Senior Netball and Cricket Tour to Dubai
A group of our 5th Form and Upper and Lower Sixth talented young sportsmen and sportswomen headed off to Dubai over half term. Dubai is brilliantly set up for netball and cricket and is known for being competitive, inclusive, and professional. In glorious weather, students had the opportunity to play against leading international schools, with the focus on building and preparing successful teams for the coming 2023 season. Alongside a busy training/playing schedule, the pupils were given time off to experience the culture and attractions of Dubai. Here, some of the team write about their experience. Many thanks to Mrs Courtney, Miss Davies, Mr Ikin and Mr Firth for organsing such an excellent trip.
On our recent trip to Dubai, we enjoyed seeing lots of new things and experiencing great weather, whilst playing netball. Playing in 2 matches, 1 tournament, and 1 training session on the day we arrived, helped us execute a whole range of new skills, bringing our teams to work better than ever before. We enjoyed meals in and outside of the hotel, spending time to have a laugh and chat with everyone. This made it so fun for us all as we all got to relax and refresh after playing sport. Many of the girls’ favourite days was visiting the Atlantis waterpark, everyone spent the day going on the craziest waterslides and playing in the sea, we even got Mrs Courtney and Miss Davies on a few! Another great day was spent in the desert with the entire group of both the netballers and the cricketers. We went from driving in jeeps through the desert, to riding camels and then enjoying a buffet in the centre of the desert. Our 1st team netball came out with 2/3 wins and made lots of memories playing together making us even more excited to continue the netball season together back at school. This was a trip of a lifetime and the girls couldn’t be more grateful to have been taken to Dubai and experience everything we were able to do.
Poppy M, L6
Dubai 2023, all I can say is wow! Prior to going away, I had so many people tell me what an amazing country it was but it truly smashed all of my expectations out of the water. Upon arrival, I think it was fair to say that we were all shocked at how clean it was in Dubai, a big change from what we see in the UK! We had such a lovely mix of people on tour, ranging from Upper 6th down to 4th Form. It was lovely to see such a great integration between boys and girls and year groups. Moving onto sport, we were absolutely spoilt to train at such amazing facilities at the Dubai Sevens Stadium, a multi-sport centre which facilitated both of our needs on the tour, Cricket and Netball. In terms of the actual playing of sport, it was extremely successful, with an array of wins for both Netball teams and ending in the Cricket team winning 3 games out of 3. We believe it was one of the most successful tours in recent history, a feat that we are all very proud of!
Last but certainly not least were the activities we were treated to. We were so fortunate to be able to take part in so many amazing experiences such as dune-buggying, camel riding, a desert bbq, Burj Khalifa trip and the Atlantis waterpark, which I think many would say was the highlight of the trip. Some of the slides were like lightning, which was so enthralling for all of us. A special thank you to Mr Ikin, Mr Firth, Mrs Courtney and Miss Davies who ran the tour superbly. I was lucky enough to go on tour to South Africa in 2020, but I must say this tour to Dubai was on a whole other level! A tour beyond belief, which we could not be more grateful for.
Sam R, U6
Dubai 2023 – where do I start! We all left from school very much in need of some sunshine, but weren’t very sure what to expect. Upon arrival we were all shocked at how nice the hotel and area we were staying in was! The cricket team consisted of a mix from 4th-U6th Form, while the netball side consisted of just 6th Form and everyone integrated and got on very well. I think we all agree it was a very good trip for forming closer friendships with the different year groups. Now for the sport – the netball 1st team won their first game of the tour, despite the extremely hot playing conditions, and later in the tour both the netball 1st and 2nd team smashed it to win their last match of the tour. There was also a tough tournament where both teams worked together well to finish 6th place and 8th place. Around these games we were also lucky enough to train in the incredible Dubai sevens stadium. The cricket team pulled together to win 3 out of their 3 games – it is safe to say it was a successful tour for both boys and girls! But it didn’t just stop at sport, we were lucky enough to be able to go to the Dubai desert, where many of us rode camels, went dune buggying, and finished with a desert BBQ. The Atlantis waterpark was definitely a hit with all years, and many said it was the highlight of the trip. We also went to see the Burj Khalifa which was amazing (it is 828m tall!). The girls ended their tour with a very much needed rest day, which of course was spent on the beach! Everyone loved this and some people also did various water sports available at the beach. Overall, it was an amazing trip which pulled our sports teams closer together, and also provided us with some unforgettable experiences. A special thank you to Miss Davies, Mrs Courtney, Mr Ikin and Mr Firth who organised and ran the trip incredibly. An unforgettable tour which everyone is really grateful for!
Amelia S, L6
