Countdown on till WL Wolves’ big day

West Lothian Wolves’ senior women are set to make history as they prepare for their first season at National League level.

Having competed at regional Lothian League level for many years, the team have been accepted into the National League set-up.

They couldn’t have asked for a more challenging start as they take on the reigning national champions City of Edinburgh when their debut season starts on September 10.

The move completes the pathway to National League competition for male and female players at the club.

Wolves chairman Paul Me l d rum said: “Th i s shows that the club- wide performance pathways to offer National League opportunities continues on track.

“The club now has the necessary support infrastructure in place with courts, coaches and also the players capable of taking this challenge on.

“Having a National League Senior Women’s team is a huge moment for the club because we now have a complete pathway from under-10 level to seniors and every age group in between for both boys and girls.

“It’s a very exciting time for the club and I can’t wait to see the ladies on court in action on game day.”

Emma Buc k l e, who captained the senior women during their Lothian League campaign last season, says she and the rest of the players are looking forward to challenging themselves against the best clubs in the country.

She said: “There’s a real buzz about making this step. It’s a very exciting time for the club for the women to get to that level.

“We have our Lothian League senior women’s team, which was really one of the original teams when the Wolves were set-up but as the club has grown there’s more and more girls getting into basketball and it’s great that we’ve got to that point where we can have a National League senior women’s team.

“There’s a progression through the age groups at National League level and now to have been given the opportunity to have a senior women’s side at that level is amazing.”

She added: “We’re all really excited about the move and have been training hard over the summer so that we can be as prepared as we can be because we know it’s going to be a huge step up and we’ll be playing the top teams in the country.

“The players watch a lot of the National League teams so we know the standard we will be up against and know that it is going to be challenging.

“We’re going in really positive and know we’ll go in there and give it our best shot every game.

“If we work really hard, train really hard and give it our best on game days then we can all come away happy and know we’ve given it our best shot.

“That’s the mentality that the players have thanks to the coaches [Dave Evans and Stephen McCall] so we’ll be challenging ourselves to do the best we can.”

Many of the club’s teams across the age groups get their seasons under way this weekend.

The U-16 men, U-18 women and U-18 men all face tricky starts away at Boroughmuir Blaze on Saturday.