ISSA’s Ewbanks hails successful schoolgirls’ netball season

Erica Ewbanks, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) chairperson for schoolgirl netball and principal of Garvey Maceo High School, has expressed great satisfaction with the successful conclusion of this season’s netball competition.

The season came to an end on Wednesday at Manchester High School with the all-island competition, where Wolmer’s School for Girls and Holmwood Technical emerged as champions of the junior and senior divisions respectively.

“We had a very successful season, and it ended on time. The greatest achievement this season was securing sponsorship for the first time. Cari-Med, through its products Confidence and Pure and Clean, stepped forward to support us,” said a very pleased Ewbanks.

She commended the efforts of the coaches of the various teams.

“The good thing about netball is that the coaches are improving in their craft. We saw schools like Titchfield High, for the first time in a long while, reaching the quarterfinals and participating in the third-place play-off,” she said. Ewbanks also highlighted the achievements of Wolmer’s noting their impressive performance in winning the all-island junior final in their first attempt.

She also praised the development programmes in the schools.

“This shows there are strong programmes in place at the schools, and we are happy about that. It’s a good sign for netball, as this competition serves as the feeder programme for the national senior team,” she stated.

Ewbanks expressed satisfaction with the quality of play, umpiring, and coaching this season. She extended her gratitude to Joan Walker, who coordinated the competition.

“Joan Walker is a veteran in this field, and she, along with her team, did an excellent job,” she said.

Addressing the relatively low turnout at the all-island finals, Ewbanks said: “I think most spectators attend the urban and rural semifinals because more teams compete at that stage. By the time we reach the all-island finals, the number of teams is reduced to a maximum of four.”

Looking ahead, Ewbanks wants to see more participation by schools from all around the island.

“ISSA would like to see more schools entering the competitions and more established teams facing stronger competition,” she said.