Nickname(s) | Blue and Gold | ||
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Based in | Bath, Somerset | ||
Regions | South West England/ West of England | ||
Home venue | Team Bath Arena Sports Training Village University of Bath | ||
Head coach | Asha Francis | ||
Captain | Lily May Catling | ||
Vice-captain | Besty Creak | ||
League | Netball Superleague | ||
Website | netball | ||
Team Bath is an English netball team based at the University of Bath. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were both founder members and the inaugural champions of the league. They were Superleague champions again in 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013, and British Fast5 All-Stars Champions in 2021. The netball team is one of several sports teams based at the University of Bath that use the Team Bath brand name. Others include an association football team and a field hockey team.
The modern Team Bath netball team was formed during the late 1990s following the merger of several clubs and teams. These include Bath Netball Club, Bath Tigers and the Toucans Netball Club. [1] [2] The Team Bath Toucans name is still used by Team Bath's National Premier League team. [3]
Between 2001 and 2005, Team Bath Force, together with five other franchises – Northern Flames, London Tornadoes, London Hurricanes, University of Birmingham Blaze and Northern Thunder – competed in the Super Cup. [4] [5] [6] In 2004, with a squad that included Sara Bayman, Rachel Dunn, Jess Garland, Tamsin Greenway and Geva Mentor, Team Bath won the Super Cup. [7] [8] [9] [10] In the final they defeated Northern Thunder 49–43. [11] In 2005, with a squad that included Sara Bayman and Pamela Cookey, Team Bath also won the BUCS netball championship for the first time. [8] [10]
In 2005 Team Bath were named as the South West England/West of England franchise in the new Netball Superleague. Together with Brunel Hurricanes, Celtic Dragons, Leeds Carnegie, Galleria Mavericks, Northern Thunder, Loughborough Lightning and Team Northumbria, Team Bath were founder members of the league. [12] In 2005–06 with a squad that included Pamela Cookey, Rachel Dunn, Stacey Francis, Jess Garland, Tamsin Greenway and Geva Mentor, Team Bath won the inaugural Netball Superleague title. [13] [10] [14] Team Bath won further Netball Superleague titles in 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013. [15] [16] [17] [18]
Season | Winners | Score | Runners Up | Venue |
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2004 [11] [19] | Team Bath Force | 49–43 | Northern Thunder | Blackpool |
Between 2006 and 2009–10, Team Bath played in four out of five Netball Superleague Grand Finals. They reached their first Grand Final for eight years in 2021. [20]
Season | Winners | Score | Runners Up | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005–06 [13] | Team Bath | 43–35 | Galleria Mavericks | Guildford Spectrum |
2006–07 [15] | Team Bath | 53–45 | Galleria Mavericks | Guildford Spectrum |
2008–09 [21] [16] | Team Bath | 54–46 | Galleria Mavericks | Coventry Skydome |
2009–10 [17] | Team Bath | 51–44 | Hertfordshire Mavericks | Trent FM Arena |
2013 [18] [22] [23] | Team Bath | 62–56 | Celtic Dragons | University of Worcester Arena |
2021 [20] | Loughborough Lightning | 49-32 | Team Bath | Copper Box Arena |
Team Bath played in the inaugural British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship final in 2017 [24] [25] and won the competition for the first time in 2021. [26]
Season | Winners | Score | Runners Up | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 [27] [28] [24] | Loughborough Lightning | 35–33 | Team Bath | The O2 Arena |
2021 [26] | Team Bath | 23-17 | Saracens Mavericks | Copper Box Arena |
Team Bath play their home matches in the Team Bath Arena at the Sports Training Village on the University of Bath campus. [29] [30] [31]
2024 Team Bath roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaching staff | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Player profiles: Team website | Last updated: 12 September 2023 |
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Coach | Years |
---|---|
Lyn Gunson [39] [40] | 1999–2005 |
Jan Crabtree [41] [42] | 2005–2008 |
Jess Thirlby [43] [44] | 2008–2015 |
Anna Stembridge [45] [46] [47] | 2015–2022 |
Asha Francis | 2022– |
Coach | Years |
---|---|
Lyn Gunson [39] | 2005–2008 |
Jess Thirlby [43] [44] | 2015–2019 |
Jo Vann [48] | 2019–2021 |
Ama Agbeze is an England netball international. She was captain when England won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2019 she received an for her services to netball. She was also a member of the England team that won the bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. As of 2020, Agbeze has played for at least sixteen different club teams in England, Australia and New Zealand.
Tamsin Greenway is a former England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won bronze medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and at the 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cups. Between 2006 and 2018 she played in eight Netball Superleague grand finals for three different teams – Team Bath, Surrey Storm and Wasps. During this time she won five Netball Superleague titles as a player and/or coach and a sixth as a director of netball. Greenway also works as a netball pundit for Sky Sports. In 2020, she was appointed head coach of the Scotland national netball team.
Cardiff Dragons are a Welsh netball team based in Cardiff. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the league. Their best performance in the Superleague came in 2013 when they finished as runners up to Team Bath. Playing as Celtic Flames, Dragons also played in the 2017 Netball New Zealand Super Club. Cardiff Dragons main partners include the Welsh Netball Association, the Wales national netball team and Cardiff Metropolitan University. The team changed its name from Celtic Dragons to Cardiff Dragons on 31 August 2023 in preparation for the 2024 season
Loughborough Lightning is an English netball team based at Loughborough University. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the league. They also enter under-19 and under-21 teams in the National Performance League. Using the name Loughborough Students, Loughborough University also enter teams in intervarsity leagues organised by British Universities and Colleges Sport. Together with the women's cricket team, the women's rugby union team, the women's cycling team, the women's football team and the women's wheelchair basketball team, the netball team is one of five women's sports teams based at Loughborough University that use the Loughborough Lightning name.
