I got into netball because our neighbour had been a netball coach in the UK, and when she decided to start a netball club in France, she asked me along.
I had only played at school and detested it at the time as it was always outside in the cold and wet.
In the beginning we played on an outdoor basketball pitch, just for fun.
After a while, however, we were allowed to use the salle de sport and now we have attracted a few more French members, which is brilliant because it changes the whole dynamic.
My partner Paul does not play, but he is really supportive and looks after our kids, who are nine and six, when I go to practice sessions.
Netball is not played much in France. It was invented in the UK and never made it across the Channel. It is not half as well known as basketball.
Across France there are now 16 netball clubs and a few of them are not too far away. In fact, our area boasts the highest concentration of netball clubs outside of Paris.
Our club practises on Monday evenings, and sometimes Thursdays.
We start by warming up and stretching, then move onto what we call ‘drills and skills’.
The final third of the session is match preparation, during which we just play some netball.
We do not have enough members to field two teams, so we play five-aside. That way we get a sort of mini-match every practice session.
We have good relationships with other clubs in the area, and we train with them too. We hope that eventually there will be enough of us to play proper matches.
Netball is traditionally thought of as a women's game, but we play mixed teams, men and women. All the teams in France are mixed.
Our club is not terribly competitive.
We do not demand that newcomers are really fit, or even that they know much about the game.
We are really doing it just to have fun, keep fit and meet people.
These days we have our own team kit, plus netball posts and balls.
We are really keen to recruit new members, of whatever nationality and level of fitness. Anyone over the age of 14 is welcome.
Vasles Netball Club
We have a Facebook page (Vasles Netball Club), listing all our contact information.
If there is not already a local team, find other people who might be interested in starting one with you. Most clubs are non-profit associations, which are easy to set up.
Get the mairie on board, so you can ask them to help you find new members, and for permission to use the salle de sport or salle des fêtes. They can advise about asking for grants to buy sporting equipment.
You cannot easily buy netballs or netball posts in France. They are not stocked in every Decathlon, so usually have to be imported.
Get publicity so you can recruit members. Ask local press to come along to any events. We were featured on the local TV, which was a really good opportunity to get the word out to French people.
