The U13 and U15 Player Development Programme (PDP) squads are part of the England Netball (EN) Player Pathway (England Netball | England Netball Player Pathway). This squad is selected positionally.

 

Merseyside also run a separate U13 and U15 Development squads to continue to develop other athletes from across the age groups.

 

Merseyside County Netball Eligibility:

There is different eligibility for the U13 and U15 PDP squad compared with the other Merseyside squads as these criteria are driven by EN. Any U12, U13, U14 and U15 athlete from any county area is eligible to trial for the PDP squad. However, each athlete will only be able to trial for one NW Netball PDP squad (Cheshire, Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside or Cumbria). This will be monitored through the centralised application process and trials will all be on the same day. An athlete that is not successful at being offered an PDP place could still be eligible for selection for the development squads if they meet the criteria below as described for U13 and U15 squads.

 

Athletes trial in the following age groups U11, U12 and U13 (yr 6, 7 and 8) should trial for U13s. U14 and U15 (yr 9 and 10) should trial for U15. In some rare instances, after trial, a player may be invited to join an older age squad, but they will still trial according to their DOB.

 

For the 2025/2026 season the trial application process will be co- ordinated centrally by NW Netball. Please monitor the NW Netball website and social media for the application process to open.

 

Link to complete the application will be shared on Merseyside Netball social media, shared directly with Merseyside clubs, and added to this website usually in June.

 

Trials are now closed for 25/26 and are scheduled to take place again in Sept 2026.

 

Trialists are notified of their trial time and date in advance, approximately one week before the trial.

 

There is a trial fee of £10 per athlete to cover the court, umpire costs and other expenses. This is payable in cash on the day. When arriving at the trial, each trialist will be given a trial number to write on their arms and legs. Athletes are asked to wear a white top and dark shorts/skort. No club, county or franchise kit to be worn.