Team Bath: The hosts and probably the favourites after
reaching third in the Superleague and the semi-finals of the play-offs. A team
packed with internationals – eight of their players were in the recent South
Africa v England series.
Saracens Mavericks: won 12 of their 18 league games last
season to finish fifth in the league – with six England international on the
squad, they will expect to improve this season.
Severn Stars: Finished just one place lower than
Mavericks, although they won only seven league games in their Superleague debut last
season, but have since engaged former New Zealand coach Melissa Bessell to take
charge.
Surrey Storm: Guildford-based Storm managed an eighth-place
finish last term and have since signed Ellie Kelk from BiG Showdown rivals
Mavericks.
Strathclyde Sirens: Scotland’s Superleague franchise finished
second-bottom of the table last season but are looking to build, having added
an U21 squad to their development programme.
Knights: The joker in the pack – an all-men’s team that has
played friendlies against most of the Superleague teams at one time or another.
They have Australian former Manchester coach Dan Ryan guesting for them this
weekend.
'Netball's Wenger' Lyn Gunson honoured at Bath
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Lyn Gunson in her spell as England coach.Image caption: Lyn Gunson in her spell as England coach.
Former England and Bath coach Lyn Gunson will be
honoured at this weekend's BiG Showdown event.
The New
Zealander has had the Showdown trophy named after her in recognition of her
work at Bath University.
Gunson,
65, England's coach at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, is known as the 'Wenger of
netball' because of her revolutionary coaching style.
"Her
coaching philosophy was like a breath of fresh air," said current England
coach Jess Thirlby.
A number of international
players are taking part this weekend including;
England's George Fisher,
Kadeen Corbin, Eboni Usoro-Brown and Scotland's Claire Maxwell.Northern Ireland and former Manchester Thunder head coach Dan Ryan will play as a guest for Knights men's - almost certainly against some of the players he coaches at national team level.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Watch the The BiG Showdown on BBC
All times are GMT and subject to change.
You can watch all of the action from the The BiG Showdown live on the BBC Sport website & app.
Sunday, 8 December
09:15-18:00 - BBC Sport website & app
The BiG Showdown
2019 Superleague
semi-finalists Team Bath are hosting the BiG Showdown where six teams will be competing for the the Lyn Gunson Trophy – named in honour of the legendary coach and player-development guru who made such an impact with Team Bath and England.
The Blue & Gold of Team Bath will be joined at the tournament by fellow Vitality Superleague franchises Saracens Mavericks, Severn Stars, Strathclyde Sirens and Surrey Storm plus special guests Knights, the UK’s leading men’s netball team.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
How to get into Netball
BBC Sport
Video content
Video caption: Netball World Cup 2019: Reasons to love netballNetball World Cup 2019: Reasons to love netball
No matter what your fitness level is, there is a position on court for everyone. Netball is a semi-contact sport, so men and woman and boys and girls can all play on the same side. There's also a strong sense of friendship and team-bonding within netball teams.
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
This weekend's Showdown teams
Team Bath: The hosts and probably the favourites after reaching third in the Superleague and the semi-finals of the play-offs. A team packed with internationals – eight of their players were in the recent South Africa v England series.
Saracens Mavericks: won 12 of their 18 league games last season to finish fifth in the league – with six England international on the squad, they will expect to improve this season.
Severn Stars: Finished just one place lower than Mavericks, although they won only seven league games in their Superleague debut last season, but have since engaged former New Zealand coach Melissa Bessell to take charge.
Surrey Storm: Guildford-based Storm managed an eighth-place finish last term and have since signed Ellie Kelk from BiG Showdown rivals Mavericks.
Strathclyde Sirens: Scotland’s Superleague franchise finished second-bottom of the table last season but are looking to build, having added an U21 squad to their development programme.
Knights: The joker in the pack – an all-men’s team that has played friendlies against most of the Superleague teams at one time or another. They have Australian former Manchester coach Dan Ryan guesting for them this weekend.
'Netball's Wenger' Lyn Gunson honoured at Bath
Former England and Bath coach Lyn Gunson will be honoured at this weekend's BiG Showdown event.
The New Zealander has had the Showdown trophy named after her in recognition of her work at Bath University.
Gunson, 65, England's coach at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, is known as the 'Wenger of netball' because of her revolutionary coaching style.
"Her coaching philosophy was like a breath of fresh air," said current England coach Jess Thirlby.
You can read more about her here.
Ones to watch
A number of international players are taking part this weekend including;
England's George Fisher, Kadeen Corbin, Eboni Usoro-Brown and Scotland's Claire Maxwell.Northern Ireland and former Manchester Thunder head coach Dan Ryan will play as a guest for Knights men's - almost certainly against some of the players he coaches at national team level.
Watch the The BiG Showdown on BBC
All times are GMT and subject to change.
You can watch all of the action from the The BiG Showdown live on the BBC Sport website & app.
Sunday, 8 December
09:15-18:00 - BBC Sport website & app
The BiG Showdown
2019 Superleague semi-finalists Team Bath are hosting the BiG Showdown where six teams will be competing for the the Lyn Gunson Trophy – named in honour of the legendary coach and player-development guru who made such an impact with Team Bath and England.
The Blue & Gold of Team Bath will be joined at the tournament by fellow Vitality Superleague franchises Saracens Mavericks, Severn Stars, Strathclyde Sirens and Surrey Storm plus special guests Knights, the UK’s leading men’s netball team.
How to get into Netball
BBC Sport
Video content
No matter what your fitness level is, there is a position on court for everyone. Netball is a semi-contact sport, so men and woman and boys and girls can all play on the same side. There's also a strong sense of friendship and team-bonding within netball teams.
Find a club in England,Wales,Scotland or Northern Ireland to get started.