UAE Eyasses prove their mettle with silver medal at European netball tournament

UAE's Under 17 netball team, better known as Eyasses, continued their upward trajectory by clinching silver at the European Quadrangular tournament in Newcastle last week.

The Eyasses overcame Scotland 52-48 but lost to eventual winners England 85-29. They were also beaten 82-22 by England Invitational – an U18 side who played as the fourth team but not as part of the competition. However, the biggest positive, apart from a second-place finish, was an opportunity to play high-level competition.

To top it all, the Eyasses captain and goal-shoot Charlie Preston won the most valuable player award from Europe Netball, to go with the European Challenge gold she won with the senior Falcons in October.

“I just feel so honoured to have received this award as there were so many outstanding players at the competition,” Preston told The National.

“This award will take pride of place to remind me of the amazing experience in Newcastle and right next to the runners-up medal we all won as a team and next to the gold medal the Falcons took away from the European Challenge.”

The Eyasses made the most of their first tour since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which shows the team is moving in the right direction.

“The team loved the opportunity to play up against England and Scotland,” Preston said.

“Their pathways are very established and we were thrilled to have been able to turn the ball over as often as we did and to come away with a win against Scotland.

“The competition was tough and the team learnt a lot from this experience, each game brought us more learning opportunity.”

The UAE under 17 netball team, known as Eyasses, training at Dubai College. All photos Ruel Pableo for The National

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