Joanne Elizabeth Harten is a former England netball international. She was a member of the England team that won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She also sits on the board of the Australian Netball Players’ Association.
Manchester Thunder are an English netball team based in Manchester. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06, Thunder were founding members of the league. They were Superleague champions in 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2022. Between 2001 and 2012 they played as Northern Thunder and were originally based in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Stacey Francis-Bayman is a former England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won bronze medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and at the 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cups. At club level she has played for both Team Bath and Yorkshire Jets in the Netball Superleague, for Canterbury Tactix in the ANZ Championship and for West Coast Fever in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2005–06 and 2013 she was a prominent member of the Team Bath squad as they won five Superleague titles. She played in the 2010 and 2013 grand finals and in both 2011 and 2013 she was named the Netball Superleague Player of the Season. In 2017 she was inducted into the University of Bath/Team Bath Hall of Fame for Sport.
Wasps Netball were an English netball team based at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry, Warwickshire. Wasps Netball was formed in 2016 as a partnership with the Premiership Rugby team, Wasps RFC. Since 2017 their senior team has played in the Netball Superleague. They were Superleague champions in 2017 and 2018. The holding company for the team were placed in insolvency on 17 October 2022 and a new company called "Wasps Netball Limited" was incorporated with Companies House on 26 October 2022.
Beth Cobden is an England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won gold medals at the 2017 Fast5 Netball World Series and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. At club level, she was a member of the Northern Thunder/Manchester Thunder teams that won Netball Superleague titles in 2012 and 2014. She also played in two grand finals for Loughborough Lightning which won their first ever Superleague title in 2021. In 2019 she signed for Adelaide Thunderbirds of Suncorp Super Netball.
The 2005–06 Netball Superleague season was the inaugural season of the new Netball Superleague which replaced the Super Cup as the top level netball competition in England. The inaugural champions were Team Bath, who defeated Galleria Mavericks in the grand final.
The 2014 Netball Superleague Grand Final featured Manchester Thunder and Surrey Storm. This was the second grand final featuring Thunder and Storm. The two teams previously met in the 2012 grand final which Thunder won by two points. After winning the regular season without losing a match, Storm, with a team featuring player/coach Tamsin Greenway and Rachel Dunn, started the final as favourites. At half-time they were leading 26–22 and after three quarters were still ahead at 38–36. However Thunder, coached by Tracey Neville and featuring Sara Bayman, remained a threat throughout the match. With the score at 48–48 and twenty five seconds on the clock, pressure from Jodie Gibson saw Storm lose possession. Thunder pounced on a loose ball and fed it to Helen Housby who subsequently netted a very late winner.
The 2016 Netball Superleague season was the eleventh season of the Netball Superleague. The league was won by Surrey Storm after defeating Manchester Thunder in the grand final. Thunder finished top of the table following the regular season. The league was sponsored by VitalityHealth.
Layla Guscoth is an England netball international. She was a member of the England squad that won a bronze medal at the 2019 Netball World Cup. At club level, Guscoth has played for Loughborough Lightning, Hertfordshire Mavericks and Team Bath in the Netball Superleague and for Adelaide Thunderbirds in Suncorp Super Netball. She was a member of the Mavericks team that won the 2011 Netball Superleague. She has captained both Mavericks and Thunderbirds. In 2016 she qualified as a doctor.
Claire Maxwell, also known as Claire Brownie, is a Scotland netball international. She captained Scotland at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup. She also represented Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Netball World Cup. At club level, she has played for Glasgow Wildcats, Team Bath and Sirens in the Netball Superleague and for Team Northumbria and Loughborough Lightning in the British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship.
Jessica Thirlby is a former England netball international and the current head coach of the England national netball team. As a player, she was a member of the Team Bath squad that won the inaugural 2005–06 Netball Superleague title. She also represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. As a head coach, she guided Team Bath to further Netball Superleague titles in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013. In July 2019, Thirlby was appointed head coach of the senior England national netball team.
The 2017 Team Bath netball season saw Team Bath finish fourth overall in the 2017 Netball Superleague. Team Bath won seven games in a row to finish fourth in the regular season. Their qualification for the play-offs was only secured on the last day. In the semifinal they were beaten by Loughborough Lightning. They went on to finish fourth overall after defeat to Manchester Thunder in the 3rd/4th place play-off.
The 2018 Team Bath netball season saw Team Bath finish fourth in the 2018 Netball Superleague regular season. They subsequently lost to Wasps in a play-off semi-final. During their pre-season, Team Bath also played in the inaugural Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship and finished as runners up after losing the final to Loughborough Lightning.
The 2019 Team Bath netball season saw Team Bath finish third in the 2019 Netball Superleague regular season and qualify for the playoffs. In the semifinals they lost to the eventual overall champions, Manchester Thunder. Team Bath subsequently defeated Loughborough Lightning in the third place play-off.
The 2020 Team Bath netball season will see Team Bath play in the 2020 Netball Superleague.
Anna Stembridge, originally known as Anna Mayes, is a former netball player and coach. Between 2011 and 2015, Mayes served as head coach of England. She was head coach when England won the 2011 World Netball Series. It was the first time England won a major tournament. She was also England head coach at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Between 2015 and 2022, she served as head coach of Team Bath. As a player, she represented Wales at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games and at the 2003 and 2007 World Netball Championships. During the Super Cup era, Mayes played for Team Bath and during the early Netball Superleague era she played for Celtic Dragons.