THE most successful club team in York is to undergo an identity switch after losing its home.

York Civil Service netball club - winners of the top-flight York and district netball crown for the last 29 successive years - face entering its 30th anniversary with a roaming brief.

With the sale of the Civil Service sports complex in Boroughbridge Road, the nimble net-all netballers have yet to locate a base for the start of the new season in September.

But the perfection-seeking crew are far from down. They are upbeat all the way after securing a permanent home for the 2004-05 season at York Railway Institute, where a massive programme of renovation has been given the go-ahead at its New Lane base.

So new beginnings at New Lane for Civil Service, whose Hilary (Briz) Mennell - first-team captain and currently coach of then fourths - confirmed that the netball club will change its name to RI to further cement the fresh start the season after next.

A Civil Service player for the last 17 years, Mennell hailed the championship-collecting crew's good fortune in hitching itself to the burgeoning York RI sports banner. She said the switch had more than compensated for the abrupt ending to their long-time association with Civil Service, whose sports ground was put up for sale earlier this year.

Recalled Mennell: "It was such a shock to hear that news, especially just before the first half of the season. We knew we could finish off the season, but we just did not know what would happen from there. It was very sad really and one of our biggest fears was that the club would split up and go to other teams.

"If that happened you could never have seen us all getting back together again."

Another worry was that the crop of young talent coming through the Civil Service club ranks would get disheartened and be lost to the game if the champion outfit was to fold.

But when RI made an initial approach to offer the all-conquering club a home they leapt at the chance.

"Now it's great to have a club who want us to be part of their growing set-up and it's great that they have stepped into the breech.

"RI approached us about coming there and explained that they had plans on the go to build new floodlit courts, which will be ready for the 2004-05 season. We are all so looking forward to starting again at RI," she enthused.

A meeting of all the teams' representatives unanimously backed the impending move to RI with Mennell confirming that there were no qualms either about changing the club's name.

"When we make the move we will become the York RI netball club," she said. "If RI are good enough to grant us what will be first-class facilities then we will change our name, it's the least we can do."

Updated: 12:08 Saturday, March 29, 2003