Christmas arrived early for Elite Surrey Netball Academy player Asante Chapman at Bernard Park at the weekend.Bermuda Netball Association (BNA) presented the former Clearwater Middle School head girl with a $1,000 donation in a show of appreciation for the steady strides she has made in the UK.The money raised by Chapman’s peers was matched by BNA executives.“Upon receiving news that she was accepted into the Elite Surrey Netball Academy in England, the Bermuda Netball Association were excited and wanted to express support to Asante in some way,” BNA president Tracey Sharrieff said.“When her mother informed me that she would be home for the holidays, I took this as an opportunity to set up a surprise presentation for her, showing how proud we felt of her accomplishments.“As Asante plays netball in her “lucky” colourful socks, we asked all the players to show up for the last game before the holidays in long multi-colour socks, and solicited donations via word of mouth and e-mail from family and friends. The BNA council agreed to match the funds collected and we were able to present Asante with a cheque for $1000.”Chapman was accepted into the Elite Surrey Netball Academy last October after successfully completing trials on her 14th birthday.The academy provides netballers with individual coaching and is reserved for talented athletes between the ages of 12 and 14 who have demonstrated some degree of potential to England scouts.BNA members also took the opportunity to salute two other promising netballers, Venecia Raynor and Kiara Baxter, who are also thriving in the sport in the UK, at Bernard Park at the weekend.“These two young ladies play netball for their respective schools in England and recently made it to the final trials for the England Under-21 National Team that will be travelling to Brisbane, Australia for the World Championships,” Sharrieff added.“We await news for the final selection of the team, with the hopes that both are successful.”Bernard Park also played host to Junior League action over the weekend which saw Signworks, Young Men’s Social Club Bluebird Young’ uns and Netts Whites extend their unbeaten streaks into the Christmas break.Under-16 league leaders Signworks, bolstered by the return to the ranks of goal defence and centre Chapman, thrashed winless Young Men’s Social Club Jr Bluebirds 47-7. Danielle Onyia led Signworks’ victory charge with 41 points while Keizhari Knight topped Jr Bluebirds ‘ scoring with four points.The Under-16 match pitting second-placed North Village Lady Rams against third-placed IAS Shooters was not played and will be rescheduled for another date.In Under-14 action league leaders Young Men’s Social Club Bluebird Young ‘uns edged North Village Lady Rams 19-13 with Imani Smith leading all scorers with ten points.The remaining Under-14 match saw Nu -Art Superstarz get past Data Tech 24-10. Sondae Woods-Bell poured in 17 points for Nu-Art Superstarz.Netts Whites also kept their umblemished record intact after handing North Village Lady Rams a 25-10 loss. Teyah Lindo scored 15 points for the league leaders while Drew Bascome replied with six points for second placed Lady Rams who slumped to their first league loss of the season.Netts Greens got past Colts Warriors 21-12 with Nyumi Tear leading the way with 16 points. Delia Ebbin and Zahria Furbert combined for 12 points in a losing cause for winless Colts Warriors.Third-placed Young Men’s Social Club Baby Bluebirds cruised to a comfortable 15-6 win against lowly Cougar Cubs. Tamera Simmons and Krishay Tucker both scored four points for Baby Bluebirds while Kylah Hunt matched that total in reply for Cougar Cubs who slumped to their fourth league loss of the season.The netball season will resume on January 7 with the Unity Tournament at Bernard Park.