I trust that both my headline and photo this week will have suitably taken a hold of your attention and curiosity. I also apologise in advance for an image that cannot easily be unseen and may haunt some, forever.
I can explain. And, furthermore, feel obliged to you (as well as friends and family) to offer some context, perhaps even a defence for my, and Colin’s, outstanding sense of fashion and wanton outburst of in-touch-with-our-feminine-side vulnerability.
So here goes with the backstory that, hopefully, will restore any fragments of respectability I may have had in your estimation …
Some weeks ago, an invitation arrived, accompanied with promises of cake and fun, requesting the pleasure of my company as a guest of the Silver Coast Sirens netball team, on the occasion of their sixth birthday.
I’m not one to miss the opportunity for a bit of fun, or the consumption of cake. And the company of enthusiastic and athletic women, I cannot deny, was enough for a firm commitment on my part, with the suggestion of actually playing netball strangely not registering too prominently in my mind.
When the day came, the aroma of confectionery gave way sharply to the smell of the gym, and with the coaches’ whistle ringing in my ear, I was suddenly taken back decades, which brought a clear look of terror to my face that many of the ladies present were clearly, and openly, very aware of.
Colin, my companion who you see pictured (and quite comfortably so, it seems), is a regular pickleball player and rugby veteran, so, consequently, not daunted in quite the same way as I when we stepped onto the court, tutu-clad, for an intense warm-up, followed by some full-on game play.
As I write a day later, I can really feel it. Sat here reflecting (and aching) after my first netball encounter, I am in awe of the Sirens who meet every week to play, socialise and prepare for upcoming tournaments. Just a few minutes of running full pelt up and down the court, with women shouting, whistle blowing and SO many rules to follow, was a level of stress I have become unaccustomed to. However, I am left, along with my surprised musculoskeletal system, a great sense of the fun, fitness and friendship that the sport – derived from basketball, many years ago in England – can bring.
In fact, as Sirens’ Founder and Chair Susanne Spivey says: “One of the best things about playing netball is how it connects women that might not have otherwise met. We get together each week and take part, but then our members establish social groups and activities away from the game.
“I think joining a team sport like netball is so important for women, especially if they’re new to the Silver Coast and want to build a new social and support network,” says the woman who was inspired to start the club six years ago, having been an adult netballer in the UK who was missing it.
The Sirens were apparently the first team to establish themselves north of the Algarve and, to this day, are only one of two teams, the other being in Lisbon.
That said, more teams are emerging, and these ladies have their second Portugal-only tournament down South in April. Even more exciting, perhaps, is the fact that Susanne and fellow Sirens are hosting their own first tournament on the Silver Coast, when the Lisbon team and two teams from Bath, all the way from the UK, “come to face the wrath of the Silver Coast Sirens”.
Establishing netball in Portugal
A clear sign of netball’s growing popularity in Portugal was the creation of Netball Portugal in 2023, formed by the collaboration of clubs in Portugal including my new and local favourites who made me and Colin honorary players, if only for a day.
With aspirations to establish netball in Portugal and play at the highest level globally, Netball Portugal declares: “Our mission is to foster a vibrant and inclusive community of netball enthusiasts, empowering individuals of all ages and backgrounds to embrace the sport, develop their skills, and enjoy the numerous benefits of active participation.
“We are committed to providing a supportive and nurturing environment that promotes teamwork, sportsmanship, and personal growth. Through our dedication to excellence, we strive to inspire a lifelong passion for netball while cultivating strong relationships both on and off the court,” they add, with ethics and qualities that would certainly not go amiss, anywhere in the world.
Add to that an “aim to build a legacy of achievement, camaraderie, and joy in the world of netball”, and you can’t go far wrong.
In case you didn’t know, netball is a non-contact (I am sure a ‘lady’ nearly pushed me over yesterday!) ball sport (quite a hard ball it turns out, when the coach powers it towards your man-boobs!), played on a court by two teams of seven players. The object of the game is to score goals from within a defined area, by shooting the ball through the ring of the 3.05 metres high netball post.
The victorious team will be, unsurprisingly, the one that scores the most goals, but what I can’t compute is how some netball games can be 60 minutes long, albeit split into four quarters, as I recall being bent double and out of puff after just a couple of minutes.
At a friendly level, I am pleased to note there may be much shorter periods of play, and the Sirens tend to play for 7-10 minutes at a time, before breaking for rest and water.
Who knew that netball is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries worldwide and is most popular in UK Commonwealth nations? I certainly didn’t, and after my recent try-out, I can see those stats continuing to grow, especially in sports-mad Portugal, turbo-charged by the passion of my new netballing BFFs.
I wish ‘my team’ the best of luck and much fun as they welcome opponents (who they no doubt will be best of friends with in the bar after the matches), and as they head South, where 13 teams will be playing – six in the ‘walking’ netball category of the Algarve tournament, and seven ‘running’ teams, some from UK.
And they, the super Sirens, look forward to welcoming women from the Silver Coast to their “friendly group of multinational ladies who enjoy a weekly training session and game” on Thursday afternoons, near Óbidos. So, give them a call if you fancy fun, fitness and friendship, but not you Colin!
Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!
