By Laura Dowling 

A NEW netball league in Bury looks set to write itself into the record books after inspiring a huge upsurge in interest in the sport in the town.

Active Netball currently has 40 teams registered, playing across a number of different divisions for the experienced players and beginners.

It even has a Mixed League, with women playing alongside their male partners.

Rachael Maxwell is one of the league’s scores of new players who has been bitten by the netball bug.

She has taken on a challenge laid down by Active Netball’s founders – Emma Gisbourne and Vicky Owens – to break the record for the number of games played over a six-month period.

Maxwell looks set to pass the 120 total and break the record in the next couple of weeks after already amassing 113 games since starting the challenge at the end of July.

She said: “I have seven to play before beating the record and I need to do it by the end of the month.

“I play in all the leagues. I play in the Ladies League and the Mixed League. It’s amazing to get to love netball again.

“It is also great to see how the men are taking to it.

“They think it’s an easy game at first, just catching and passing the ball.

“But they seem to be taken aback by how disciplined you have to be in the sport, and I think they really enjoy it.”

Gisbourne and Owens felt the town lacked a lower-level league, where women and men could enjoy the sport more as a hobby.

It is targeted at those who are either beginners or returning to the sport, as well as women who want regular competitive games.

“We’re really passionate about it,” said Gisbourne. “I don’t particularly play at a high standard. When I wanted to play in Bury there wasn’t really anywhere, so myself and Vicky decided to set up Active Netball.

“We have a women’s league for existing players who have played before and a beginners’ league for people who haven’t played since school or those who didn’t enjoy it at school but have returned to the sport and now have a new-found love of it.

“We also have a mixed league, in which the women bring their partners to play netball, and it usually gets competitive.

“Even though it is predominantly known as a women’s sport, the men who are playing it are really enjoying it.

“Our umpires and the girls are there to help them learn the rules and when they know them, they’re flying.

“For those who need it, we have coaching sessions on Tuesday evenings and have hired someone who has coached adults at all levels.”

The league, which was set up in July, has led to the a host of newly-formed teams, with 40 at present but the numbers are expected to rise.

It is run over four nights in high schools in Bury, with coaching sessions also provided in Tottington.

Matches in the women’s league are played on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with the Mixed League played on Sundays.

Wednesday is the main evening for competitive netball.

Natalie Carrington is one of the new players tempted to return to netball.

“Its been absolutely amazing to watch this league grow from two ladies who have a love of netball,” she said.

“They have spent so much time, setting up the league and then getting it off the ground.

“It is a great for our community and the surrounding areas to get people more active and involved in the sport.

“I was talking to a friend about it and she said that it has really boosted her confidence.”

“We get to play all year round, playing indoors in winter and outdoors in the summer.”

For further information, visit the league’s website at activenetball.co.uk.