Netball Jamaica makes March plans for divisional restart
Published:Sunday | February 6, 2022 | 12:11 AMRobert Bailey - Gleaner Writer
MARCH 19 is the date that Netball Jamaica (NJ) has set aside for the resumption of the Divisional League local competitions.
Simone Forbes, first vice-president of NJ, said her organisation had been working assiduously with the Government and netball stakeholders to ensure the sport returns in a safe environment.
“We are hoping that by March 19 we can have some netball going and we need to, because we have not been playing any netball in over two years in any of our leagues,” said Forbes.
“The people who play, both male and female, are suffering because of the lack of netball,” she said.
The Divisional League competitions, which usually attract more than 60 teams, was last contested in 2019.
Forbes, a former Sunshine Girls captain, underscored that the development of the sport had suffered significantly over the past two years because of the lack of competition.
She also pointed out that many of the young players who usually come through their development programmes have either lost interest in the game or have moved on to other sports due to the lack of competitive netball locally.
“Our national programmes are suffering because of the lack of global netball and so we have to get something going, and so we are hoping that March 19 will be that magic date,” Forbes said.
Forbes, who played over one hundred matches for the Sunshine Girls during her career, added that there are also plans afoot for the return of the Elite League competition once the divisional leagues are completed.
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL
“We had gotten a conditional approval some time ago but that had to be redone, and we are now in the process of waiting to see what will happen from the Government side now,” she said.
“We are looking to have our divisional leagues start on that date [March 19] and then possibly after that we have a version of the Elite League, pending approvals and sponsorship,” Forbes said.
The Elite League, which consists of six teams, is the island’s top netball competition, attracting some of the country’s best netball players. The competition was scheduled to start in early 2020, but had to be postponed because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.