Cardiff Met Archers are set to hand a debut to German forward Christina Schnorr, who is swapping the DBBL in her homeland for a first experience in the WBBL.
A former Germany youth international, the 6ft 1in player joins off the back of the Welsh club having also announced the arrival of GB guard, Eilidh Simpson.
“Christina is the type of player that will make an immediate impact within our team,” enthused Archers’ player-coach, Stef Collins.
“She has years of experience playing in the German league alongside her time spent with the youth and senior national team programmes. Christina has the ability to run the floor with good length and size at the forward position, which is something we haven’t had in previous seasons. I look forward to seeing what she will bring in the WBBL this year.”
She added: “Similar to Eilidh Simpson, who will be studying a masters in Sports Management and Leadership. we are fortunate to have the support from Cardiff Met University to offer the opportunity for Christina to study a post-graduate degree alongside her playing commitments.
“With a language teaching assistant position already lined up at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, Christina will be looking to enrol on our postgraduate course in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
“The University is a great option for players who want to combine their academics with performance sport which warrants a special mention to Cardiff Met Sport who provide these scholarship opportunities to world class athletes.”
?Meanwhile Schnorr herself can’t wait to get started as she looks to enhance her experiences both on – and off the floor.
She said: “I previously became part of the women’s team in Chemnitz (Chemcats Chemnitz) where I had the opportunity to play in both the first and second division in Germany.
“During the summers, I played for the youth national teams (U16, U20). Then, after I had finished my A levels, I started studying in Halle and played first division for the SV Halle Lions for three years.
“While I was finishing my studies I played the last two years with Bad Aibling in the first and second division. During this time, I met a lot of interesting people and experienced playing for different teams and coaches.
“I am now excited to meet my new teammates and our coach at Archers,” she continued.
“I hope we will have a good chemistry and play well together as a team. For me it is also the first time I will live, play and work in another country and I am excited to experience this feeling – to explore Wales and Great Britain and to improve my English.
“So far I don’t really know the WBBL that well, but I talked to some players who have already played here and I am sure I will make my own experiences. I hope we will win a lot of games and perform well, so it is fun to watch our games,” concluded Schnorr.