Lesley MacDonald

Retired Scottish Thistle. 4 World Championships 1999, 2003, 2007 & 2015. Commonwealth Games 2014. Be the best u can be.

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Wow here we go, summer of 2026 is going to be huge

[Scotland National Team @ScotlandNT]

We. Are. There.

#FIFAWorldCup | @FIFAWorldCup

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

@emmabarrie_xx wow wow wow. 🤩 what an achievement #SSN.

[Sunshine Coast Lightning @sc_lightning]

Cara Koenen has been ruled out of our match against the Melbourne Vixens due to a foot injury.

Emma Barrie has been signed as a temporary replacement player for Round 11.

📰 Read the full statement: https://t.co/wfWcDTzFNI

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

@ameliajordan_ @NetballComments Emma Barrie doesn’t move to Australia until the end of the NSL / Nxt Gen season

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

@NetballScotland national league round 7 kicking off today. Head over to the NS YouTube channel to watch

Netball Scotland TV https://t.co/sB93lVOD7N via @YouTube

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

What an opportunity for young aspiring netballers - can I come please 👇

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

This is exciting, huge opportunity for the @ScotThistles 💪

[Netball Australia @NetballAust]

The PacificAus Sports Netball Series returns in February 2025!

The Australian First Nations Black Swans will make their return alongside the Tonga Tala, Fiji Pearls, Papua New Guinea Pepes, Samoa Tifa Moana and newcomers, Scottish Thistles.

DETAILS 👉 https://t.co/FWgz01cUu8

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

👇 if u can’t get along to watch, here u go- tune in 💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💜

[BBC Sport Scotland @BBCSportScot]

Live from the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, watch live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Scotland website and app.

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Game Day is back 💜💜💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Really gratefully to be part of the coaching team for this event. It’s a young and exciting @ScotThistles squad. Bring on #celticcup 💪💜

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Thank you @WinningStudents for support our netball athletes 🙌💪

[Winning Students 100 @WinningStudents]

🔥 More than 100 talented student athletes are being backed for success in 2024/25 by @WinningStudents, Scotland’s national sports scholarship programme.

💪 Thanks to funding partners @sportscotland & the @ScotFundCouncil, & in partnership with Scotland’s higher education & further education sector, some 111 individuals will be supported by Winning Students 100 this academic year.

🫶 Helping student athletes balance their studies with high performance training and competition, Winning Students 100 provides athletes with grants of up to £3000 and works with colleges and universities to offer additional support such as academic flexibility.

1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣ This academic year’s 111 student athletes being supported represents the widest ranging cohort to date in a number of categories, covering 32 different sports and 19 unique universities and colleges across Scotland. The 111 student athletes break down to 45 male and 66 female, with seven para-athletes supported and eight individuals benefiting from Winning Students 100’s hardship fund.

🌊 One student athlete being supported by Winning Students 100 in 2024/25, as she was in the previous academic year, is Scottish diver Grace Reid, the two-time Commonwealth Champion who competed in her third Olympics at Paris 2024.

💬 Now in her fourth year studying Applied Sport Science at @EdinburghUni, Grace said: “I’m so excited to be part of the Winning Students 100 programme again and feel really lucky to get such amazing support while a dual career athlete.”

💬 Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: “It is very welcome news that Winning Students 100 will be supporting more student athletes than ever before. We are committed to helping young athletes achieve their goals. Being able to find the right balance between training, their studies and other commitments is critical to the wellbeing of student athletes. This programme will help these athletes to do that.”

💬 Martin Boyle, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: "We’re incredibly proud to have funded Winning Students 100 from the start. Winning Students has helped so many people succeed at college or university alongside developing a career in sport. It's great to see the programme supporting a record number of students this year. I wish all 111 student athletes every success in their future education and sporting careers.”

📜 Established in 2008, the original Winning Students programme saw more than 1,700 scholarships awarded during its first phase of funding with noteworthy alumni including Olympic medallists @lauramuiruns (athletics), @Dunks_Scott (swimming), @VickyWright14 and @BruceMouat (both curling).

