There is a lot of work to be done where raising the standard of netball in the island is concerned, says the president of the Barbados Netball Association, Nisha Craigwell.
She made those comments following her re-election to the Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) executive board this past Saturday for the third consecutive term as vice-president.
During the 46th Annual General Meeting held virtually on Zoom because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, the CNA executives were voted in unchanged. Rufina Paul of St. Lucia remains as president for a third term, the second vice-president is Doris McIntosh of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, secretary is Debbie-Ann Francois of Trinidad and Tobago and treasurer is Daria Poyotte of St. Lucia.
During a telephone interview with Barbados TODAY, Craigwell said the time had come for other netball nations in the region to catch up with the standard of the Jamaica Sunshine Girls ranked fourth in the world, Trinidad and Tobago Calypso Girls at tenth position and Barbados’ Bajan Gems ranked at 12th.
She explained that besides those three countries, the next best Caribbean ranking was 20th by St. Lucia. But there is hope that some day all netball countries in the region will be a force to reckon with at the senior level when they compete internationally.
Craigwell noted that the one thing she was grateful for was to be part of the CNA executive body which had the power to really bring about change and improve on the standard of netball in the region.
“There is a lot of work to be done in the region as it relates to netball and the standard of play. If you look at the gap between the rankings, it tells you that there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the region in terms of improving the standard of play,” Craigwell said.
She revealed what it would require to get the others to that level. “It really requires us to play consistently and frequently. So we can’t wait until there is a Commonwealth Game or a World Cup tournament before we play. There is a need for an annual senior tournament in the region.
“That is the only way we can get better if we continue to play and the gap would eventually close. But if we wait every four years when there is a qualifier or something of that nature to play, we are not going to get any better.”
In 2018 Barbados held the last senior tournament that was a World Cup qualifier. Besides that there are no standard senior tournaments and Craigwell said: “It is as though every four years is when we are having a senior tournament and we cannot continue like that at all.”
In order for the idea of a senior Caribbean championship to come off, Craigwell said it would take some planning and of course financial resources to pull it off.
In fact, Craigwell insisted that if Caribbean people truly loved the sport that much and have a passion or desire to see the netball standard improve in the region, then they would all do their part whether it be financially or otherwise.
“It would be costly but necessary. We would obviously need to look for sponsorship and it comes down to how important the sport is to us. If it is that sport is important, then we will find the money to get it done but it is not impossible.
“The beauty of having the regional tournament though is that unlike when we are having the qualifiers, we can play outdoors. With the exception of Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, St. Maarten, there are no other indoor facilities (for netball) in the region.
“Generally speaking, all of the other islands, they all have outdoor facilities and to host an international tournament, it is required that you have the right facility. But if we are going to have regional tournaments I see nothing wrong with playing outdoors until we can get to the level where each country has an indoor facility,” Craigwell said.
During the CNA meeting last Saturday, a total of 12 member countries were in attendance with a total of 20 delegates and six observers. Those participating countries represented were Barbados, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which is where the meeting was initially scheduled for on March 26-27 but did not come off because of COVID-19.
A few decisions were also made during that CNA meeting including the cancellation of the Jean Pierre Under-16 tournament. It was proposed that in 2021 that age group be moved to Under-17 to give those young ladies who would have played their final tournament this year, the opportunity to still play next year.
In a press release sent out by CNA, it stated: “As anticipated, the impact of COVID-19 on the netball was a major concern to all members. In light of prevailing circumstances, the Council agreed that the hosting of tournaments may not be feasible this year. In order to provide scope for the eligibility of players that have been disadvantaged with the cancellation of the 2020 Jean Pierre Caribbean Youth Netball Tournament (JPCYNT), Council approved the hosting of an Under-17 (rather than an Under-16) JPCYNT in 2021. It was proposed that the “ downtime” should be used to advance e-learning in the areas of governance, umpiring and coaching.”
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
