Twelve girls have been selected to represent Wales’ Under 17 netball team at the Europe U17 Championships in Gibraltar this weekend after being helped along the line by Arriva Trains Wales.

Four girls from North Wales have been sponsored by Arriva Trains Wales to help with their travel expenses to Cardiff for regular national squad training sessions in preparation for the Championships.

Last month the team trained in North Wales, as part of Welsh Netball’s commitment to develop elite sport in North Wales and Arriva Trains Wales came up trumps again, providing tickets for the South Wales players to travel North.

Geraint Morgan, community affairs manager for Arriva Trains Wales, said:

"The girls can feel rightly proud of their achievement in being selected for the national team. We are delighted to have been able to support them with their travel arrangements and give them the best possible chance of achieving their goal."

Goal Attacker Bethan Barker from Mold, who has been one of the regular Arriva commuters, said:

"I missed selection for the final squad last year, so I'm really thrilled to have been selected this year. It is an honour to play for my country, something which I've wanted to do since I first started playing netball."

The three day Netball Europe U17 Championships 2009 takes place this weekend from Friday to Sunday. The competition is split into two divisions this year, with Wales placed in Division One, paired against the other home nations; England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Division Two includes teams from Malta, Gibraltar and the Republic of Ireland.

In 2008, Wales finished runners up to neighbours England, beating Northern Ireland and drawing with Scotland along the way. So the team is hoping to go one stop further down the line this year and bring back the trophy.

The twelve players, coaches and support staff flew out to Gibraltar on Wednesday to prepare for their first match against Northern Ireland on Friday.