By Tamica Garnett
President of the Guyana Netball Association (GNA), Dr. Maxine Parris-Aaron says the association has set up a Coaches and Umpires Committee to overlook all aspects of officiating netball in Guyana.
The committee which is headed by Warren Wilson had its first meeting yesterday.
“Warren Wilson will be heading a Coaches and Umpires Committee that will be responsible for umpire, coaches and table officials,” Dr Parris -Aaron said.
At yesterday’s meeting the committee was expected to look at the development of coaches and umpires; the setting up of tournaments and the organization and selection of umpires and table officials for tournaments,” she disclosed.
Over the years the lack of, as well as incompetent officials, have been detrimental to the sport and its effective continuance, Dr. Parris-Aaron stated.
But according to some coaches, the lack of tournaments in particular have hampered the development of the players, and by extension the entire sport of netball.
Lawrence Kellman, coach of the Fearless Flyers Netball Club and one of the coaches of the senior netball team, maintains that the lack of tournaments is an impediment to the development of the sport.
“In my opinion it affects us tremendously, in the development of the players and for netball in Guyana. “If the players can’t play, they can’t develop. But I think the development of the sport will have to come from the schools. A lot of persons don’t know about the sport; there’s not a lot of interest in the sport (in Guyana); but out in the Caribbean, it is widely popular; out there, they have the sport in schools,” Kellman stated.
“The schools used to participate in tournaments but that was through the National Sports Commission. They also used to have camps and school competitions but they haven’t had any for quite sometime. But, all in all, I want to congratulate the GNA for successfully bringing off the three tournaments,” Kellman said.
Lavern Fraser-Thomas, coach of Emanie Netball Club, added that the GNA’s refusal to allow more than one netball team per club, further hampers the development of some of the clubs.
With only one competition per category and the allowance of one team per club, Fraser-Thomas stated that many of the players from her club ended up not even being given the opportunity to play at all since only the superior players were afforded that opportunity.
This, Fraser-Thomas said, does not encourage expansion of the clubs as only a limited number of players can be allowed to participate in tournaments while the rest are forced to train in vain.
“If you can’t have more than one team at the tournament, then it is no use for a club to have more than 12 players. Only the players that are on the team can play and the rest won’t ever be able to play because there are not enough tournament,” she declared.
Tracy O’Neil, President of All Stars Netball Club, noted that her club had enough members to make up more than one team.
However, O’Neil pointed out that most of the members of her club are juniors which can be used to their advantage as it gives them the flexibility to have their players eligible to participate in any of the three tournaments.
As a solution, O’Neil said, they would try to distribute the club’s players in the three category teams in such a way as to give all of the players the opportunity to participate in at least one of the tournaments.
On this issue, secretary of the GNA, Lawrence Griffith, stated that while more than one team per club at a tournament had once been allowed, at the GNA meeting preceding the previous tournament, the issue was raised and it was agreed that they would revert back to one team per club rule.
Griffith related that since it was an inter-club event and not an inter-team event, the association felt it would be unfair to those clubs that could only enter one team.
Addressing the issue of the current lack of tournaments, Dr. Paris-Aaron explained that the association just does not possess the necessary human resources to enable them to carry out more tournaments during the year.
“The present man power that we have; the present resources we have; it just doesn’t allow us to do that,” she related.
As is current, the GNA holds only three netball competitions a year with the third, an Under-23 tournament, having only been initiated this year.
The other two tournaments are a 16 years and under tournament which is held early in the year and a senior tournament that is usually held in the latter half of the year.
Dr. Paris-Aaron said that since the tournaments for the year have been completed with the staging of the GNA Seniors Netball Tournament last weekend, the process of reforming the organization of tournaments is a concern that will have to be tackled by the new executive of the GNA for the 2011 to 2012 period.
But Fraser-Thomas said that she could see the lack of officials as a feeble excuse for the GNA not to have more tournaments.
Given that there are officials for conducting the three tournaments, Thomas-Fraser questioned why these same officials that officiate in the three tournaments, could not be used to hold more tournaments during the year.
