‘I can’t commit to that’
Netball Jamaica VP will not make bid for president when boss calls time
Published:Monday | February 3, 2025 | 4:57 PMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
VICE-PRESIDENT OF Netball Jamaica Simone Forbes says she will not seek to become the next president of the association after the announcement that incumbent Tricia Robinson would not be seeking another term at the helm.
Robinson, who has been at the helm of Netball Jamaica since 2020, while speaking with RJRSPORTS, said her tenure as president has been “interesting”.
“Life is not a bed of roses. I’m happy for the team. We pulled together despite having our differences at times. I wasn’t expecting for us to be in agreement all the time, so it was an interesting journey. It had significant learning lessons, and it has made me a better person,” said Robinson.
Forbes, while believing that she would make a good president, believes her circumstances don’t allow for her to give the job the time it requires.
“I most certainly could do the job,” said Forbes.
“But I have a son who is five years old, and he requires my attention. It takes a lot of work, mentally and physically, and I’m the only person on the board that has a minor. They might have more time to commit to what is required of the president. Currently, I’m the first vice-president, and I feel what it takes to be the president, and I can’t commit to that.
“My son is my first priority, and while I’ll continue to give my support to Netball, I don’t have the time to steer the ship,” she outlined.
Still, Robinson believes there will be no difficulty finding her replacement or with the transition for that replacement.
SOLID FOUNDATION
“We have a solid foundation, and I believe that every president that comes in will get the opportunity to make the sport a better one. A new administration will have the opportunity, given the resources and support from corporate Jamaica to make the sport shine brighter for the Sunshine Girls.”
Netball Jamaica’s Annual General Meeting should have taken place in 2024, but there have been delays.
Part of the reason for those delays, Robinson said, was the absence of an audited financial report, which she believes will be available soon to make room for the elections.
“It’s good to have term limits in anything that you do, and it’s good to have fresh ideas around the table. So come February, a new administration will benefit from that. It’s unfortunate that we’ve not been able to produce our audited financials, and we’re expecting that we’ll get those in before the end of the month so that we can have our annual general meeting around the last Saturday in February,” said Robinson.
Despite the administrative hiccups, Netball Jamaica ended 2024 on a high after the Sunshine Girls defeated rivals England Roses in the Horizon Netball Vitality Series, allowing them to leapfrog their opponents to close the year ranked third.
That success was followed by the 3-0 hammering of South Africa’s SPAR Proteas at the National Indoor Sports Centre in the recently concluded Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series.