Each week we bring you a good news story from across the South West as part of our wedNEWSday articles.
Black History Month, commemorated every October, is a national celebration that aims to promote and showcase Black contribution to British society. To celebrate the Black members of our Netball family in the South-West and beyond we have collated a few insightful discussions and documentaries below.
England Netball have some incredible interviews from some of the Black members of our Netballing community, who play a valuable part in making our sport what it is.
To watch and read these interviews, with people from all parts of the community from England Roses and Vitality Netball Superleague players to Walking Netball Hosts and coaches, click below to find out about their experiences with the sport.
Jean Hornsby – First Black netball player to represent England
Cherron Inko-Tariah – Back to Netballer
Jenny Thomas – Walking Netball Host
Jewel Uchegbu – Netball Development Officer
Have you seen the Black Roses documentary yet? It’s an astonishing insight into the history of the history of the Black Roses. Led by Superleague Assistant Coach Camilla Buchanan, she explores how the Windrush Generation produced the first Black athletes to represent England in a red dress. Members of the Netball South-West team found it an insightful and poignant documentary and well worth a watch.
If you have a good news story that you would like to share please send your story and a picture to the South West Regional Coordinator (southwest@englandnetball.co.uk)
“In November 2020 I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in my right breast. Hearing the news I had breast cancer was the worst day of my life. All I could think of was my two girls and who would look out for them if I died. I had 18 chemotherapy sessions, lumpectomy, and lymph node clearance under my arm and then 15 sessions of radiotherapy. I finished all my treatment in September 2021 and was told that I was cancer free. I was very lucky that I caught my breast cancer early, if I had left it any longer it could have spread to other organs which would have made my diagnosis terminal. It was a relief when I finished my treatment and I realised just how strong a person I am. Hearing those words “it’s over” was the best feeling ever. I asked myself a lot of the time why me, why have I got cancer, I am too young, I am only 37. I will never be the old Tash again, but I will thrive to be the new me. 
“I can’t ever remember not playing netball and for many years it was a lifeline, a parallel universe away from challenging home and personal situations. At times I played for four different teams each week – not a chance of my body withstanding that now! I have worked across the UK and with each move, the first thing I did was join my local netball team. I did not start giving back to the netball community until my own three girls were in primary school. Following an ACL reconstruction and an enforced year out, I trained as a level 2 coach to stay in touch with the sport. After a few years coaching at my girls’ primary school, I started Axe Vale Netball Club with two of my netball friends. Coaching your own children is not always easy but all three of my girls fell in love with the sport instantly and they have never seemed to mind me always being around. I soon found that I had to buy a 7-seater car as one of the benefits of having your mum on the coaching team is that she can give a lift to all your friends who are also coming to the match! I have ended many a netball journey with my ears ringing from all the loud singing and shouting that seems to accompany six teenagers in a car. In my younger days, I spent many years just turning up for training and matches without any idea of the effort to make it all happen and I was keen that my girls would start giving back to the netball community as soon as possible. All my girls have helped coached, umpire and support netball events and whilst there is sometimes an incentive like Duke of Edinburgh Award or Pass on Your Passion hours, I know they are also doing it for enjoyment. I think this has also given them an insight into how many volunteering hours go into the netball community and why it is important to make a contribution from a young age. I have helped them learn to coach and umpire and they have taught me how to use social media to publicise events and successes! Netball certainly gives us a common language but importantly it gives us some cross over in diaries and I know that we will be spending at least two nights together. I now play in a netball team with my two older teenagers – the whole of the defence is the Clark family! The youngest Clark is busy playing with Team Bath at the moment, but I hope that one day I will play with all my girls in the same team. We still do the netball journeys in the 7-seater but this time it is my seventeen year olds who are complaining that the middle aged ladies are making too much noise!”
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