Netball dying in the west

Western Bureau:

THOUGH NETBALL in western Jamaica has been in dire straits in recent years, two of the world’s best are testimony to what the region can produce.

Still, the lack of development in the region means the sport is barely surviving.

There are concerns over whether the parish of St James can continue to produce and develop the likes of current Sunshine Girls in Jhaniele Fowler, Shamera Sterling and Shadian Hemming.

Both Fowler and Sterling were selected to last year’s Suncorp Super League team of the year, with the latter voted Player of the Year in what is the top netball league in the world for a fourth consecutive year. Sterling was named to the defence reserve.

While those two have been performing at world-class levels, president of the St James Netball Association Gina Haughton has admitted the current structure for netball in the region was not good enough but is pointing a finger at Netball Jamaica (NJ) for not doing enough.

“It’s not such a very good structure now, especially with what is going on. We were basically struggling from before and, with the pandemic, it is even worse. When you seek sponsorship, the interest is not there and the national body does not have a system in place that can help each parish. How is it we are being asked to pay dues and there is no return from the national body?” Haughton asked.

Almost two years ago, members of associations from rural parishes, which were not affiliates of NJ, had claimed neglect. The affiliation to NJ comes with fees, which these associations had not, for whatever reason, been paying.

Tricia Robinson, president of NJ, said things were not all rosy in the garden, although the relationship between the sport’s governing body in Jamaica and the St James Netball Association had improved. That improvement, Smith said, has come largely from the efforts of the St James Netball Association public relations officer, Garth Summerville.

“Garth from MoBay and I have a very good relationship. As soon as we are up and running, we should be good to go. It’s an all-inclusive organisation, so we don’t exclude anyone,” Robinson said.

“They (relationships issues) haven’t all been sorted. We have to be fair also. If they have not been able to play, then they’ve not been able to generate. And if they have not been able to generate, then they are not able to pay. However, we have never excluded them from anything. All the seminars that we have had, all parishes have been invited, so we do maintain good relationships,” she added.

SHOCKED BY STATE OF SPORT

Sunshine Girl Stacian Facey, a Mico University student on teaching practice at Holland High School in Trelawny, said she was recently shocked by the state of the sport in the parish and region at large.

“I wouldn’t think it’s the lack of infrastructure. We need to come together to use what we have. The schools have courts. We can always make some arrangements with the schools. It’s more about interest, who is willing to put the time and effort the sport needs to really get everyone involved,” said the former Muschette High athlete.

“When it comes on to talent, I don’t think we are short of that in this region. We just need to come together, put some structural system in place in order to put the talent on display. I sort of reached out to a few persons with some ideas to bring back the game and to add some life to the sport in the western region,” said Facey.

Sharon Woodstock, coach of Anchovy High School netball team and former coach of Sterling, is calling on NJ to put more emphasis on the development of netball in western Jamaica, especially in light of the talent that comes from the region.

“I don’t want Netball Jamaica to go blaming COVID for their lack of support for netball in the west. It has been happening for many years. We have been asking and lobbying for infrastructure to be put in place in western Jamaica, and for us to be recognised. Netball cannot only be centred in Kingston. Talent is all around the island, but I don’t think enough is being done. It is not looking good,” said Woodstock.

“We need support, not only from Netball Jamaica, but also from Corporate Jamaica. Something has to be done. We know COVID has put a damper on everything, but we have to realise that it’s going to be here and we have to get back to some sort of normalcy and even better,” she added.

Still, Robinson believes that, despite the problems for the region, there will never be a shortage of talent emanating from it.

“I don’t think it would be fair to say that producing players is a problem because, when you look at our development squads, we recruit from rural schools. It’s an all-island programme. It’s a work in progress,” Robinson said.

sports@gleanerjm.com