☝️ Following the rebrand to Winning Students 100 earlier this year, bringing with it funding secured until 2028, it is expected a further 500+ scholarships will be awarded over the period with the programme also having added the hardship fund to offer additional support to eligible student athletes from the start of the 2023/24 cohort. The hardship fund was established to promote diversity and inclusivity by supporting student athletes from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds, making athletic opportunities more accessible to more people.

💬 Jim Aitken MBE, former Director of Sport and Exercise at the University of Edinburgh and Interim Chair of the Winning Students 100 Advisory Board, said: “Today’s announcement showcases a truly outstanding list of talented student athletes we have across Scotland’s Universities and Colleges, which our unique and world-renowned Winning Students 100 programme is now proud, thrilled and excited to support.

“This will make a transformational difference to them and their quest to achieve sporting success on the highest international stage.  WS100’s unique proposition of direct funding and service support is the perfect complement to their individual talent and the backing they receive from their host institutions.

“None of this of course is possible without the support of our key funding partners sportscotland, Scottish Funding Council and our tertiary education sector - who share our belief in the power of sport and the demonstrable impact focused partnership working can bring”.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Winning Students 100 is managed by @StirUni, Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence, and supported by an advisory board and management group made up of professionals from across the tertiary education and sport sectors.

📰Full story, including the list of all 111 student athletes, here: https://t.co/sfebRErwol

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

@jallyack Love this, huge congrats

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Huge congrats @NiamhMccall 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Loughborough Lightning Netball @LboroLightning]

Introducing your Loughborough Lightning 𝗡𝗫𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗡 Squad for 2025⚡️👉

The newly launched NXT GEN league has been developed to deliver extended opportunities for emerging talent and provide a pipeline of talented players for the @netballsl 🤩

We can’t wait to see our athletes in action! 💜

#NXTGEN | @Lightning_Acad

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Huge congrats Emma Love and Anna Fairclough 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Nottingham Forest Netball @NFNetball]

Welcome to our dynamic U23 mid-court players for the NXT Gen League! 👊

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Huge congrats to @Eviewat40284740 and @CharlotteDunkl8 🙌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[London Pulse Netball @Pulse_Netball]

📣 NXT GEN 📣

Look at that squad 🔥😮‍💨👏

Congratulations to our athletes selected for the brand new @NetballSL NXT Gen League.

Huge things to come 🩷

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Huge congrats to @emmabarrie_xx and @EveAbbott04 🙌

[Birmingham Panthers Netball @PanthersNball]

Squad.

Introducing your Birmingham Panthers 𝗡𝗫𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗡 Squad for 2025 🐾🩵

The NXT GEN league will provide opportunities for emerging talent and act as a pipeline into the @netballsl 🤩

Read more: https://t.co/PM71XdnyWd

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

It’s a week of netball news. Delighted that so many of our Scottish athletes will be playing in the new NXT Gen League. Huge congrats to @FinnCerys @LongxBethany and Cerys cairns 🙌

[London Mavericks @LDNMavericks]

Our London Mavericks u23 squad for the inaugural NXT Gen League! 🌟

As part of the newly launched NXT Gen League, this competition is set to nurture the next generation of netball stars, offering a platform for emerging talent to shine on court✨

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

This is the news we have been waiting for, and is huge for our sport. So excited that netball will be part of Glasgow 2026 #scottishthistles #CWG2026

[Glasgow 2026 @Glasgow_2026]

🔹 10 amazing sports
🔹 4 venues
🔹 A new sustainable Games model

Full story 👉 https://t.co/CqTc2wVnNk

#Glasgow2026

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Excited for this 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Huge week for our @netballscotland U21 squad. Massive congrats to @HayJMackellar and her team - winning 5/5 and qualifying for WYC 2025 #aintbad #futurethistles 😎

[Lesley MacDonald @lesleymac6]

Anyone else agree 🙋‍♀️
#netballincommonwealthgames

[BBC Breakfast @BBCBreakfast]

'I just hope they take into consideration non Olympic sports because the Commonwealth for the likes of netball are the only light that get shone on their sport'

Dame Laura Kenny won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and spoke to #BBCBreakfast after the Scottish city agreed to host a scaled down version in 2026

https://t.co/c2sELhJwdq