1 Between 2001 and 2012, Manchester Thunder played as Northern Thunder.
  • ^2 London Mavericks previously played as Saracens Mavericks, Galleria Mavericks, Hertfordshire Mavericks and benecosMavericks.
  • ^3 Surrey Storm originally played as Brunel Hurricanes.
  • ^4 Cardiff Dragons previously played as Celtic Dragons.

Former teams

[edit]
Team Region Debut season Final season
Glasgow Wildcats Scotland 2008–09 2011
Leeds Carnegie/Yorkshire Jets Yorkshire 2005–06 2016
Team Northumbria North East England 2005–06 2018
Wasps Netball Coventry, West Midlands 2017 2022
Surrey Storm Guildford 2005–06 2024
Team Bath Bath, South West 2005–06 2024
Severn Stars Worcester 2017 2024
Strathclyde Sirens Glasgow (Scotland) 2017 2024
Notes

History

[edit]
Season Key events
2005 Brunel Hurricanes, Celtic Dragons, Galleria Mavericks, Leeds Carnegie, Loughborough Lightning, Northern Thunder, Team Bath and Team Northumbria become founder members of the new Netball Superleague.[3]
2005–06 With a squad that included Pamela Cookey, Rachel Dunn, Stacey Francis, Jess Garland, Tamsin Greenway and Geva Mentor, Team Bath win the inaugural Netball Superleague title.[4][5][6] Team Bath subsequently dominate the early seasons of the league, winning further Superleague titles in 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013.[7][8][9][10]
2007–08 After playing and losing in the first two grand finals, the Mavericks win their first Superleague title.[11][12]
2008–09 Glasgow Wildcats become the first team from Scotland to join the league.[13][14] However they only play in the league for three seasons and withdraw following the 2011 season.[15]
2009–10 Brunel Hurricanes end their partnership with Brunel University and relocate to the University of Surrey to become Surrey Storm.[16][17]
2012 Northern Thunder win their first Superleague title.[18] They subsequently change their name to Manchester Thunder before the 2013 season.[19]
2015 After making four grand final appearances in five years, Surrey Storm win their first Superleague title.[17][20][21]
2016 Surrey Storm retain the Superleague title.[22][23] Yorkshire Jets, formerly Leeds Carnegie, play their final Superleague season.[24]
2017 Three new franchises Severn Stars, Scottish Sirens and Wasps make their Superleague debuts.[24][25][26] Wasps go on to win the Grand Final in their debut season.[27]
2018 Wasps retain the Superleague title [28] Team Northumbria play their final Superleague season.[29]
2019 London Pulse make their Superleague debut.[29][30][31] Manchester Thunder win their third Superleague title.[32][33] Leeds Rhinos are announced as a new franchise team for 2021.[34]
2020/2021 Following disruptions to the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, England Netball took the "difficult decision" to suspend the league until 2021. This followed consultation with the league's board as well as all 10 teams and stakeholders.[35] The 2021 season was staged over a shortened period and behind closed doors at select venues. Loughborough Lightning win their first Superleague title.
2022 Manchester Thunder win their fourth title. Wasps Netball play their final Superleague season.
2024 Surrey Storm, Team Bath Netball, Severn Stars and Strathclyde Sirens play their final Superleague season

Grand Finals

[edit]
Season Winners Score Runners Up Venue
2005–06[4] Team Bath 43–35 Galleria Mavericks Guildford Spectrum
2006–07[7] Team Bath (2) 53–45 Galleria Mavericks Guildford Spectrum
2007–08[11][12] Galleria Mavericks 43–39 Loughborough Lightning K2 Leisure Centre
2008–09[36][8] Team Bath (3) 54–46 Galleria Mavericks Coventry Skydome
2009–10[9] Team Bath (4) 51–44 Hertfordshire Mavericks Trent FM Arena
2011[37][38] Hertfordshire Mavericks (2) 57–46 Surrey Storm Herts Sports Village
2012[18][17] Northern Thunder 57–55 Surrey Storm SportHouse
2013[10][39][40] Team Bath (5) 62–56 Celtic Dragons University of Worcester Arena
2014[41] Manchester Thunder (2) 49–48 Surrey Storm University of Worcester Arena
2015[42][21] Surrey Storm 56–39 Hertfordshire Mavericks Copper Box Arena
2016[22][23] Surrey Storm (2) 55–53 Manchester Thunder Copper Box Arena
2017[27][43] Wasps 55–51 Loughborough Lightning Barclaycard Arena
2018[28][44][45] Wasps (2) 55–51 Loughborough Lightning Copper Box Arena
2019[32][33] Manchester Thunder (3) 57–52 Wasps Copper Box Arena
2021[46] Loughborough Lightning 49–32 Team Bath Copper Box Arena
2022 Manchester Thunder (4) 60–53 Loughborough Lightning Copper Box Arena
2023 Loughborough Lightning (2) 57–48 London Pulse Copper Box Arena
2024 Loughborough Lightning (3) 70-54 Manchester Thunder Resorts World Arena

Source:[47]

Winners

[edit]
Winners Seasons Titles
Team Bath 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013 5
Manchester Thunder 2012, 2014, 2019, 2022 4
Loughborough Lightning 2021, 2023, 2024 3
Mavericks 2007–08, 2011 2
Surrey Storm 2015, 2016 2
Wasps 2017, 2018 2

Sponsorship

[edit]
Sponsors Seasons
Figleaves[3] 2005–06
The Co-operative Group[11][48][49] 2007–2010
Fiat Group Automobiles[38][50] 2011–2012
Zeo [51] 2014
VitalityHealth[22][52] 2016–2021

Television

[edit]

Sky Sports are the Netball Superleague's official broadcast partner and they broadcast live matches throughout the season.[53][54][55] In November 2016 England Netball and Sky Sports signed a four-year deal which saw every live match made available to all Sky TV customers on Sky Sports Mix.[56][57] A "multi-year deal" was reached in 2021, which expanded Sky's coverage to allow for all matches to be either televised on Sky Sports or streamed via YouTube.[58]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "Nottingham Forest FC". Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b Dr. Louise Mansfield & Dr. Lara Killick (1 January 2012). "The UK Netball Superleague: A Case Study of Franchising in Elite Women's Sport" (PDF). Brunel University, School of Sport and Education, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK; and University of the Pacific, Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Science, Stockton, CA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
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