Nevers backs Netball Jamaica

Head coach of Jamalco’s netball team, Winston Nevers, has signalled his support of the decision by Netball Jamaica (NJ) to cancel the 2020 season.

The NJ move comes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been sweeping the globe and has forced the cancellation of a number of local events, including the 2019-20 football season. Internationally, the biggest casualty is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which has been postponed until next year.

In a release last Thursday, the local governing body for netball said: “We at Netball Jamaica are firmly committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of all our stakeholders and, as a result, have taken the carefully considered decision to cancel the 2020 season for all our domestic leagues.

“We are aware that you, our valued members and associates, were looking forward to even an abridged version of the leagues but feel that, at this time, we are left with no option but to cancel. We sincerely regret the negative impact of this decision on all our stakeholders, but must act prudently at this time,” NJ added.

Nevers, assistant coach at last year’s Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England, said the deadly coronavirus has been affecting everybody and, therefore, the decision to cancel the season was the right move.

“We just have to live with it,” said Nevers. “Every league around the world has either been postponed or cancelled, and so we can’t be the only ones hosting a competition.

“This virus is very deadly and players’ health comes first, and we have to take all the precautions necessary so that we can to be free from it. My daughter plays on the Glenmuir team and she now has to stay at home because every single person is affected by this pandemic,” Nevers added. The veteran coach says he was now looking forward to the 2021 season.

“We just have to start planning for next year,” he said.